PHYS 480/581: Planetary Astrophysics


Instructor
Prof. Diana Dragomir
Email: dragomir@unm.edu
Office: PAIS 3226

Description of the class

This is an upper undergraduate/graduate PHYS course that will introduce the physics of planetary systems. Because the topic is so large, it will be impossible to cover everything in just one semester. A tentative course schedule is given at the end of this syllabus, but it will almost certainly change and evolve as the course progresses. I intend to interweave the study of our own solar system with the study of exoplanets, since they share a common underlying physics and chemistry. The general topics we will cover are: orbital mechanics from 2-body problem to more complicated cases; energy transport; planetary atmospheres, surfaces and interiors; minor bodies; and planet formation and evolution. If time permits, we may also discuss the emerging star-planet connections that observations of extrasolar systems are hinting at, and/or the topic of life elsewhere.

Syllabus

The detailed syllabus can be found here.

Homework Assignments:

HW1

HW2 (due 10/7)

HW3 (due 10/21)

HW4 (due 11/11)

HW5 (due 12/2)

Final project:

Guidelines and possible topics

Advice and tips for oral presentations

Tentative Schedule

Date Lecture Notes Reading HW Due
Week 1
8/23-8/27

Introduction; Overview of Solar System 

PS ch. 1
Week 2
8/30-9/3

Overview of Exoplanets; Two-body problem

FEEPS ch. I B+C; PS ch. 2.1 
Week 3
9/6-9/10

Three-body problem; Perturbations, stability and chaos

PS ch. 2.2; PS ch. 2.3 + 2.4
Week 4
9/13-9/17

Tides; Rings

PS ch. 2.6; PS ch. 11

 HW 1 due (9/16)
Week 5
9/20-9/24

Solar Heating; Energy Transport

PS ch. 3.1 + 3.2; PS ch. 3.3 + 3.4
Week 6
09/27-10/1

Earth's atmosphere (guest lecture by Prof. Peter Fawcett); Solar System planetary atmospheres I

PS ch. 4
Week 7
10/4-10/8

Solar System planetary atmospheres II; Exoplanetary atmospheres and characterization methods

S&D, M19 (a cursory reading is sufficient)

 HW 2 due (10/7)
Week 8
10/11-10/15

Planetary Surfaces; Fall break

PS ch. 5
Week 9
10/18-10/22

Volcanism (guest lecture by Prof. Mousumi Roy); Meteoritics and isotopes (guest lecture by Prof. Zach Sharp)

PS ch. 5.3; PS ch. 8

 HW 3 due (10/21)
Week 10
10/25-10/29

Earth's interior (guest lecture by Prof. Jin Zhang); Planetary and Satellite Interiors

PS ch. 6.1 + 6.2; PS ch. 6.3 + 6.4
Week 11
11/1-11/5

Exoplanetary interiors; Minor bodies

PS ch. 9 and 10
Week 12
11/8-11/12

Protoplanetary disks (Zoomed guest lecture by Dr. Dana Anderson); Planet formation

FEEPS ch. II; PS 13.1 - 13.7 and FEEPS ch. III

 HW 4 due (11/11)
Week 13
11/15-11/19

Planet formation II; Planet Formation III

PS 13.8 and FEEPS ch. IV
Week 14
11/22-11/26

Planet migration, scattering and tidal evolution; Thanksgiving break

PS 13.2 or PS ch. 12.5 and 12.6
 
Week 15
11/29-12/3

Student presentations
11/30: Craig, Ian, Sara
12/2: Dom, Paige, Maren

 HW 5 due (12/2)
Week 16
12/6-12/10

Student presentations
12/7: Shawn, Yu Chia, Rajorshi
12/9: Susmita, Ryan; Life!