Introduction to stellar structure, W. J. Maciel, 230pp, 2015, Springer (Springer)



In the first part of this book, the author presents the basic properties of the stellar interior and describes them thoroughly, along with deriving the main stellar structure equations of temperature, density, pressure and luminosity, among others. The process and application of solving these equations is explained, as well as linking these results with actual observations. The second part of the text describes what happens to a star over time and how to determine this by solving the same equations at different points during a star’s lifetime. The fate of various stars is quite different depending on their masses and this is described in the final parts of the book. This text can be used for an upper level undergraduate course or an introductory graduate course on stellar physics. The present edition is a translation of the book originally published in 1999. A few mistakes have been corrected, the bibliography was updated, and several new examples and applications have been included, as well as the solutions of the problems, but the main goals of the original edition have been preserved.


CONTENTS

Preface
Chapter 1 - PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE STARS
Chapter 2 - PHYSICAL CONDITIONS IN THE STELLAR INTERIOR
Chapter 3 - THE ELECTRON GAS
Chapter 4 - THE PHOTON GAS
Chapter 5 - ADIABATIC PROCESSES IN THE STELLAR INTERIOR
Chapter 6 - POLYTROPES
Chapter 7 - RADIATIVE EQUILIBRIUM
Chapter 8 - OPACITY
Chapter 9 - ELECTRON CONDUCTION
Chapter 10 - CONVECTION
Chapter 11 - THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
Chapter 12 - ENERGY PRODUCTION
Chapter 13 - CALCULATION OF THE STELLAR STRUCTURE


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