Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars
Author: Harm J. Habing
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 578
Release: 2004
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780387008806

This book deals with stars during a short episode before they undergo a ma jor, and fatal, transition. Soon the star will stop releasing nudear energy, it will become a planetary nebula for abrief but poetic moment, and then it will turn into a white dwarf and slowly fade out of sight. Just before this dramatic change begins the star has reached the highest luminosity and the largest diameter in its existence, and while it is a star detectable in galaxies beyond the Local Group, its structure contains already the inconspicuous white dwarf it will become. It is called an "asymptotic giant branch star" or "AGB star". Over the last 30 odd years AGB stars have become a topic of their own although individual members of this dass had already been studied for cen turies without realizing what they were. In the early evolution, so called "E-AGB"-phase, the stars are a bit bluer than, but otherwise very similar to, what are now called red giant branch stars (RGB stars). It is only in the sec ond half of their anyhow brief existence that AGB stars differ fundamentally from RGB stars.

Earth's Oldest Rocks

Earth's Oldest Rocks
Author: Martin J. Van Kranendonk
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 1331
Release: 2007-10-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080552471

Earth's Oldest Rocks provides a comprehensive overview of all aspects of early Earth, from planetary accretion through to development of protocratons with depleted lithospheric keels by c. 3.2 Ga, in a series of papers written by over 50 of the world's leading experts. The book is divided into two chapters on early Earth history, ten chapters on the geology of specific cratons, and two chapters on early Earth analogues and the tectonic framework of early Earth. Individual contributions address topics that range from planetary accretion, a review of Earth meteorites, significance and composition of Hadean protocrust, composition of Archaean mantle and deep crust, all aspects of the geology of Paleoarchean cratons, composition of Archean oceans and hydrothermal environments, evidence and geological settings of early life, early Earth analogues from Venus and New Zealand, and a tectonic framework for early Earth.* Contains comprehensive reviews of areas of ancient lithosphere on Earth, of planetary accretion processes, and of meteorites* Focuses on specific aspects of early Earth, including oldest putative life forms, evidence of the composition of the ancient atmosphere-hydrosphere, and the oldest evidence for subduction-accretion* Presents an overview of geological processes and model of the tectonic framework on early Earth

Stellar Populations

Stellar Populations
Author: Colin A. Norman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1986
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780521333801

A comprehensive survey of stellar populations traces them from initial mass function and star formation histories through the chemical history of galaxies and their observed evolution.

Astronomy with Radioactivities

Astronomy with Radioactivities
Author: Roland Diehl
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 577
Release: 2010-10-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642126979

This book introduces the reader to the field of nuclear astrophysics, i.e. the acquisition and reading of measurements on unstable isotopes in different parts of the universe. The authors explain the role of radioactivities in astrophysics, discuss specific sources of cosmic isotopes and in which special regions they can be observed. More specifically, the authors address stars of different types, stellar explosions which terminate stellar evolutions, and other explosions triggered by mass transfers and instabilities in binary stars. They also address nuclear reactions and transport processes in interstellar space, in the contexts of cosmic rays and of chemical evolution. A special chapter is dedicated to the solar system which even provides material samples. The book also contains a description of key tools which astrophysicists employ in those particular studies and a glossary of key terms in astronomy with radioactivities.

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars
Author: Harm J. Habing
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 566
Release: 2013-04-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1475738765

The underlying astrophysical mechanisms of the objects known as asymptotic giant branch stars - the structures that occur during the dramatic period prior to a star's death - is the main theme of this text. Over the past three decades, asymptotic giant branch stars have become a topic of their own, and the contributions to this volume all focus on these entities themselves, rather than their connections to other fields of astronomy. Among the many topics covered are new methods of high- quality infrared observation and the more detailed and realistic simulations made possible by increasingly fast computers. This collection should be useful to graduate students who work in the field, teachers who want to address the subject in their courses, and to astronomers from various backgrounds who are interested in the astrophysics of AGB stars.

Understanding Stellar Evolution

Understanding Stellar Evolution
Author: Henny J. G. L. M. Lamers
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2018-02-28
Genre: Stars
ISBN: 9780750312790

'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 such as nuclear reactions, energy transport, chemical mixing, pulsation, mass loss, and rotation. Based on these principles, the evolution of low- and high-mass stars is explained from their formation to their death. 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(R) and PowerPoint(R) formats.

Nuclei in the Cosmos XV

Nuclei in the Cosmos XV
Author: Alba Formicola
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 495
Release: 2019-08-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030138763

These peer-reviewed NIC XV conference proceedings present the latest major advances in nuclear physics, astrophysics, astronomy, cosmochemistry and neutrino physics, which provide the necessary framework for a microscopic understanding of astrophysical processes. The book also discusses future directions and perspectives in the various fields of nuclear astrophysics research. In addition, it also includes a limited number of section of more general interest on double beta decay and dark matter.

Stellar Structure and Evolution

Stellar Structure and Evolution
Author: Rudolf Kippenhahn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642615236

A complete and comprehensive treatment of the physics of the stellar interior and the underlying fundamental processes and parameters. The text presents an overview of the models developed to explain the stability, dynamics and evolution of the stars, and great care is taken to detail the various stages in a star's life. The authors have succeeded in producing a unique text based on their own pioneering work in stellar modeling. Since its publication, this textbook has come to be considered a classic by both readers and teachers in astrophysics. This study edition is intended for students in astronomy and physics alike.

Evolution of Stars and Stellar Populations

Evolution of Stars and Stellar Populations
Author: Maurizio Salaris
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2005-12-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780470092224

Evolution of Stars and Stellar Populations is a comprehensive presentation of the theory of stellar evolution and its application to the study of stellar populations in galaxies. Taking a unique approach to the subject, this self-contained text introduces first the theory of stellar evolution in a clear and accessible manner, with particular emphasis placed on explaining the evolution with time of observable stellar properties, such as luminosities and surface chemical abundances. This is followed by a detailed presentation and discussion of a broad range of related techniques, that are widely applied by researchers in the field to investigate the formation and evolution of galaxies. This book will be invaluable for undergraduates and graduate students in astronomy and astrophysics, and will also be of interest to researchers working in the field of Galactic, extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. comprehensive presentation of stellar evolution theory introduces the concept of stellar population and describes "stellar population synthesis" methods to study ages and star formation histories of star clusters and galaxies presents stellar evolution as a tool for investigating the evolution of galaxies and of the universe in general

Why Galaxies Care about AGB Stars (IAU S343)

Why Galaxies Care about AGB Stars (IAU S343)
Author: Franz Kerschbaum
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2019-09-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781108471527

Stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB stars) play an important role due to their high luminosity and production of heavy elements and cosmic dust. They are prime laboratories for studying situations where different physical and chemical processes work simultaneously, on different time scales. IAU Symposium 343 builds a bridge between research on AGB stars themselves and their applications to the modelling of stellar populations and the chemical evolution of galaxies. Our understanding of these complex stars is given using insights into many aspects of physics and chemistry, while very high-angular resolution observations of AGB stars and their surroundings provide strong constraints on stellar theory and how they lose matter through strong stellar winds. This volume also highlights the difficulties in estimating the importance of AGB stars for various aspects of galaxies. Current developments and challenges of these complex objects are discussed for a broad, interdisciplinary audience of astronomers.