Hydrodynamics and stellar winds: An introduction, W. J. Maciel, 178pp, 2014, Springer (Springer)



Stellar winds are a common phenomenon in stars, from the dwarfs, like the Sun, to the hot supergiants, and including red giants with low surface temperatures. In fact, we can say that all stars lose mass during some periods of their lives, and the study of this phenomenon is one of the main aspects of modern astrophysics. Stellar winds are hydrodynamic phenomena involving the flow of circumstellar gases, so that the basic hydrodynamic concepts are directly applied in the study of the winds and of the mass loss from the stars. This little book aims at partially compensating for the lack of basic knowledge of the hydrodynamic principles of astrophysics students. It is not a complete course on hydrodynamics and stellar winds, but just an introduction to these important aspects of stellar physics. The present edition is a translation of the book originally published in Portuguese in 2005. A few mistakes have been corrected, the bibliography was updated, and several new examples and applications have been included, but the main goals of the original edition have been preserved.


CONTENTS

Preface
Chapter 1 - THE CONTINUITY EQUATION
Chapter 2 - THE EULER EQUATION
Chapter 3 - THE EQUATION OF STATE
Chapter 4 - THE ENERGY EQUATION
Chapter 5 - CARTESIAN TENSOR NOTATION
Chapter 6 - FLUID EQUATIONS IN TENSOR FORM
Chapter 7 - THE NAVIER-STOKES EQUATION
Chapter 8 - SOUND WAVES
Chapter 9 - SHOCK WAVES
Chapter 10 - STELLAR WINDS: AN OVERVIEW


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