FFYS4327 Introduction to
Stellar Physics
Spring Term 2001
Week 1: General Introduction: From the Big Bang to
Galaxies and Stars
In HTML format: l1.html
In Postscript format: l1.ps
Solar Properties
http://www.astronomynotes.com/starsun/s2.htm
For this week's tutorial, do the review questions in the
Solar Properties lecture above.
Basic Stellar properties --- distances, magnitudes,
spectral type, ages
In HTML format: l2.html
In Postscript format: l2.ps
Week 2: Hydrostatic Equilibrium and simple stellar
models
In HTML format: l3.html
In Postscript format: l3.ps
GNUPlot zip file
GNUPlot help
Week 3: Numerical Techniques and Polytropes
In HTML format: l4.html
In Postscript format: l4.ps
You can get the files you need to run fortran from the
following link:
BC-Fortran
Week 4: Polytropes Continued
In HTML format: l5.html
In Postscript format: l5.ps
Here is the new version of the program to solve the Lane-Emden
equation. This one also calculates the root of the equation (i.e.
the radius at the surface of the star) using linear interpolation.
laneem2.for
Week 5: We introduce the concept of opacity and look
at the Equation of radiative transfer
In HTML format: l6.html
In Postscript format: l6.ps
Week 6: Population levels in atoms (Boltzmann
equation and Saha equation) and the strength of lines as a function
of temperature.
In HTML format: l7.html
In Postscript format: l7.ps
Week 7: We look at the sources of energy in the stars
-- the conversion of H to He and beyond -- and the means we have
to test this
energy source directly through solar neutrinos.
In HTML format: l8.html
In Postscript format: l8.ps
Week 8: Stellar models: we look at the methods
used to compute stellar models using the CUPS software.
Week 9: Stellar evolution : what happens after the stars
run out of Hydrogen in the core?
In HTML format: l10.html
In Postscript format: l10.ps
Some more resources:
The following lecture by Nick Strobel is an excellent introduction
to stellar evolution:
http://www.astronomynotes.com/evolutn/evolutna.htm
Here are some computed stellar evolutionary tracks and
a simulation program showing evolution as a function of stellar mass
List of stellar evolutionary models for stars of different
mass and composition
Detailed information from the original source
DOS code to simulate stellar evolution, using the models
above
Week 10: Stellar convection
In HTML format: l9.html
In Postscript format: l9.ps
Miscellaneous topics
Here are links to more on stellar clusters ,
supernovae and the future of the Sun, which
we covered in the second half of the lecture.
Clusters
Exercise: go to the web and find an open cluster
and a globular cluster. Find a colour magnitude diagram for
both and compare it with the model clusters in the lecture link above.
Argue for a young, medium or old age for each object.
Supernovae
Exercise: go to the web and find out about supernpva
1987A. Where was it, why was it special and what happened? Find
a light curve of the supernova (brightness as a fuction of time).
What was the time scale for the supernova light curve to fade? Why
this time scale --- what physical process is controlling the brightness
of the supernova after the explosion?
Solar future
Exercise: go to the paper in Astrophysical Journal
at this
web address
The paper is by
Sackmann, I.-Juliana, Boothroyd, Arnold I. and Kraemer,
Kathleen E., Astrophysical Journal, volume 418, page
457.
Find out more about the Solar future and the fate of the
Earth. The Sun is outputing more and more energy. When is the Sun expected
to extinguish life on Earth?
Week 11: Helioseismology and white dwarfs.
This week's lecture is from material published by
the Helio- and asteroseismology group at Aarhus University in Denmark.
Helioseismology
The 2nd half of the lecture was a discussion of an article
on white dwarfs in the December 2000 issue of
American Scientist