Modeling Astrophysical Transients with Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics*

Mesh free methods, and smooth particle hydrodynamics in particular, have been used extensively in modeling astrophysical transients. The ability of SPH to conserve angular momentum, easily include detailed microphysics, and to resolve the mass over large distance scales makes it an ideal method for many problems. I will present an overview of the wide variety of astrophysical transients modeled with smooth particle hydrodynamics, including supernovae, gamma-ray bursts and merging neutron stars. I will focus on the specific strengths and current issues using these methods to model these problems.