ASTRONOMY 626: GALAXIES

Spring 2005

Joshua Barnes

Wed, Fri 2:00 to 3:15

This course discusses the properties, structure, stability, and evolution of galaxies. The goal is to interpret observations of galaxies within a consistent theoretical framework.

Class Schedule

	Date	Topic	Reading

1.	01/12	Introduction	BT 1; SG 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; BM 1
		PHENOMENOLOGY
2.	01/14	Morphology & environment	BM 4.1
3.	01/19	Elliptical galaxies. I	BM 4.2, 4.3, 4.5; SG 6.1, 6.3
4.	01/21	Elliptical galaxies. II	BM 4.3, 8.3, 11.1, 11.2; SG 6.2, 6.5
5.	01/26	Disk galaxies. I	BT 6.1; BM 4.4; SG 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5
6.	01/28	Disk galaxies. II	BM 8.2, 11.3; SG 5.3, 5.6
7.	02/02	Distances	BM 5.1, 7.3, 7.4; SG 4.1
		DYNAMICS
8.	02/04	Gravitational fields	BT 2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.6; SG 3.1
9.	02/09	Orbits, integrals, & chaos	BT 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4; SG 3.1, 6.2
10.	02/11	Stellar Dynamical Systems	BT 4, 4.1; SG 3.2, 3.4
11.	02/16	N-body methods	BT 2.8
		EQUILIBRIA
12.	02/18	Dark matter in disk galaxies	BT 10.1; SG 5.3
13.	02/23	Shapes and rotation of elliptical galaxies	BT 4.3; SG 6.2
14.	02/25	Dark matter in elliptical galaxies?	BT 4.2, 10.1; SG 6.4
15.	03/02	Black holes in galactic nuclei	BM 4.6, 11.2; SG 6.4
		STABILITY
16.	03/04	Local stability of disk galaxies	BT 6.2
17.	03/09	Theories of spiral structure	BT 3.2, 6.3, 6.4
18.	03/16	The bar instability	BT 3.3, 6.3, 6.5
19.	03/18	Warped disk galaxies	BT 6.6
		EVOLUTION
20.	03/30	Groups, clusters & LSS	SG 7.1, 7.3, 7.4
21.	04/01	Interactions & dynamical friction	BT 7.1, 7.4; SG 5.6
22.	04/06	Mergers & starburst galaxies	BT 7.4; BM 4.6; SG 6.5
23.	04/08	Spectrophotometric evolution	BT 9.1; BM 5.4
24.	04/13	Chemical evolution	BT 9.2, 9.3; BM 5.2, 5.3
25.	04/15	Evolution of star clusters	BT 8, 8.2, 8.4
		THE MILKY WAY
26.	04/20	Populations & components of the MW	BM 10.1, 10.2, 10.4, 10.5
27.	04/22	Kinematics of the disk	BM 10.3
28.	04/27	Moving groups & other relics
29.	04/29	Presentations. I
30.	05/04	Presentations. II

Notes on the reading: The sections listed here are approximate; they indicate the general area of the material covered. For more details, see the reading list.

Course Information

Text books:
- Galactic Dynamics by James Binney & Scott Tremaine (= BT)
- Galactic Astronomy by James Binney & Michael Merrifield (= BM)
- Galaxies in the Universe by Linda S. Sparke & John S. Gallagher (= SG)
Place: Institute for Astronomy, room C-221 (Fern Room)
Time: Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:00 to 3:15.
Grading policy:
- Problem sets, assigned every other week -- 40%
- Class presentations on chosen topics -- 20%
- Participation, reading, etc -- 10%
- Final exam, given during exam week -- 30%
E-mails to this class

Joshua E. Barnes (barnes@ifa.hawaii.edu)

Last modified: March 21, 2005
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~barnes/ast626_05/ast626.html