Professor Stuart L. Shapiro

A rigorous survey of the physical properties of black holes, white dwarfs and neutron stars. The formation of compact objects. Equilibrium configurations, equations of state, stability criteria and mass limits: the influence of rotation and magnetic fields. Pulsar phenomena. Black hole spacetimes. Hawking radiation. Mass flow in binary systems; spherical and disk accretion; high-temperature radiation processes; pulsar spin-up. Compact X-ray sources and X-ray bursts. Supermassive black holes in star clusters and dense galactic nuclei. Gravitational and neutrino radiation from supernova collapse and binary coalescence.

Emphasis will be on the application of fundamental physical principles to compact objects. Interactions involving all four of the fundamental forces of nature will be explored. The discussion will draw on many different branches of physics including nuclear physics, solid state physics, relativity, hydrodynamics, astrophysics and high energy physics.

Target: The course will be aimed at beginning graduate students and advanced undergraduates. It will be a broad survey designed to provide all students with a thorough introduction, as well as a firm foundation for those who wish to pursue research in the field. The course will be repeated on alternate years.

Prerequisites: A good background in physics at the undergraduate level (electromagnetism, statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, classical and quantum mechanics and special relativity). No astronomy or general relativity is assumed (the necessary concepts and mathematical tools will be developed as required).