Reading Assignments:

1. Recommended background for orbital mechanics: Harwit 3-1 to 3-5; Carroll and Ostlie Chapter 2.

2. Nature paper on Milky Way center.

3. ApJ paper on Milky Way center.

4. Handout exerpt from Chapter 1 of Shore's "Tapestry of Modern Astrophysics".

5. Derivation of Planckian distribution in Chapter 1 of Rybicki and Lightman.

6. Handout entitled "Where does the Boltzman factor come from?"

7. During spring break: Chapter 1 of Rybicki and Lightman.

8. Rutten book (Chapter 2) (get a copy on-line).

Homework:

1. (18 Jan 05) : Diagnostic Quiz

2. (1 Feb): Problem Set #1: Orbital Mechanics

3. (7 Feb): Problem Set #2: Gravitational Potential

4. (17 Feb): Problem Set #3: Statistical Mechanics

5. (1 March): Problem Set #4: TE Distributions

6. (17 March): Redo problems 1, 3, and 4 from Exam #1. For problem 3, just break it into collisions involving an atom; particle collisions and photon collisions. You can ignore electron cascading, free-free processes, etc.

7. Rybicki & Lightman Problem 1.10.

8. Turn in a write up based on your presentation. Include a copy of the scientific paper that you used as an example.

9. (25 April): Problem Set #7: Plasma Parameters