units
ASP3162
Faculty of Science
This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 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.
Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.
Faculty
Organisational Unit
School of Physics and Astronomy
Coordinator(s)
Offered
In this unit students will learn the basic principles of astrophysical fluid dynamics and how it can be used to model the most extreme events in the universe. The unit covers the basic equations of compressible hydrodynamics, including the behaviour of linear waves, the transition to shocks and the behaviour of fluids at high Mach number. Students will apply this to understand the physical processes that power accreting sources including white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, and the physics behind the explosion of stars as supernovae. Students will gain practical experience in computational fluid dynamics including basic programming skills and an understanding of how large scale astrophysical simulations are performed.
Students will also learn about high-energy observational techniques of supernova remnants and compact objects and statistical approaches for inference-based interpretation of high-energy observational data.
On completion of this unit students will be able to:
Examination (3 hours): 50%
Workshops: 30%
Assignments: 20%
Students must pass the workshop component of this unit in order to pass the unit.
See also Unit timetable information