Physics of Compact Objects credit:

4 Hours

Rigorous survey of the physical properties of black holes, white dwarfs, and neutron stars. Formation of compact objects. Equilibrium configurations, equations of state, stability criteria, and mass limits: the influence of rotation and magnetic fields. Pulsar phenomena. Black hole spacetimes. Hawking radiation. Mass flow in binary systems; spherical and disk accretion; high-temperature radiation processes; pulsar spin-up. Compact x-ray sources and x-ray bursts. Supermassive black holes in star clusters and dense galactic nuclei. Gravitational and neutrino radiation from supernova collapse and binary coalescence. Same as ASTR 541 . Prerequisite: PHYS 436 .