Contents
1. Basic concepts of Astronomy:
Celestial sphere, Celestial coordinate system, astronomical events, different measurement scales in astronomy.
2. Radiative Transfer:
LTE state, Radiative transfer equation, optical depth, Limb darkening, opacity.
3. Stellar structure and evolution:
Star formation, H-R diagram, virial theorem, equation for stellar structure and evolution, polytropic model, Lane-Emden equation with analytic solutions, degeneracy pressure, Chandrasekhar limit, star collapse, time scale for a free falling object, white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, solar neutrino problem, virial theorem for dynamics, Collisional relaxation, Incompatibility of thermodynamic equilibrium and self-gravity, Boltzmann equation, Jeans equation, mean molecular weight in astrophysics.
4. Cosmology:
Introduction to Cosmology, Hubble’s law, Cosmological principle, homogeneous and isotropic world models, co-moving coordinate, Friedmann model, Radiation and matter dominated universe, distance scale, age of the universe, density parameter, cosmological parameter, de-acceleration parameter, cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR), horizon problem, flatness problem, dynamics of galaxies, dark matter, redshift surveys and distance measurements, Space-time fabric of the Universe, Friedman-Robertson-Walker metric, Gravitational redshift, Schwarzschild metric, Singularities and the concept of a horizon.
5. Plasma astrophysics:
Concept of plasma, Debye screening, Fluid model, plasma oscillations, plasma wave, Magneto hydrodynamics (MHD) equations, Magnetic diffusion, viscosity and pressure, magneto hydrodynamic flow, pinch effect and its dynamic model, instabilities, Qualitative discussion on sausage and kink instability, plasma sheath, wake fields
References:
1. Text book of astronomy and astrophysics with elements of cosmology - V. B. Bhatia, Narosa Publishing House
2. Astrophysics - Stars and Galaxies -K. D. Abhyankar, Tata McGraw-Hill Education India
3. Black holes, white dwarfs and neutron stars - S. L. Shapiro and S.A.Teukolsky - John Wiley
4. An introduction to the study of stellar structure - S. Chandrasekhar, Dover
5. Theoretical astrophysics, Vol.- I, II and III, T. Padmanabhan - Cambridge.
6. Gravitation and Cosmology: Principles and applications of the General Theory of Relativity - S. Weinberg - Wiley
7. Gravitation -T Padmanabhan - Cambridge University Press
8. General Relativity - R M Wald - University of Chicago Press; UK ed.
9. Principles of Physical Cosmology - P. J. E. Peebles, Princeton University Press
10. Cosmological Physics - John A. Peacock, Cambridge University Press
11. Modern Cosmology - Scott Dodelson, Academic Press
12. Introduction to Cosmology -J.V. Narlikar, Cambridge university press
13. Theoretical Cosmology - A. K. Raychaudhuri, Oxford press
14. Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics - M. Zeilik and E.V.P. Smith - Cengage Learning
15. Massive Neutrinos in Physics and Astrophysics - Rabindra N Mohapatra, Palash B Pal – World Scientific
16. A First Book of Quantum Field Theory, A. Lahiri, P. B. Pal – Narosa
17. An Introductory Course of Particle Physics - Palash B. Pal – CRC Press