Option D: Astrophysics

D.1 – Stellar quantities

 Objects in the universe

The solar system is comprised of the Sun, eight planets, several dwarf
planets, numerous moons, and hundreds of thousands of other material left
over from the construction of the solar system such as asteroids and comets.
However, the solar system in which we live in is merely a speck of dust in the
vast universe.

Single star: A luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity.
Binary star: Two stars orbiting a common center.
Black hole: A singularity in space-time.
Cepheid variable: A star with a period of varying luminosity. The luminosity
can be determined from the period and along with the apparent brightness
can be used to determine the distance of the star from Earth.
Clusters of galaxies: Two or more galaxies that are close enough to each
other to affect each other through gravitation.
Constellation: A pattern of stars visible from Earth that are not gravitational
bounded.
Dark matter: Matter in galaxies that are too cold to radiate. Its existence is
inferred from theoretical physics rather than direct visual contact.
Galaxies: stars, gas, and dust held together by gravitational forces.
Main sequence star: A normal star that is undergoing nuclear fusion of
hydrogen into helium.
Neutron stars: A very dense star, consisting only of uncharged
neutrons. Nebula: A cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized
gases.
Planet: A celestial body that orbits a star.
Planetary system: Gravitationally bounded non-stellar objects
in orbit around a star or star system.
Planetary nebula: The ejected envelope of a red giant star.
Stellar clusters: A group of stars gravitationally bounded together.

 The nature of stars

The stability of a star depends on the equilibrium between two opposing
forces. The equilibrium depends on the gravitation which can collapse the
star and the radiation pressure which can make the star expand. This
equilibrium is gained through nuclear fusion which provides the energy the
star needs to keep it hot so that the star’s radiation pressure is high enough
to oppose gravitational contraction.

Apart from single stars like the Sun, there are many types of stars in our
universe (see previous section).

 Astronomical distances
Our universe is composed of mostly empty space with occasional encounters
of matter apart large distances.
A light year is a unit of measurement of ultra-solar system distances. It’s the
distance traveled by light in one year. The speed of light is 3*10^8m/s. You
can find out the number of seconds in a year by multiplying the number of
seconds in a minute (60) by the number of minutes in an hour (60), then
multiplying that by the number of hours in a day (24) and multiplying that by
the number of days in a year (approximately 365.25). One light year is thus
approximately equivalent to 9.46 x 10^15m, which is also approximately
equivalent to 0.3068 parsecs (pc).

Example: The distance to the nearest star other than the Sun (Proxima
Centauri) from the Earth is 4.31 light years, which is equivalent to 1.3pc. This
means that it would take 4.31 years to send or receive a message to/from
Proxima Centauri by electromagnetic wave transmission.

The average distance between stars in a galaxy is approximately 1 pc, which

is equivalent to 3.26 light years. The average distance between galaxies
within the same cluster ranges from 100 kpc (kiloparsecs) to several hundred
kpc. Galaxies in different clusters can be up to a few mpc (megaparsecs)
apart. 1 mpc is equivalent to 1000 kpc.

To recognize the scale of the universe compared to common objects, see the
link below.

http://htwins.net/scale2/

 Stellar parallax and its limitations

Stellar parallax is a term used to describe the distance between two objects
in space. When an observer on Earth photographs a relatively nearby star
against a background of distant stars on two different occasions six months
apart, the target star image will appear to have shifted against the more
distant stellar background.
The baseline shift of the observer on Earth is 2 astronomical units (AU). By
convention, calculations are normalized to one AU, the radius of the Earth’s
orbit, so one half of the measured shift in apparent position is deemed the
“parallax” of the target.

A parallax of one arcsecond is called a parsec. Since we know, the radius of

the Earth’s orbit, simple Euclidean geometry allows us to calculate that a
star exhibiting a one arcsecond shift is 3.26 light years or one parsec away
from Earth.

However, if a star is too far away from Earth, its parallax will be too small to
be measured with accuracy.

 Luminosity and apparent brightness

The total power radiated by a star in all directions is known as
its luminosity and the SI unit for luminosity is watts ( W ). When you compare
this to the power received by an observer on the Earth, you can see that the
two quantities are quite different. The power received per unit is known as
the star’s brightness and this is measured in watts per metre squared
(W/m^2).

If two stars were at the same distance from Earth, the one that had the
greatest luminosity would also have the greatest brightness. However,
because stars are at different distances from the Earth, their brightness will
depend on the luminosity as well as the distance from Earth. The luminosity
of a star will decrease with distance according to the inverse square law.

D.2 – Stellar characteristics and stellar

evolution

 Stellar spectra
The stellar spectra can be used to identify elements in stars.

Most stellar spectra use the absorption spectrum which is a continuous

spectrum that passes through a cool gas and has specific spectral lines
removed (inverse of an emission spectrum). The missing wavelengths in a
star’s absorption spectra correspond to the absorption spectrum of a number
of elements in the star.

There are 7 basic spectral classes: O, B, A, F, G, K and M.

Class Surface temperature Color

 (K)
O 28000-50000 Blue
B 9900-28000 Blue-white
A 7400-9900 White
F 6000-7400 Yellow-white
G 4900-6000 Yellow
K 3500-4900 Orange
M 2000-3500 Orange-red
As temperature increases, electrons are kicked up to higher levels by
collisions with other atoms. Large atoms have more kinetic energy, and their
electrons are excited first, followed by lower mass atoms.

If the collision is strong enough (high temperatures) then the electron is

knocked off the atom and we say that the atom is ionized. So as we go from
low temperatures in stars (a few thousand Kelvins), we see heavy atoms, like
calcium and magnesium, in the stellar spectra. For stars with higher
temperatures, we see lines from lighter atoms, such as hydrogen. The
heavier atoms are all ionized by this point and have no electrons to produce
absorption lines.
  Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram
The Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram shows the relationship between
absolute magnitude, luminosity, classification, and surface temperature of
stars.
Most of the stars occupy the region along the line called the main sequence.
During this stage, stars are burning hydrogen.

The H-R diagram is also used by scientists to help the figure out roughly how
far away the stars are from Earth. This can be done because if we know the
apparent magnitude, we can plot the star onto the graph using its spectral
class and the type of star it is. We can then use the graph to deduce the
absolute magnitude of the star.
  Mass–luminosity relation for main
sequence stars
For main sequence stars, the luminosity increases with the mass with the
approximate power law

where L⊙ and M⊙ are the luminosity and mass of the Sun. The value a = 3.5
is commonly used for main-sequence stars and does not apply to red giants
or white dwarfs.

 Cepheid variables
Cepheid variables are stars in which its luminosity increases sharply and falls
gently in a period of time. Thus, the period is correlated to the luminosity of
the star and the Cepheid variable can be used to estimate the distance of
the star.

Cepheid variables on a luminosity-period graph, due to their brightness

increase and gradual fade offs, curves on the graph, giving a sine graph
picture. The outer layers of the star go through contractions and expansions
periodically. When it expands outward, the star becomes brighter because of
high velocity, and when it contracts, the star becomes dimmer as the surface
it moves inward.
Cepheid variables are thousands of times more luminous than the Sun and
provide us with such a benchmark which is known in astronomy as a
“standard candle”.

 Stellar evolution on HR diagrams

The nebulae in space from which stars are created are actually the remains
of a previous star that has reached the end of its lifecycle and died.
Generally speaking, they consist of hydrogen and helium and small amount
of the other heavier elements. The nebula, under the influence of gravity,
begins to condense, and eventually, a protostar is formed. Such protostars
can be observed in nebulas such as the horsehead nebula and the crab
nebula. It is in this stage that the process of nucleosynthesis begins.
Nucleosynthesis, in contrast to the nuclear processes that we are used to on
Earth, is fusion, not fission. That is, instead of splitting a heavy nucleus, light
nuclei are smashed together and fuse to produce a heavier nucleus, and
gamma rays. It is called the proton-proton cycle. The star will continue to
react its core of hydrogen into helium for all of its main-sequence lifetime
(see previous section: the nature of stars).

Once the star runs out of hydrogen, the core collapses, and, under the
additional gravitational pressure, the hydrogen in the core will start to
undergo fusion. This causes the outer layers of the star to expand, however,
the outer layers also cool, and the star becomes a red giant. The core
continues to react and elements such as carbon, neon, oxygen, silicon and
iron are produced. It is here that the elements that compose our world are
created. Without the stars then universe would be composed of hydrogen
and little else.

When the star finally runs out of fuel completely; usually when the core
becomes iron, the red giant star collapses. The next stage of the star is
determined by the mass of that star and the Chandrasekhar limit.

If a star is below 1.4 solar masses (Type G), it is less that the Chandrasekhar
limit and when it collapses, its forms a white dwarf of 1.4 solar masses or
less, along with a planetary nebula. The white dwarf star continues to cool
and eventually becomes invisible.

If a star is above 1.4 solar masses (Type A, B, O), it is above the

Chandrasekhar limit and instead of becoming a regular red giant, it becomes
a super red giant. In this case, when the star dies, it takes a rather more
spectacular path than the star below the Chandrasekhar limit, becoming a
supernova. Depending on the mass of the star, it will either go on to become
a black hole or a neutron star.

For stellar masses less than about 1.4 solar masses, the energy from the
gravitational collapse is not sufficient to produce the neutrons of a neutron
star so the collapse is halted by electron degeneracy to form white dwarfs.
Electron degeneracy is a stellar application of the Pauli Exclusion Principle,
as is neutron degeneracy. No two electrons can occupy identical states, even
under the pressure of a collapsing star of several solar masses.
H-R diagrams can also be used to plot the evolution of a star from its birth as
a protostar until its death as a white dwarf.
  Red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars
and black holes
See previous section.

 Chandrasekhar and Oppenheimer–

Volkoff limits
Chandrasekhar limit
The largest mass a white dwarf can have is about 1.4 solar masses.

Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit
Oppenheimer-Volkoff limits the largest mass a neutron star can have to
approximately 2-3 solar masses. The uncertainty in this limit comes from the
fact that the equation of state of the matter inside a neutron star is not
precisely known.
D.3 – Cosmology

 The Big Bang model

The Big Bang theory states that both space and time originated with the
expansion from a singularity.

The evidence that supported the Big Bang theory was observed through the
redshift (Doppler effect) of almost all the galaxies. This indicates that all of
the galaxies are moving away from us.

Although that observation would seem to indicate that we, or rather, the
Earth, are at the centre of the universe, this is not the case. It only appears
to be this way as we are observing from the Earth. If we were on a different
galaxy, we would see our own galaxy moving away in the same manner as
we are observing that galaxy moving away. This can be related to the idea of
painted dots on the surface of a balloon; as the balloon is inflated, all of the
dots move away from each other equally.
Ultimately, however, what gave the Big Bang theory weight above all others
was the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation.

This discovery supports the Big Bang theory in two major ways:

1. The early universe was in thermal equilibrium and the radiation

from then had a black body spectrum, which has traveled through
space, becoming increasingly redshifted up to this point in time.
This reduces the temperature of the black body spectrum and the
radiation should be visible from every point in space.

2. As the radiation travels throughout the universe, space has

expanded, causing the wavelength to increase and its energy to
decrease.
All these observations are in accordance with the Big Bang theory.
  Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
radiation
See previous section.

 Hubble’s law
Hubble’s law states v = Hd, where v is the speed, H is the Hubble parameter,
and d is the distance. It describes Hubble’s observation, that most lines in
the spectra of other galaxies were redshifted where the amount of shift was
approximately proportional to the distance of the galaxy from us. Thus, the
velocity is proportional to the distance.

We can use Hubble’s law to estimate the age of the universe.

However, Hubble’s law really describes the speed at which celestial bodies
move away from each other at the present time and changes because the
expansion of the universe if accelerating.

 The accelerating universe and redshift

(z)
The evidence for an accelerating expansion comes from observations of
the brightness of distant supernovae. We observe the redshift of a supernova
which tells us by what the factor the Universe has expanded since the
supernova exploded. This factor is (1+z), where z is the redshift. However, in
order to determine the expected brightness of the supernova, we need to
know its distance now. If the expansion of the Universe is accelerating due to
a cosmological constant, then the expansion was slower in the past, and thus
the time required to expand by a given factor is longer, and the distance now
is larger. But if the expansion is decelerating, it was faster in the past and
the distance now is smaller. Thus for an accelerating expansion, the
supernovae at high redshifts will appear to be fainter than they would for a
decelerating expansion because their current distances are larger.

 The cosmic scale factor (R)

The cosmic scale factor is a function of time which represents the relative
expansion of the universe.

This may be represented by

where d(t) is the proper distance at time t, d0 is the distance at

time t0, and a(t) is the cosmic scale factor.

Astrophysicists would out the cosmic scale factor using Einstein’s theory of
general relativity laws.

FYI
Referenced sources
 http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/
 https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/IB_Physics/
Astrophysics_SL#F.1_Introduction_to_the_Universe
 http://sciencevault.net/ibphysics/astrophysics/
astrophysicsindex.html
 http://www.astro.ucla.edu/
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Option D: Astrophysics
See the guide for this topic.
D.1 – Stellar quantities
  Objects in the universe
The solar system is comprised of the Sun, eight planets, several dwarf
planets, numerous moons, and hundreds of thousands of other material left
over from the construction of the solar system such as asteroids and comets.
However, the solar system in which we live in is merely a speck of dust in the
vast universe.

Single star: A luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity.
Binary star: Two stars orbiting a common center.
Black hole: A singularity in space-time.
Cepheid variable: A star with a period of varying luminosity. The luminosity
can be determined from the period and along with the apparent brightness
can be used to determine the distance of the star from Earth.
Clusters of galaxies: Two or more galaxies that are close enough to each
other to affect each other through gravitation.
Constellation: A pattern of stars visible from Earth that are not gravitational
bounded.
Dark matter: Matter in galaxies that are too cold to radiate. Its existence is
inferred from theoretical physics rather than direct visual contact.
Galaxies: stars, gas, and dust held together by gravitational forces.
Main sequence star: A normal star that is undergoing nuclear fusion of
hydrogen into helium.
Neutron stars: A very dense star, consisting only of uncharged
neutrons. Nebula: A cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized
gases.
Planet: A celestial body that orbits a star.
Planetary system: Gravitationally bounded non-stellar objects
in orbit around a star or star system.
Planetary nebula: The ejected envelope of a red giant star.
Stellar clusters: A group of stars gravitationally bounded together.

 The nature of stars

The stability of a star depends on the equilibrium between two opposing
forces. The equilibrium depends on the gravitation which can collapse the
star and the radiation pressure which can make the star expand. This
equilibrium is gained through nuclear fusion which provides the energy the
star needs to keep it hot so that the star’s radiation pressure is high enough
to oppose gravitational contraction.

Apart from single stars like the Sun, there are many types of stars in our
universe (see previous section).

 Astronomical distances
Our universe is composed of mostly empty space with occasional encounters
of matter apart large distances.
A light year is a unit of measurement of ultra-solar system distances. It’s the
distance traveled by light in one year. The speed of light is 3*10^8m/s. You
can find out the number of seconds in a year by multiplying the number of
seconds in a minute (60) by the number of minutes in an hour (60), then
multiplying that by the number of hours in a day (24) and multiplying that by
the number of days in a year (approximately 365.25). One light year is thus
approximately equivalent to 9.46 x 10^15m, which is also approximately
equivalent to 0.3068 parsecs (pc).

Example: The distance to the nearest star other than the Sun (Proxima
Centauri) from the Earth is 4.31 light years, which is equivalent to 1.3pc. This
means that it would take 4.31 years to send or receive a message to/from
Proxima Centauri by electromagnetic wave transmission.

The average distance between stars in a galaxy is approximately 1 pc, which

is equivalent to 3.26 light years. The average distance between galaxies
within the same cluster ranges from 100 kpc (kiloparsecs) to several hundred
kpc. Galaxies in different clusters can be up to a few mpc (megaparsecs)
apart. 1 mpc is equivalent to 1000 kpc.

To recognize the scale of the universe compared to common objects, see the
link below.

http://htwins.net/scale2/

 Stellar parallax and its limitations

Stellar parallax is a term used to describe the distance between two objects
in space. When an observer on Earth photographs a relatively nearby star
against a background of distant stars on two different occasions six months
apart, the target star image will appear to have shifted against the more
distant stellar background.
The baseline shift of the observer on Earth is 2 astronomical units (AU). By
convention, calculations are normalized to one AU, the radius of the Earth’s
orbit, so one half of the measured shift in apparent position is deemed the
“parallax” of the target.

A parallax of one arcsecond is called a parsec. Since we know, the radius of

the Earth’s orbit, simple Euclidean geometry allows us to calculate that a
star exhibiting a one arcsecond shift is 3.26 light years or one parsec away
from Earth.

However, if a star is too far away from Earth, its parallax will be too small to
be measured with accuracy.

 Luminosity and apparent brightness

The total power radiated by a star in all directions is known as
its luminosity and the SI unit for luminosity is watts ( W ). When you compare
this to the power received by an observer on the Earth, you can see that the
two quantities are quite different. The power received per unit is known as
the star’s brightness and this is measured in watts per metre squared
(W/m^2).

If two stars were at the same distance from Earth, the one that had the
greatest luminosity would also have the greatest brightness. However,
because stars are at different distances from the Earth, their brightness will
depend on the luminosity as well as the distance from Earth. The luminosity
of a star will decrease with distance according to the inverse square law.

D.2 – Stellar characteristics and stellar

evolution

 Stellar spectra
The stellar spectra can be used to identify elements in stars.

Most stellar spectra use the absorption spectrum which is a continuous

spectrum that passes through a cool gas and has specific spectral lines
removed (inverse of an emission spectrum). The missing wavelengths in a
star’s absorption spectra correspond to the absorption spectrum of a number
of elements in the star.

There are 7 basic spectral classes: O, B, A, F, G, K and M.

Class Surface temperature Color

 (K)
O 28000-50000 Blue
B 9900-28000 Blue-white
A 7400-9900 White
F 6000-7400 Yellow-white
G 4900-6000 Yellow
K 3500-4900 Orange
M 2000-3500 Orange-red
As temperature increases, electrons are kicked up to higher levels by
collisions with other atoms. Large atoms have more kinetic energy, and their
electrons are excited first, followed by lower mass atoms.

If the collision is strong enough (high temperatures) then the electron is

knocked off the atom and we say that the atom is ionized. So as we go from
low temperatures in stars (a few thousand Kelvins), we see heavy atoms, like
calcium and magnesium, in the stellar spectra. For stars with higher
temperatures, we see lines from lighter atoms, such as hydrogen. The
heavier atoms are all ionized by this point and have no electrons to produce
absorption lines.
  Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram
The Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram shows the relationship between
absolute magnitude, luminosity, classification, and surface temperature of
stars.
Most of the stars occupy the region along the line called the main sequence.
During this stage, stars are burning hydrogen.

The H-R diagram is also used by scientists to help the figure out roughly how
far away the stars are from Earth. This can be done because if we know the
apparent magnitude, we can plot the star onto the graph using its spectral
class and the type of star it is. We can then use the graph to deduce the
absolute magnitude of the star.
  Mass–luminosity relation for main
sequence stars
For main sequence stars, the luminosity increases with the mass with the
approximate power law

where L⊙ and M⊙ are the luminosity and mass of the Sun. The value a = 3.5
is commonly used for main-sequence stars and does not apply to red giants
or white dwarfs.

 Cepheid variables
Cepheid variables are stars in which its luminosity increases sharply and falls
gently in a period of time. Thus, the period is correlated to the luminosity of
the star and the Cepheid variable can be used to estimate the distance of
the star.

Cepheid variables on a luminosity-period graph, due to their brightness

increase and gradual fade offs, curves on the graph, giving a sine graph
picture. The outer layers of the star go through contractions and expansions
periodically. When it expands outward, the star becomes brighter because of
high velocity, and when it contracts, the star becomes dimmer as the surface
it moves inward.
Cepheid variables are thousands of times more luminous than the Sun and
provide us with such a benchmark which is known in astronomy as a
“standard candle”.

 Stellar evolution on HR diagrams

The nebulae in space from which stars are created are actually the remains
of a previous star that has reached the end of its lifecycle and died.
Generally speaking, they consist of hydrogen and helium and small amount
of the other heavier elements. The nebula, under the influence of gravity,
begins to condense, and eventually, a protostar is formed. Such protostars
can be observed in nebulas such as the horsehead nebula and the crab
nebula. It is in this stage that the process of nucleosynthesis begins.
Nucleosynthesis, in contrast to the nuclear processes that we are used to on
Earth, is fusion, not fission. That is, instead of splitting a heavy nucleus, light
nuclei are smashed together and fuse to produce a heavier nucleus, and
gamma rays. It is called the proton-proton cycle. The star will continue to
react its core of hydrogen into helium for all of its main-sequence lifetime
(see previous section: the nature of stars).

Once the star runs out of hydrogen, the core collapses, and, under the
additional gravitational pressure, the hydrogen in the core will start to
undergo fusion. This causes the outer layers of the star to expand, however,
the outer layers also cool, and the star becomes a red giant. The core
continues to react and elements such as carbon, neon, oxygen, silicon and
iron are produced. It is here that the elements that compose our world are
created. Without the stars then universe would be composed of hydrogen
and little else.

When the star finally runs out of fuel completely; usually when the core
becomes iron, the red giant star collapses. The next stage of the star is
determined by the mass of that star and the Chandrasekhar limit.

If a star is below 1.4 solar masses (Type G), it is less that the Chandrasekhar
limit and when it collapses, its forms a white dwarf of 1.4 solar masses or
less, along with a planetary nebula. The white dwarf star continues to cool
and eventually becomes invisible.

If a star is above 1.4 solar masses (Type A, B, O), it is above the

Chandrasekhar limit and instead of becoming a regular red giant, it becomes
a super red giant. In this case, when the star dies, it takes a rather more
spectacular path than the star below the Chandrasekhar limit, becoming a
supernova. Depending on the mass of the star, it will either go on to become
a black hole or a neutron star.

For stellar masses less than about 1.4 solar masses, the energy from the
gravitational collapse is not sufficient to produce the neutrons of a neutron
star so the collapse is halted by electron degeneracy to form white dwarfs.
Electron degeneracy is a stellar application of the Pauli Exclusion Principle,
as is neutron degeneracy. No two electrons can occupy identical states, even
under the pressure of a collapsing star of several solar masses.
H-R diagrams can also be used to plot the evolution of a star from its birth as
a protostar until its death as a white dwarf.
  Red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars
and black holes
See previous section.

 Chandrasekhar and Oppenheimer–

Volkoff limits
Chandrasekhar limit
The largest mass a white dwarf can have is about 1.4 solar masses.

Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit
Oppenheimer-Volkoff limits the largest mass a neutron star can have to
approximately 2-3 solar masses. The uncertainty in this limit comes from the
fact that the equation of state of the matter inside a neutron star is not
precisely known.
D.3 – Cosmology

 The Big Bang model

The Big Bang theory states that both space and time originated with the
expansion from a singularity.

The evidence that supported the Big Bang theory was observed through the
redshift (Doppler effect) of almost all the galaxies. This indicates that all of
the galaxies are moving away from us.

Although that observation would seem to indicate that we, or rather, the
Earth, are at the centre of the universe, this is not the case. It only appears
to be this way as we are observing from the Earth. If we were on a different
galaxy, we would see our own galaxy moving away in the same manner as
we are observing that galaxy moving away. This can be related to the idea of
painted dots on the surface of a balloon; as the balloon is inflated, all of the
dots move away from each other equally.
Ultimately, however, what gave the Big Bang theory weight above all others
was the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation.

This discovery supports the Big Bang theory in two major ways:

1. The early universe was in thermal equilibrium and the radiation

from then had a black body spectrum, which has traveled through
space, becoming increasingly redshifted up to this point in time.
This reduces the temperature of the black body spectrum and the
radiation should be visible from every point in space.

2. As the radiation travels throughout the universe, space has

expanded, causing the wavelength to increase and its energy to
decrease.
All these observations are in accordance with the Big Bang theory.
  Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
radiation
See previous section.

 Hubble’s law
Hubble’s law states v = Hd, where v is the speed, H is the Hubble parameter,
and d is the distance. It describes Hubble’s observation, that most lines in
the spectra of other galaxies were redshifted where the amount of shift was
approximately proportional to the distance of the galaxy from us. Thus, the
velocity is proportional to the distance.

We can use Hubble’s law to estimate the age of the universe.

However, Hubble’s law really describes the speed at which celestial bodies
move away from each other at the present time and changes because the
expansion of the universe if accelerating.

 The accelerating universe and redshift

(z)
The evidence for an accelerating expansion comes from observations of
the brightness of distant supernovae. We observe the redshift of a supernova
which tells us by what the factor the Universe has expanded since the
supernova exploded. This factor is (1+z), where z is the redshift. However, in
order to determine the expected brightness of the supernova, we need to
know its distance now. If the expansion of the Universe is accelerating due to
a cosmological constant, then the expansion was slower in the past, and thus
the time required to expand by a given factor is longer, and the distance now
is larger. But if the expansion is decelerating, it was faster in the past and
the distance now is smaller. Thus for an accelerating expansion, the
supernovae at high redshifts will appear to be fainter than they would for a
decelerating expansion because their current distances are larger.

 The cosmic scale factor (R)

The cosmic scale factor is a function of time which represents the relative
expansion of the universe.

This may be represented by

where d(t) is the proper distance at time t, d0 is the distance at

time t0, and a(t) is the cosmic scale factor.

Astrophysicists would out the cosmic scale factor using Einstein’s theory of
general relativity laws.

Simple harmonic motion

Define the terms displacement, amplitude, frequency, period and

phase difference.
Displacement - The instantaneous distance of the moving object from its mean position
Amplitude - The maximum displacement achievable from the mean position
Frequency - The number of oscillations completed per unit time
F = 1/t
Period - the time taken for a complete oscillation
T = 1/f
Phase difference - the measure of how "in step" different particles are. If they are moving together
they are said to be in phase. If not they are said to be out of phase.

4.1.3 Define simple harmonic motion (SHM) and state the defining
equation as a=-ω2x.
Simple harmonic motion is defined as the motion that takes place when the acceleration, a , is always
directed towards and is proportional to its displacement from a fixed point.
The acceleration is caused by a restoring force that always pointing to the mean position and is
proportional to the displacement from the mean position.
a = −ω²x
The negative signs signifies that the acceleration is always is always pointing back towards the mean
position

4.1.4 Solve problems using the defining equation for SHM.

4.1.5 Apply the equations x = sin(ωt) , v = Aωcos(ωt), a = -
Aω2 sin(ωt), v =±ω√((A2-x2 ) ) as solutions to the defining equation
for SHM.

Elastic potential energy EEP = 1/2 kx2

4.1 – Oscillations

 Simple harmonic oscillations

Oscillations are periodic motions which center around an equilibrium
position.

Simple harmonic motion (SHM) is a special type of oscillation. For example:

The simple pendulum

The vibration of strings in a violin
The spring-mass system, where the mass is initially displaced to
produce a periodic motion around the equilibrium position
An object undergoes SHM if it experiences a force which is proportional and
opposite of the displacement from its equilibrium position.
The period is independent of the amplitude of the SHM and can be given by

the following equation

for a pendulum

and

for a spring-mass system

 Time period, frequency, amplitude,

displacement and phase difference

Displacemen Phase
t (x) Amplitude Period (T) Frequency (f) difference
 The
difference
between two
Number of SHMs with
Displacemen times the the same
t of the object frequency in
oscillating oscillates per terms of their
object at a Maximum Time taken unit time relative
specific time displacement for one (usually one position in a
from its of the complete second) cycle
equilibrium oscillating oscillation (in f=1/T measured in
position object seconds) radian

 Conditions for simple harmonic motion

 When the body is displaced from equilibrium, there must exist a
restoring force (a force that wants to pull the body back to
equilibrium).
 The magnitude of the restoring force must be proportional to the
displacement of the body and acts towards the equilibrium.
4.2 – Travelling waves

 Travelling waves
A travelling wave is a continuous disturbance in a medium characterized by
repeating oscillations. For example:

 A rope that is flicked up and down continuously creates a repeating

disturbance similar to the shape of a sine/cosine wave.
Energy is transferred by waves.

Matter is not transferred by waves.

The direction of a wave is defined by the direction of the energy transfer.

 Wavelength, frequency, period and

wave speed

Wavelength, frequency, and period follow the same rules of SHM.

Wave speed can be calculated by the following equation

 Transverse and longitudinal waves

Transverse wave Longitudinal wave

The direction of oscillation is The direction of oscillation is
perpendicular to the direction of
the wave
parallel to the direction of the
wave

Example:
Ÿ Water waves Example:
Ÿ Wave produced in a spring
Ÿ Wave in a string flicked up and
down Ÿ Sound waves

Ÿ Light (electromagnetic waves) Ÿ Earthquake P-waves

FYI
Transverse wave Longitudinal wave
A region where particles are
closed to each other is called a
A point with maximum positive compression.
displacement is called a crest. A region where particles are
A point with minimum furthest apart from each other is
displacement is called a trough. called a rarefaction.
  The nature of electromagnetic waves
All EM waves travel in vacuum at the same speed of 3*10^8m/s.

EM waves are transverse waves.

 The nature of sound waves

The speed of sound in 20 degrees Celsius dry air is approximately 343.2m/s.
Sound waves are longitudinal waves.

4.3 – Wave characteristics

 Wavefronts and rays

Wavefronts:

 Lines joining points which vibrate in phase.

 Can be straight lines or curves.
 The distance between successive wavefronts is the wavelength of
the wave.
Rays:

 Lines which indicate the direction of wave propagation.

 Rays are perpendicular to wavefronts.
  Amplitude and intensity
The amplitude and intensity of a wave depends on its energy.

The intensity of a wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude

(I∝A^2).

 Transverse and longitudinal waves

See previous section with the same title.

 Superposition
The principle of superposition states that the net displacement of the
underlying medium for a wave is equal to the sum of the individual wave
displacements.

The left shows constructive interference (superposition) where the two

waves add up (e.g. 1+1=2). The right shows deconstructive interference
(superposition) where the two waves cancel each other (e.g. 1+(-1)=0).

 Polarization
Light is a transverse wave (polarization only occur to transverse waves).

The polarization of light refers to the orientation of the oscillation in the

underlying electric field.

Light is plane polarized if the electric field oscillates in one plane.

Left shows unpolarized light and right shows polarized light.

Polarization by reflection
When light is transmitted across a boundary between two mediums with
different refractive indexes, part of the light is reflected and the remaining
part is refracted (for further explanation, see section 4.4).

The light reflected is partially polarized, meaning that it is a mixture of

polarized light and unpolarized light.

The extent to which the reflected light is polarized depends on the angle of
incidence and the refractive index of the two mediums.

The angle of incidence at which the reflected light is totally polarized is

called the Brewster’s angle (ϕ) given by the equation

where n1 and n2 are the refractive indexes for their respective mediums

When the angle of incidence is equal to Brewster’s angle, the reflected ray is
totally polarized and the reflected ray is perpendicular to the refracted ray.

Polarizers and Analyzers

Polarizer:

 A polarizer is a sheet of material which polarizes light.

  When unpolarized light passes through a polarizer, its intensity is
reduced by 50%.
Analyzer:

 When polarized light passes through a polarizer, its intensity will be

reduced by a factor dependent on the orientation of the polarizer.
This property allows us to deduce the polarization of light by using a
polarizer.
 A polarizer used for this purpose is called an analyzer.
Malus’ Law relates the incident intensity and transmitted intensity of light
passing through a polarizer and an analyzer.

where I is the transmitted intensity, I0 is the initial light intensity upon the
analyzer, θ is the angle between the transmission axis and the analyzer.
When light passes through an optically active substance, the plane of
polarization rotates.

4.4 – Wave behaviour

 Reflection and refraction

Reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

Reflection of waves from a fixed end is inverted.

Reflection of waves from a free end is not inverted.

Refraction
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave when it transmits from one
medium to another.

The angle of incidence and the angle of refraction can be determined by

Snell’s law given by the following formula
where n1 and n2 are the refractive indexes for their respective mediums

Fast-to-slow: towards normal; slow-to-fast: away from normal

In addition, the refractive index n1 and n2 are related by the following
equation

where v1 and v2 are the speed of the waves in their respective mediums and
λ1 and λ2 are the wavelength of the waves of their respective mediums

 Snell’s law, critical angle and total

internal reflection
See previous section (Reflection and refraction) for Snell’s law.
The refractive index and the critical angle are related by the following

equation Total internal reflection only occurs when

the light ray propagates from a optically denser medium to an optically less
dense medium.

 Diffraction through a single-slit and

around objects
 Diffraction through a single-slit

Single-slit equations are not required for the standard level course.
  Diffraction around objects

 Interference patterns
Maximums form at constructive interference (the maximum is shown by 1-2)
and minimums form at deconstructive interference (the first minimum is
shown by 3-4).
  Double-slit interference
Like single-slit diffraction, double-slit diffraction occurs via the same methods
of interference and has a similar diffraction pattern.

 Path difference
4.5 – Standing waves
  The nature of standing waves
Standing waves (stationary) waves result from the superposition of two
opposite waves which are otherwise identical.

Energy is not transferred by standing waves.

A wave hits a wall and is reflected identically opposite.

The black wave shows the wave created by the superposition of the blue and
green waves.
  Boundary conditions
Air particles can oscillate and create standing waves in pipes with open or
closed ends.

Antinodes are positioned at open ends and nodes are positioned at closed
ends.

Standing waves on a string is equivalent to that in a pipe which is closed on

both ends (nodes-node).

The following table summarizes the behavior of standing waves in pipes and
strings:

One closed end and

one open end Two closed ends Two open ends
1st Harmonic

2nd Harmonic
 3rd Harmonic

nth Harmonic
λ=4L/n

(Note that even

harmonics do not exist
for pipes with one
closed end and one nth Harmonic nth Harmonic
open end) λ=2L/n λ=2L/n

 Nodes and antinodes

Positions along the wave which are fixed are called nodes (minimum) and
those with the largest displacement are called antinodes (maximum).

For standing waves, the distance between adjacent nodes = the distance
between adjacent antinodes = λ/2.

FYI
Difference between standing waves and travelling waves

Standing waves Travelling waves

Ÿ No energy is propagated along Ÿ Energy is propagated in a

a standing wave travelling wave
Ÿ A standing wave has nodes and Ÿ A travelling wave has neither
 nodes nor antinodes
antinodes
Ÿ The amplitude of the
Ÿ The amplitude of the standing travelling wave is constant
wave varies along the wave throughout the wave

Ÿ Particles between two adjacent Ÿ The phase difference between

nodes oscillate in phase and two particles of a travelling wave
particles separated by exactly one can take any value between 0 and
node oscillate in antiphase. 2π

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