Spring 2021 Graduate Courses

Spring 2021
Structure of the Stars
Subject associations
AST 514
Theoretical and numerical analysis of the structure of stars and their evolution. Topics include a survey of the physical process important for stellar interiors (equation of state, nuclear reactions, transport phenomena); and the integrated properties of stars and their evolution.
Instructors
Adam S. Burrows
Spring 2021
High Energy Astrophysics
Subject associations
AST 520
Selected astrophysical applications of electrodynamics, special and general relativity, nuclear and particle physics. Topics may include synchrotron radiation, comptonization, orbits and accretion in black-hole metrics, radio sources, cosmic rays, and neutrino astropysics.
Instructors
Anatoly Spitkovsky
Spring 2021
Seminar in Observational Astrophysics: Current Research Topics in Astrophysics
Subject associations
AST 542
Students improve their ability to give effective professional presentations, through lessons and opportunities to communicate their own research.
Instructors
Eliot Quataert
Spring 2021
General Plasma Physics II
Subject associations
AST 552
This is an introductory graduate course in plasma physics, focusing on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and its extension to weakly collisional or collisionless plasmas. Topics to be covered include: the equations of MHD and extended MHD, the structure of magnetic fields, static and rotating MHD equilibria and their stability, magnetic reconnection, MHD turbulence, and the dynamo effect. Applications are drawn from fusion, heliophysical, and astrophysical plasmas.
Instructors
Amitava Bhattacharjee
Hantao Ji
Spring 2021
Irreversible Processes in Plasmas
Subject associations
AST 554
Introduction to theory of fluctuations and transport in plasma. Origins of irreversibility. Random walks, Brownian motion, and diffusion; Langevin and Fokker-Planck theory. Fluctuation-dissipation theorem; test-particle superposition principle. Statistical closure problem. Derivation of kinetic equations from BBGKY hierarchy and Klimontovich formalism; properties of plasma collision operators. Classical transport coefficients in magnetized plasmas; Onsager symmetry. Introduction to plasma turbulence, including quasilinear theory. Applications to current problems in plasma research.
Instructors
Matthew Walter Kunz
Spring 2021
Seminar in Plasma Physics
Subject associations
AST 558
Advances in experimental and theoretical studies or laboratory and naturally-occurring high-temperature plasmas, including stability and transport, nonlinear dynamics and turbulence, magnetic reconnection, selfheating of "burning" plasmas, and innovative concepts for advanced fusion systems. Advances in plasma applications, including laser-plasma interactions, nonneutral plasmas, high-intensity accelerators, plasma propulsion, plasma processing, and coherent electromagnetic wave generation.
Instructors
Stewart C. Prager
Allan H. Reiman
Spring 2021
Computational Methods in Plasma Physics
Subject associations
AST 560
Analysis of methods for the numerical solution of the partial differential equations of plasma physics, including those of elliptic, parabolic, hyperbolic, and eigenvalue type. Topics include finite difference, finite element, spectral, particle-in-cell, Monte Carlo, moving grid, and multiple-time-scale techniques, applied to the problems of plasma equilibrium, transport and stability. Basic parallel programming concepts are discussed.
Instructors
Hong Qin
Spring 2021
Laboratory in Plasma Physics
Subject associations
AST 562
Develop skills, knowledge, and understanding of basic and advanced laboratory techniques used to measure the properties and behavior of plasmas. Representative experiments are: cold-cathode plasma formation and architecture; ambipolar diffusion in afterglow plasmas; Langmuir probe measurements of electron temperature and plasma density; period doubling and transitions to chaos in glow discharges; optical spectroscopy for species identification; microwave interferometry and cavity resonances for plasma density determination; and momentum generated by a plasma thruster.
Instructors
Samuel A. Cohen