Table of Contents

1 Preliminaries.- 1.1 Hydrostatic Equilibrium.- 1.2 An Energy Principle.- 1.3 The Virial Theorem and Its Applications.- 1.4 The Constant-Density Model.- 1.5 Energy Generation and Transport.- 1.6 Stellar Dimensional Analysis.- 1.7 Evolutionary Lifetimes on the Main Sequence.- 1.8 The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.- 1.9 Summary Remarks.- 1.10 Exercises.- 1.11 References and Suggested Readings.- 2 An Overview of Stellar Evolution.- 2.1 Young Stellar Objects (YSOs).- 2.2 The Zero-Age Main Sequence (ZAMS).- 2.3 Leaving the Main Sequence.- 2.4 Red Giants and Supergiants.- 2.5 Helium Flash or Fizzle.- 2.6 Later Phases, Initial Masses M ?6?10 M?.- 2.7 Advanced Phases, Initial Masses M ?6?10 M?.- 2.8 Core Collapse and Nucleosynthesis.- 2.9 Variable Stars: A Brief Overview.- 2.10 Pulsational Variables.- 2.11 Explosive Variables.- 2.12 White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes.- 2.13 Binary Stars.- 2.14 Star Formation.- 2.15 Supplemental Material.- 2.16 Exercises.- 2.17 References and Suggested Readings.- 3 Equations of State.- 3.1 Distribution Functions.- 3.2 Blackbody Radiation.- 3.3 Ideal Monatomic Gas.- 3.4 The Saha Equation.- 3.5 Fermi-Dirac Equations of State.- 3.6 “Almost Perfect” Equations of State.- 3.7 Adiabatic Exponents and Other Derivatives.- 3.8 Exercises.- 3.9 References and Suggested Readings.- 4 Radiative and Conductive Heat Transfer.- 4.1 Radiative Transfer.- 4.2 The Diffusion Equation.- 4.3 A Simple Atmosphere.- 4.4 Radiative Opacity Sources.- 4.5 Heat Transfer by Conduction.- 4.6 Tabulated Opacities.- 4.7 Some Observed Spectra.- 4.8 Line Profiles and the Curve of Growth.- 4.9 Exercises.- 4.10 References and Suggested Readings.- 5 Heat Transfer by Convection.- 5.1 The Mixing Length Theory.- 5.2 Variations on the MLT.- 5.3 HydrodynamicCalculations.- 5.4 Exercises.- 5.5 References and Suggested Readings.- 6 Stellar Energy Sources.- 6.1 Gravitational Energy Sources.- 6.2 Thermonuclear Energy Sources.- 6.3 The Proton-Proton Chains.- 6.4 The Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen Cycles.- 6.5 Helium-Burning Reactions.- 6.6 Carbon, Neon, and Oxygen Burning.- 6.7 Silicon “Burning”.- 6.8 Neutrino Emission Mechanisms.- 6.9 Exercises.- 6.10 References and Suggested Readings.- 7 Stellar Modeling.- 7.1 The Equations of Stellar Structure.- 7.2 Polytropic Equations of State and Polytropes.- 7.3 The Approach to Real Models.- 7.4 Exercises.- 7.5 References and Suggested Readings.- 8 Asteroseismology.- 8.1 Adiabatic Radial Pulsations.- 8.2 Nonadiabatic Radial Motions.- 8.3 An Introduction to Nonradial Oscillations.- 8.4 Exercises.- 8.5 References and Suggested Readings.- 9 Structure and Evolution of the Sun.- 9.1 Vital Statistics of the Sun.- 9.2 From the ZAMS to the Present.- 9.3 The Solar Neutrino “Problem”.- 9.4 The Role of Rotation in Evolution.- 9.5 Helioseismology.- 9.6 References and Suggested Readings.- 10 Structure and Evolution of White Dwarfs.- 10.1 Observed Properties of White Dwarfs.- 10.2 White Dwarf Evolution.- 10.3 The Magnetic White Dwarfs.- 10.4 The Variable White Dwarfs.- 10.5 Exercises.- 10.6 References and Suggested Readings.- A Mini Stellar Glossary.- B Table of Symbols and Physical Constants.- C List of Journal Abbreviations.

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2nd edition

Reviews

From the reviews of the second edition: "This updated edition will be welcomed by the scientific community. ! gives an excellent general introduction to the subject. ! Also interesting is a CD-ROM ! containing a series of useful computer programs related to the subject and a colorful and informative tutorial on stellar evolution. This book is especially suited for students in astrophysics and astronomy at the master level or starting a Ph.D. thesis, but also for post-graduate science students looking to enlarge their horizon." (Cyriel Wagemans, Physicalia, Vol. 57(3), 2005) "This book is aimed at senior undergraduate or early graduate students in astronomy ! . It provides a broad overview of the physical basics of stellar structure and evolution sufficient to whet the appetite of the student sufficiently ! . Recommended, yes, but only for serious students of stellar physics, as light reading, or a pretty picture book, it is not." (Roger Feasey, Journal of the Auckland Astronomical Society AAS, February, 2005)