Understanding Stellar Evolution

Understanding Stellar Evolution is based on a series of graduate-level courses taught at the University of Washington since 2004, and is written for physics and astronomy students and for anyone with a physics background who is interested in stars. It describes the structure and evolution of stars, with emphasis on the basic physical principles and the interplay between the different processes inside stars. Based on these principles, the evolution of low- and high-mass stars is explained from their formation to their death.

The physical effects described include nuclear reactions, energy transport, chemical mixing, pulsation, mass loss, and rotation. A short description of the evolution of interacting binaries is also included. Modern state-of-the-art evolution models that follow from these basic principles are compared with observations, providing a test for the understanding of the processes that occur inside stars. Where physical processes are complex, intuitive explanations are given in addition to the proper mathematical derivations, and simple figures are used to explain the key effects. In addition to homework exercises for each chapter, the text contains a large number of questions that are meant to stimulate the understanding of the physical principles. An extensive set of accompanying lecture slides is available for teachers in both Keynote® and PowerPoint® formats.