syllabus

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2.  the observed properties of stars
   
   
   1. introduction
   2. observable properties of stars
   3. the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
   4. the mass-luminosity relation
   5. clusters of stars
   
   
3.   the equations of stellar structure
   
   
   1. introduction
   2. timescales
   3. equation of hydrostatic support
   4. equation of mass conservation
   5. accuracy of hydrostatic assumption
   6. validity of spherical symmetry assumption
   7. minimum value for central pressure of a star
   8. virial theorem
   9. minimum mean temperature of a star
   10. state of stellar material
   11. energy generation
   12. equation of energy production
   13. energy transport
   14. convection
   15. equation of radiative transport
   16. solving the equations of stellar structure
   
   
4.   the physics of stellar interiors
   
   
   1. introduction
   2. equation of state of an ideal gas
   3. mean molecular weight
   4. equation of state of a degenerate gas
   5. opacity
   6. approximate form for opacity
   7. energy release from nuclear reactions
   8. occurrence of fusion reactions
   9. hydrogen and helium burning
   10. approximate form for energy release
   
   
5.   the structure of main-sequence stars
   
   
   1. introduction
   2. homologous stellar models
   3. the M-L and L-T_erelations
   4. polytropes
   5. solving the lane-emden equation
   6. detailed stellar models
   
   
6.   the evolution of stars
   
   
   1. introduction
   2. the evolution of low-mass stars
   3. the evolution of high-mass stars
   4. removed from course: white dwarfs
   5. removed from course: neutron stars
   6. removed from course: black holes
   7. removed from course: the lives of binary stars

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©Vik Dhillon, 25th September 2013