LECTURE ON : ASTROPHYSICS,

ACCELERATING UNIVERSE

By
Ahmed Haider Ahmed
B.Sc. Physics 2011

Dedication
To
My sisters

Ahmed

FROM PHYSICS TO ASTROPHYSICS

In physics we use centimeter to measure length and

states of matter is three at ordinary conditions (solid,
liquid and gas).
In astrophysics we use light year (1 light year = 9.46 x 1012 km)
and the matter often is plasma (ionized gases).
Look at the difference of scales between physics and astrophysics
inMeasurement
this table:
of cm in
Measurement of cm in
atomic physics

astrophysics

10-8 diameter of atom

diameter of the
10-16 nucleus of H
10-24 effective cross section
radius of 1 MeV

108 Diameter of moon

101 Diameter of solar
6
system
102 distance of nearest
4
neighboor Megllanic

ASTROPHYSICS STATE OF MATTER

In astrophysics the state often is plasma (ionized gases) and this

produce new branch of physics that called plasma physics which
could solve the problems that faced the astronomers.

Note : The astronomers who develop plasma physics.

The astronomer used the plasma physics to solve the

following mean problems:

1.

Experiments of nuclear fusion.

2.

Explain the irregular motion inside stars.

3.

Interpretation of atmosphere surrounding stars like Solar Corona.

4.

Give interpretation for flow rate of matter from stars to space that
known as solar wind.

5.

Explain how star forming.

FORMING OF STARS

The most important phenomenon that plasma

physics explained is how stars forming:

If a cool cloud of dense molecular gas surrounding by hot gas ,

the cool one will compress or contract reaching to stage of
gravitational collapse , and this is the starting of forming
stellar clusters (stars) or galaxies clusters and this is the
natural method of forming stars.

So, we can say that :

The universe is renewable continuously , stars die and stars
born continuously.

star birth in a galaxy

GALAXIES

Galaxies is the massive units of universe

consist of billions of objects (Nebulae
Stars Planets Asteroids Comets Dust
Gases) orbit each others and controlled by
gravity making them in one unit.

Galaxies is the place of birth and death of

stars.

Galaxies move away each other with high

velocities.

Largest ever galaxy portrait

stunning HD image of Pinwheel Galaxy

LIFECYCLE OF STARS

The star evolves during millions of years,

passing through various stages of
development, but the disaster is possible
and every thing will change in few days
like that happen in supernovae of large
stars when it has sudden death without
passes through red giants.

Look at the following picture :

SUPERNOVAE

Supernovae explosion is the sudden death of a large star

without passes through red giants.

The light from a supernova explosion is brighter than that

from an entire galaxy consisting of billions of stars and we
can see it on earth by naked eye. When the explosion is
terminated, the star is considered to have died; most of its
mass is scattered into space and the left-over material is very
condensed and does not shine like the other stars.

The famous supernovae happened in year 1054 A.C in Taurus

and its ruins still exist that called crab nebula.
1054

Crab Nebula

WHY IS SUPERNOVAE HAPPEN?

If the mass of star reaches to 1.4 of sun mass or more. Then this
star will vanish suddenly without passes through White dwarfs
i.e. may be supernovae.

Mechanism of explosion

Nuclear reaction inside star produce iron at temperature reaches

to two billions Co and this produce neutrons with huge energy to
outer space then the star contract to substitute the decreasing
that happened and this cause raising the temperature in range 4
6 billion Co in a few weeks and every thing is collapsed , when
temperature reaches to 7 billion Co the reverse process happen
and energy absorbing and then the atmosphere of star goes
inside it under its gravity at this time the exhaustible nuclear
energy explode out suddenly by its powerful force.

Supernovae in NGC 2397 galaxy

After talking about some fundamentals of

astrophysics, Id talk about the topic that won
Noble prize for physics this year 2011 , the
accelerating universe exactly (the discovery of the
accelerating expansion of the Universe through
observations of distant supernovae)

THE DISCOVERY OF EXPANDING UNIVERSE

In the past scientists thought that universe is static.

Even Einstein set cosmological constant in general
relativity.
In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the galaxies move
away from us i.e. the universe is not static it is expanding
and set Hubble law that calculate the velocity of galaxies:
V = Ho d

where v is the galaxy's radial outward velocity, d is the

galaxy's distance from earth, and H is the Hubble constant.

Einstein describe the cosmological constant as the great

mistake.

THE DISCOVERY OF EXPANDING UNIVERSE

We can understand it using properties of waves

and Doppler effect.
For example if star move away from the earth
this called redshifted
if spaceship move towards from star this called
blueshifted.
Nowadays , scientist discover that the universe
is not only expanding but also it accelerates.

ACCELERATING UNIVERSE

SAUL PERLMUTTER (Nobel winner 2011) showed the

possibility of separating the relative
contributions of the mass density and the
cosmological constant to changes in the
expansion rate by studying supernovae at a range
of redshifts.

ADAM G. RIESS and BRIAN P. SCHMIDT (Nobel winners

2011) make evidence for accelerating universe
using spectroscopy techniques and estimate the
dynamical age of the universe to be 14.2 1.7
Gyr.

NOTES ABOUT THIS LECTURE

Some points I avoid mentioned it :
Types of supernovae.
Details of star lifecycle.
Spectroscopy concepts and details of
research that won Nobel prize.
This to make lecture acceptable for any one

Ahmed

REFERRENCES
1.

The Fourth State of Matter (An Introduction to Plasma Science) 2 nd

Edition , Shalom Eliezer and Yaffa Eliezer.

2.

Universe and black holes , R.W.

3.

http://www.spacetelescope.org

4.

MEASUREMENTS OF AND FROM 42 HIGH-REDSHIFT SUPERNOVAE ,

S.PERLMUTTER, AND OTHERS ,THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL , 1999
June 1

5.

OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE FROM SUPERNOVAE FOR AN ACCELERATING

UNIVERSE AND A COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT,

ADAM G. RIESS,1 ALEXEI V. FILIPPENKO,1 PETER CHALLIS,2 ALEJANDRO

CLOCCHIATTI,3 ALAN DIERCKS, PETER M. GARNAVICH, RON L.
GILLILAND,5 CRAIG J. HOGAN,4 SAURABH JHA, ROBERT P. KIRSHNER,B.
LEIBUNDGUT, M. M. PHILLIPS, DAVID REISS,4 BRIAN P. SCHMIDT,8,9
ROBERT A. SCHOMMER, R. CHRIS SMITH,7,10 J. SPYROMILIO,6
CHRISTOPHER STUBBS,4NICHOLAS B. SUNTZEFF,7 AND JOHN TONRY11
Received 1998 March 13; revised 1998 May 6

Ahmed