Stellar Physics (ASTRON 160, 24Fall[undergrad])

General Info:

Goal of the class: Stars play a central role in astrophysics. They produce most of the light in the universe, synthesize most elements on the periodic table, make exotic compact objects, and are laboratories for astrophysicists. Any student who is interested in astronomy will encounter stellar physics to various degrees. This course will cover the relevant physics for stellar structure and evolution.
Prerequisite: statistical mechanics, fluid dynamics, quantum mechanics, and electromagnetism, but the course is more or less self-contained.
Required texts: A. C. Phillips (1993), D. Prialnik (2011), O. R. Pols (2011)
Grading: Homework 50%; Midterm exam 20%; Final exam 20%; Project Report 10%

Course Outline:

Intro (What is a star? What do we know about the Sun and other stars? How do we measure them? HR diagram)

Hydrostatic equilbrium (pressure, scale-height, dynamical timescale, virial theorem)

Equation of state (LTE, ideal gas, radiation, degenerate Fermi gas, T-rho diagram)

Radiative diffusion (sources of opacity, mean free path, optical depth, conduction, thermal timescale)

Atmosphere (Saha equation, spectral classification, negative hydrogen ion)

Convection (Schwarzschild criterion, convective energy flux, convective velocity, Hayashi line)

Polytrope (Lane-Emden equation, structure of white dwarfs, Chandrasekhar mass)

Nuclear fusion (quantum tunneling, S-factor, Gamow peak, reaction rate, nuclear timescale, pp chain, CNO cycle, triple-alpha)

Evolution (pre-main sequence, ZAMS, H-core/shell burning, Hertzsprung gap, He-core/shell burning, advanced burning, final fate, core-collapse supernovae)

Compact remnants (WD, NS, BH)

Star formation (ISM, molecular clouds, cooling, Jeans mass, evolution of proto-stars)