Teaching

I am teaching courses on Theoretical astrophysics, High-energy astrophysics, and Radiative processes in astrophysics.

 

Radiative processes in astrophysics, winter/spring 2025

Teachers

Lecturers: Juri Poutanen (room 251 in Quantum)

Learning outcomes

The student should understand in the end of the course the main concepts from classical and quantum radiation theories. Student should be able to compute emission and absorption coefficients for considered radiative processes, solve radiative transfer equation and by comparing solutions to the observed data determine physical conditions in the astrophysical sources. Student should develop self-study skills and be able to solve problems on topics in the syllabus.

Contents

Basic properties of radiation, specific intensity, flux, radiation pressure. Thermal radiation. Radiative diffusion. Radiative transfer equation. The Einstein coefficients, scattering effects. Basic theory of radiation fields. Maxwell equations, plane waves, radiation spectrum, polarization, Stokes parameters. Retarded potentials, multipole radiation, Larmor formula. Thomson scattering. Special relativity, relativistic effects, Lorentz transformations. Radiation from moving charges. Bremsstrahlung, cyclotron and synchrotron radiation. Compton scattering, inverse Compton effect. Pair production. Electron kinetic equation. Cherenkov radiation. Astrophysical applications to the emission processes in pulsars, relativistic jets in quasars, accretion-powered compact sources such as black holes and neutron stars, clusters of galaxies, and gamma-ray bursts. The course contains a number of demanding home and computer exercises.

Literature

  1. Lecture notes
  2. Radiative processes in astrophysics, by G. Rybicki, A. Lightman 978-0471827597
  3. The Physics of Astrophysics. Vol 1, Radiation, by F.H. Shu 978-1891389764
  4. Classical Electrodynamics, by J.D. Jackson 978-0471309321
  5. Ghisellini G. “Radiative processes in high-energy astrophysics”, Springer, 2013 (arxiv:1202.5949) 978-3-319-00612-3
  6. Padmanabhan, T.: Theoretical astrophysics, Vol. I, Astrophysical Processes, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000 9780521566322
  7. Arfken & Weber “Mathematical Methods for Physicists” 978-0123846549

The course consist of 18 lectures, 8 home exercises, computer exercises.

Requirements: Minimum 50% of exercises and the final exam.

Grading is based on exercises (30%), exam (70%).

 

Preliminary schedule

 

Questions for the exam

Optional additional exercises, each gives 2 points for the course “Topical projects in research” (FFYS7039):
Monte-Carlo simulations of Thomson scattering [pdf]