AST 301 — Unit Seven Outline

Prof. Paul R. Shapiro
Unit Seven: Stellar Evolution: The Birth, Life, and Death of the Stars

(1) Stellar Structure: Model of a Star at One "Snapshot" in Time
      (a) 4 Equations of Stellar Structure
      (b) Russell-Vogt Theorem
      (c) Explaining the Main Sequence

(2) Stellar Evolution: Follwoing the Changes of a Star from One "Snapshot" in Time to the Next

(3) Origin and Infancy of Stars
      (a) Where are stars born?
            (i) The Clue: Young stars and interstellar clouds
      (b) Why do stars form?
            (i) Star formation and gravitational instability in interstellar clouds
      (c) How do stars form?
            (i) The stages of collapse of a protostar
      (d) Last stage of a protostar
            (i) Hayashi Track
            (ii) Hayashi Forbidden Zone

(4) Limits of Main Sequence
      (a) range of masses which form stars

(5) Life on Main Sequence
      (a) ZAMS: Stars of different mass, same composition
      (b) 2 classes: Population I and II
      (c) lifetimes
      (d) evolution
      (e) Ages of clusters
      (f) Leaving the Main Sequence

(6) The Red Giant Stage
      (a) He Burning: "Triple Alpha" Process
      (b) Approaching the end: Carbon-Oxygen core, and beyond, up to Iron

(7) The Deaths of Stars
      (a) White Dwarfs
            (i) Degeneracy and Degeneracy Pressure
            (ii) Chandrasekhar Mass Limit
      (b) Mass Loss
            (i) Planetary Nebulae
            (ii) Supernovae
            (iii) Heavy Element Enrichment of Interstellar Medium
      (c) Mass Exchange in Binary Stars
            (i) Roche surface (or lobe, or limit)
            (ii) Age paradox in close binaries
            (iii) Novae: a binary with a white dwarf member

(8) Neutron Stars and Pulsars

(9) Black Holes		 link to outline
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