ASTR615: Computational Astrophysics (Fall 2009)
Basic course information is available here. The complete syllabus (with course schedule) is here.
What's New?
| 11/22: | PS7 posted (note non-standard due date)! |
|---|---|
| 11/19: | PS6 due date postponed to Tue Dec 1! |
| 11/17: | PS5 solutions posted! |
| 11/10: | PS6 posted! |
| 11/9: | PS5 due date postponed to Thu Nov 12! |
| 10/31: | PS4 solutions posted! |
| 10/26: | Office hours Nov 2 will be 3-3:30 pm only. |
| 10/26: | PS5 posted! |
| 10/24: | PS3 solutions posted! |
Homework
| No. | Assigned | Due | Problem Set | Solutions | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Sep 4 | Sep 22 | HTML/PDF/PS | HTML/PDF/PS | |
| #2 | Sep 21 | Oct 6 | HTML/PDF/PS | HTML/PDF/PS | ps2.dat |
| #3 | Oct 1 | Oct 20 | HTML/PDF/PS | HTML/PDF/PS | ps3.dat |
| #4 | Oct 20 | Oct 27 | HTML/PDF/PS | HTML/PDF/PS | |
| #5 | Oct 26 | Nov 12 | HTML/PDF/PS | HTML/PDF/PS | |
| #6 | Nov 10 | Dec 1 | HTML/PDF/PS | ||
| #7 | Nov 22 | Dec 10 | HTML/PDF/PS |
Exams
Tutorials
Useful Links
- Numerical Recipes:
- The main Numerical Recipes webpage is here.
- Discussion about the new 3rd edition is here.
- Links to the old 2nd editions (including free access to the text) are here.
- For Astronomy students, the NRiC2 and NRiF2 source code is available in /local/src/lib/NumRecC/ and /local/src/lib/NumRecF/, respectively.
- Hints on using NRiC2 routines.
- Doubts about Numerical Recipes? Read their response to critics.
- Alternatives to Numerical Recipes:
- The Gnu Scientific Library is often included with Linux operating systems. To use it, follow these steps:
- In your C source file, #include <gsl/gsl_*.h>, where * is based on the name of the GSL function you want to use (consult the website for a list of functions).
- Call the needed function(s) in your code.
- Add -lgsl -lgslcblas -lm to the end of your compile line.
- Commercial packages include MATLAB, Mathematica, IDL, etc. The University has licenses available for products like these in various forms (check with your department system administrator).
- There is a free version of IDL available: GDL.
- The Gnu Scientific Library is often included with Linux operating systems. To use it, follow these steps:
- Hints on using Makefiles.
- Useful Linux animation links (other platforms may be supported):
- IEEE 754 format for floating point numbers.
- And here's some code I wrote (float.c) to display floats in binary format.
- Try this code (paranoia.c) if you don't think your computer is doing math properly.
- Magic algorithms (handle with care!).
- And if your brain's not hurting yet, try this! (fast inverse square root).
- Java-based LINPACK benchmark.
- All kinds of neat code (kinda old).
- Handy random number generator resources.
- HotBits: genuine random numbers generated by radioactive decay.
- N-body resources:
- MODEST/MANYBODY (includes a link to NEMO).
- The N-body Shop (University of Washington).
- Fluid dynamics resources:
- CFD Online.
- Zeus & Athena.
- Gadget & Flash.
