I. Introduction

General Properties of Galaxies

The Hubble Sequence and other morphological classification systems

Review: stars and stellar evolution

Distance scale

[B&M 2-7; B&T 1]

II. Milky Way

Content: stars, dust, gas

Stellar luminosity function, initial mass function, birth rate

Distribution and kinematics of stellar populations in the Milky Way

Asymmetric drift, Bottlinger diagram

Disk heating: Spitzer-Schwarzschild mechanism

Formation Models of our Galaxy

Chemical evolution

Stellar population synthesis

[B&M 4,5,8,10; B&T 9]

III. Galactic Rotation and Stellar Dynamics

Solar motion and the local standard of rest

Oort constants

Stellar motions in disk and elliptical potentials

Rotation curve of our Galaxy

[B&T 2,3]

IV. Mass Discrepancies & Dark Matter

Rotation and dynamics of external galaxies

Tully-Fisher relation for spiral galaxies

Mass determinations and mass-to-light ratios on various scales

Dark matter candidates

Halo and Galaxy Formation Models

Modified Newtonian Dynamics

[B&M 11; B&T 10]

V. Disk Dynamics and Spiral Structure

Disk stability

Spiral density wave theory

Tracers of spiral structure

Stochastic star formation

Bars

Warps

[B&T 6]

VI. Elliptical Galaxies

Equations of stellar hydrodynamics

Stellar relaxation

Velocity ellipsoids, triaxiality

Mass profiles

Fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies

[B&M 11; B&T 2-5]

VII. Statistical Galaxy Properties

Galaxy luminosity function

Bivariate distribution of size and surface brightness

The dependence of the luminosity function on environment and redshift

[B&M 4]

VIII. Galaxy Evolution and the Effects of Environment

Galaxy Groups, Clusters, and Environments

Tidal interactions and mergers

Dynamical friction, cannibalism, and ram presssure stripping

Gas content of clusters

Large Scale Structure

[B&M 7-9]

IX. Galactic Nuclei

Observational summary of the Galactic center

Search for dormant black holes in nearby galaxies

Active galactic nuclei & starbursts

[B&M 4]

Main texts: Galactic Astronomy by Binney & Merrifield [B&M], Princeton U. Press, 1998, and Galactic Dynamics by Binney & Tremaine [B&T], Princeton U. Press, 1987.

Other readings: preprints, journal, & review articles as assigned.

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