Astrophysics credit:

4 Hours

Fundamental aspect of astrophysics and cosmology and new developments in these fields. Basic physical concepts and principles, the key observational evidence, and illustrative calculations. Relativistic cosmological models, inflation, Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, and the cosmic microwave background; formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, galaxies, and stars; formation, structure, and evolution of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes; rotation- and accretion-powered pulsars, X-ray and y-ray stars, and gravitational radiation. Same as ASTR 540 . Prerequisite: PHYS 435 ; PHYS 485 or PHYS 486 .