When: Fall 2013, TR 9:35-10:50pm
Where: Stevenson 2212
Textbook: "Stellar Interiors" by Hansen, Kawaler, & Trimble (Springer - second edition)
| Other helpful books: | "Stellar Structure and Evolution" by Kippenhahn & Weigert (Springer). |
| "Principles of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis" by Clayton (Chicago Press) |
Syllabus and Course Info: syllabus
Lecture Slides: slides
Week 1: August 22
| Topics: | The equations of stellar structure |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 1 |
| Links: | Solar Dynamic Observatory movies: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ |
Week 2: August 27 - 29
| Topics: | The equations of stellar structure, basic observations of stars, spectral classification. |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 1 |
| Assignment: |
Problem set #1 due Thursday, September 13: Problem Set 1
For the problem set, you will need these files: cluster.dat BV_filters.dat star1 star2 star10 star12 star13 |
Week 3: September 3-5
| Topics: | HR diagram, stellar populations, measuring stellar properties |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 1 |
Week 4: September 10-12
| Topics: | Measuring stellar properties, the Virial Theorem and applications |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 3 |
Week 5: September 17-19
| Topics: | Equations of State, Boltzmann and Saha equations. |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 3 |
| Assignment: | Problem set #2 due Thursday, October 3: Problem Set 2 |
Week 6: September 24-26
| Topics: | Boltzmann & Saha Equations, thermodynamics of gas. |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 3 |
Week 7: October 1-3
| Topics: | Polytropes, Radiative transfer |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 7, 4 |
| Assignment: | Problem set #3 due Thursday, October 17: Problem Set 3 |
Week 8: October 8
| Topics: | The Eddington limit, Opacity sources |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 4 |
Week 9: October 15-17
| Topics: | Convection |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 5 |
Week 10: October 22
| Topics: | Nuclear energy generation |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 6 |
| Assignment: |
Problem Set #4 due Thursday, October 31: Problem Set 4
For this problem set, you will need the OPAL opacity table for X=0.7,Y=0.28: OPAL_X0.7_Y0.28, as well as this file: stellar_profile.dat |
Week 11: October 29-31
| Topics: | Nuclear energy generation, Nuclear reactions |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 5, 6 |
Week 12: November 5-7
| Topics: | Nuclear reactions, Summary, Stellar models |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 6, 7 |
| Assignment: | Problem Set #5 due Tuesday, November 19: Problem Set 5 |
Week 13: November 12-14
| Topics: | Stellar models, star formation, and stellar evolution |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 2 |
| Links: | Movies of star formation simulations can be found at Matthew Bate's website |
Week 14: November 19-21
| Topics: | Stellar spectra, supernovae, massive stars |
| Reading: | |
| Assignment: | Final Project due Friday, December 13: Final Project |
Week 15: December 3-5
| Topics: | TBD, determining stellar ages |
| Reading: | HKT, chapter 2 |
--> Final Project due Friday, December 13: Final Project