Undergraduate - UnitASP3222 - Physics for astrophysics

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Science
Organisational Unit	School of Physics
Offered	Clayton Second semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway

Synopsis

This unit consists of three lecture sub-units and a practical component:

Nuclear physics: nuclear stability, shell model and angular momentum, radioactive decay selection rules, the neutrino and Fermi theory of beta decay, nuclear force;
Evolution of massive stars and synthesis of chemical elements; creation of supernova remnants and neutron stars, and types of continuum and line emission produced; interpreting X-ray spectra in relation to physical and chemical properties of these objects;
Elementary particles: spin, parity, isotopic spin, strangeness and baryon/lepton number, conservation laws of the fundamental interactions, symmetry theories.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

Describe the properties of elementary particles, their interactions and role in cosmological evolution;

Describe nuclear systematics, nuclear models and nuclear structure;

Describe the formation of supernova remnants and neutron stars, their radiation mechanisms and relevant physical processes;

Apply laws of plasma physics, particle physics and nuclear physics to understanding of structure and dynamics of supernova remnants and neutron stars;