Syllabus for Physics of Planetary Systems

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• identify and explain the physical processes that are thought to govern

  the formation of planetary systems in connection with star formation, and

  provide an outline of the structure and evolution of planets

• identify and explain similarities and differences between our solar

  system and extrasolar planetary systems

• explain the nature of the minor bodies in the solar system, their

  formation and evolution, and their mutual relationships

• account for dynamical and collisional processes which affect planets and

  minor bodies, as well as how these processes govern the evolution of

  planetary systems

• evaluate new developments in the research on our solar system as one of

  many in the Milky Way galaxy, including the observed properties of other

  planetary systems

Content

Planetary interiors and atmospheres. Detection and physical properties of extrasolar planetary systems. The small bodies of the Solar System. Plasmas and magnetic fields in the Solar System. The dynamics of planetary systems. The formation of planetary systems including the physics of accretion discs around protostars, and the physics and chemistry of the solar nebula. Meteorites, and their testimony of the formation and evolution of the Solar System.

Instruction

Seminars, exercises, och lectures.

Assessment

Oral and written presentations of seminar topics (4 credits), oral and written

presentation of individual essay topic (4 credits), project work in groups and

subsequent report (2 credits).

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.