Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives On the completion of this subject students will be sufficiently familiar with astrophysical hydrodynamics to be able to undertake the other ASP third-year subjects; understand the basic characteristics of steady compressible flow; be able to perform linearisation to determine wave motions and test for instabilities; have a rudimentary knowledge of shocks and their numerical modelling; be acquainted with magneto-hydrodynamics.
Synopsis The continuum description of compressible fluids; ionisation; steady flows, accretion onto stars, the solar wind; linear sound waves; linear stability, convective and shear instabilities; stellar oscillations; mixing length theory; interstellar medium, shocks and supernova blast waves, numerical simulation; magneto-hydrodynamics.
Assessment Examination (1.5 hours): 70% + Assignments: 30%