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Radiative Processes - AST4883

Honours Year module NQF level: 8 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: This module looks at the mechanisms that produce radiation in astronomical environments, and the properties (such as the polarization) of the radiation thus produced. The mechanisms to be considered produce radiation over the entire electromagnetic spectrum, but examples will concentrate on the application of these results to radiation from radio through IR and optical to the UV regime. A basic knowledge of statistical physics, electromagnetism and quantum mechanics will be required for this course. Syllabus: Blackbody Radiation; Potentials and Fields of moving charges; Larmor's Formula; Bremsstrahlung; Polarization and Stokes Parameters; Cyclotron Radiation; Relativistic Beaming; Synchrotron Radiation.