Syllabus for Ay123, Stellar Structure and Evolution, Fall 2005:


HKT=Hansen-Kawaler-Trimble
KW=Kippenhahn-Weigert

Week 1:	     Narrative overview of stellar structure and
	     evolution; equation of hydrostatic equilibrium
	     READING:  HKT, Chs 1-2;
	     Kippenhahn-Weigert Chs. 1-4; Chapters 3 and
	     5 in Binney and Merrifield's Galactic
	     Astronomy may also be useful.

Week 2:	     Introduction to basic equations of stellar
	     structure; homology relations; radiative and
	     conductive heat transport; opacities
	     READING:  HKT, Chapter 4;
	     Kippenhahn-Weigert, Chapters 5,9,17,20.

Week 3:	     Physics of stellar matter: equations of state,
	     thermodynamic properties.
	     READING:  HKT, Ch. 3;  KW, Chs. 13, 14, 15, 16

Week 4:	     convection, semi-convection, g-mode oscillations,
	     very basic pulsations; diffusion
	     READING: HKT, Ch. 5; KW, Chs. 6, 7, 8.2.2, 10.3, 22.3, 30.4

Week 5:	     nuclear reactions; atomic and isotopic abundances
	     READING:  HKT, Ch. 6; KW, Ch 18

Week 6:	     advanced stages of nucleosynthesis; construction of
	     stellar models, numerical methods,
	     the role of boundary conditions, stellar atmospheres
	     READING: Clayton, Ch 7; HKT, Ch. 7; KW, Ch 10, 11,
	     19, 21.

Week 7:	     structure and evolution of low-mass stars, and
	     applications
	     READING:  HKT, Ch. 9; KW, Chs. 22--33 (i.e., 12
	     chapters; its a lot, but you should at least browse
	     to be familiar with what's discussed, even if you
	     don't absorb all of it in detail).


Week 8:	     Structure and evolution of high-mass stars;
	     supernovae.  the kappa mechanism and the
	     instability strip.
	     READING:  HKT Ch. 9; KW Chs. 34, 36, 38, 39

Week 9:	     Pop III (the first) stars
	     READING:  the papers in homework 8; KW, Chs 41-43
	     (we won't really cover rotating stars in class, but
	     you should at least be familiar with what's
	     discussed in these chapters)

Week 10:     interacting binaries.  roche lobe, stability of
	     mass transfer, accretion disks.
	     READING:  the papers in homework 8.  also, the book,
	     "Interacting Binary Stars," by Pringle and Wade
	     (Cambridge U. Press, 1985) is a good reference.



Updated 9/27/05