Stellar Astrophysics

3 units

In the second semester, the focus is on the dynamics and statistical mechanics of a collection of stars which is treated as a collisionless system. The course begins with a discussion of potential theory and proceeds to discuss the density and phase space distributions of stars in star clusters and galaxies, thus leading to an understanding of the equilibria and stability of these systems. Topics such as Chandrasekhar's dynamical friction and dark matter will constitute the final topics of discussion.