PHYSICS367

Modern astrophysics explores physical processes in remote environments that prescribe, apply, and explore fundamental processes under conditions that are far more extreme than those attainable in a terrestrial laboratory. These include the production and interaction of peta eV gamma rays, peta eV neutrinos, and zetta eV cosmic rays by black holes and the behavior of 100 giga Tesla magnetic field anchored by neutron stars. The connection between observations, experiments, and the underlying physics will be emphasized. This course is intended for graduate students but should be accessible to advanced undergraduates. An understanding of basic general relativity and introductory quantum electrodynamics will be helpful but is not essential.