ASTROPHYSICAL FLUID DYNAMICS

Modeling of fluids represents the most fundamental tool to understand our Universe. This course will provide an introduction to fluid dynamics and related topics with applications to astrophysics.  We will develop fluid dynamics first from the macroscopic view (concept of “fluid element”), exploring general results as well as astrophysical applications.  We will then examine the microscopic picture (the “kinetic picture”), showing an alternative way to derive the fluid equations.  After a treatment of instabilities and turbulence, we will briefly explore plasma physics, moving finally to the ideal MHD limit and non-ideal MHD effects and exploring astrophysical applications.  In addition, since much of the astrophysical research involving fluid dynamics is done through numerical simulations, a brief introduction to several key numerical concepts will be given by local experts, both in the fluid regime and in the kinetic regime.