Astrophysics and Cosmology

From Starlight to the Dark Universe in 20 chapters — from “Magnitudes, colours and the distance ladder” to “Dark matter: dynamical and lensing evidence, candidates and detection”.

Chapters

  1. Magnitudes, colours and the distance ladder
    • Trigonometric parallax and the parsec
    • Radiant flux, luminosity and the inverse square law
    • Apparent magnitude
    • Absolute magnitude and the distance modulus
    • Colour index and effective temperature
    • Standard candles and the cosmic distance ladder
    • Problems
  2. Telescopes, detectors and multiwavelength observing
    • Light-gathering power and the aperture
    • Angular resolution and the diffraction limit
    • Focal length and plate scale
    • Detectors, photon counting and signal-to-noise
    • Spectrograph and spectral resolution
    • Atmospheric windows and the multiwavelength sky
    • Problems
  3. Kepler's laws and the two-body problem
    • The ellipse and the orbital elements
    • Kepler's three laws as observed facts
    • Reduced mass and the relative orbit
    • Kepler's third law with both masses
    • Areal velocity and angular momentum
    • Orbital energy and the vis-viva equation
    • Problems
  4. Binary stars and the masses and radii of stars
    • Masses from a visual binary
    • The radial velocity curve
    • The mass function and the inclination problem
    • The eclipsing binary light curve
    • The mass-luminosity relation
    • Problems
  5. Planetary systems and the detection of exoplanets
    • The solar nebula and the protoplanetary disc
    • The condensation sequence and the snow line
    • Planetesimal growth and core accretion
    • Radial velocity detection of planets
    • The transit method
    • Direct imaging and the exoplanet census
    • Equilibrium temperature and the habitable zone
    • Problems
  6. Atomic spectra and the classification of stellar spectra
    • Kirchhoff's laws and the three kinds of spectrum
    • The Harvard spectral sequence O B A F G K M
    • The Boltzmann equation for level populations
    • The Saha equation for ionisation balance
    • Why the Balmer lines peak at A0
    • The Morgan-Keenan luminosity classes
    • Abundances and metallicity
    • Problems
  7. The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the life cycle of a star
    • Building the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
    • The main sequence as a mass sequence
    • Lines of constant radius
    • Spectroscopic parallax
    • The colour-magnitude diagram of a star cluster
    • Life cycles on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
    • Problems
  8. Radiative transfer and the physics of stellar atmospheres
    • Specific intensity and flux
    • Opacity and the photon mean free path
    • Optical depth
    • The source function and the equation of radiative transfer
    • The grey atmosphere and the photosphere
    • Limb darkening
    • How absorption lines form in depth
    • Sources of opacity and the H-minus ion
    • Problems
  9. Hydrostatic equilibrium and the stellar structure equations
    • Hydrostatic equilibrium
    • The mass continuity equation and the central pressure
    • The mean molecular weight
    • The virial theorem and negative heat capacity
    • The Kelvin-Helmholtz timescale
    • Radiation pressure and the Eddington limit
    • The radiative temperature gradient
    • Convection and the Schwarzschild criterion
    • The four structure equations and the mass-luminosity relation
    • Problems
  10. Thermonuclear energy generation and the nucleosynthesis of the elements
    • Binding energy and the energy released by fusion
    • The nuclear timescale
    • The Coulomb barrier and the temperature problem
    • Quantum tunnelling and the Gamow factor
    • The Gamow peak and the temperature sensitivity of fusion
    • The proton-proton chain
    • The CNO cycle
    • Helium burning and the triple-alpha process
    • Advanced burning stages and the iron peak
    • Problems
  11. The Sun: interior model, neutrinos, atmosphere and magnetic activity
    • The standard solar model
    • Helioseismology and the sound speed
    • The solar neutrino problem and its resolution
    • The photosphere and granulation
    • The chromosphere, the corona and the temperature inversion
    • The solar wind
    • Magnetic pressure, sunspots and the solar cycle
    • Flares, coronal mass ejections and space weather
    • Problems
  12. Main-sequence and post-main-sequence evolution and the ages of star clusters
    • Pre-main-sequence contraction
    • Why the main sequence is a mass sequence
    • Slow evolution on the main sequence
    • Hydrogen exhaustion, shell burning and the mirror principle
    • Why giants are giant: the red giant branch
    • The helium flash and core helium burning
    • Planetary nebulae and the formation of a white dwarf
    • The evolution of massive stars
    • Isochrones and the ages of star clusters
    • Problems
  13. White dwarfs and degenerate matter
    • The observed properties of white dwarfs
    • Electron degeneracy pressure
    • The mass-radius relation of white dwarfs
    • Relativistic degeneracy and the Chandrasekhar limit
    • White dwarf cooling and the age of the Galactic disc
    • Gravitational redshift as a check on the mass-radius relation
    • Problems
  14. The deaths of massive stars: core collapse, supernovae and their remnants
    • The classification of supernovae
    • The collapse of an iron core
    • Bounce, neutrinos and the energy budget
    • Supernova 1987A
    • The Type Ia supernova: an exploding white dwarf
    • The radioactive light curve
    • Explosive nucleosynthesis and the site of the r process
    • Supernova remnants and the Sedov phase
    • Problems
  15. Neutron stars, pulsars and black holes
    • The neutron star and neutron degeneracy
    • Pulsars as rotating neutron stars
    • Spin and magnetic field from conservation in collapse
    • Spin-down, characteristic age and the magnetic field
    • Black holes and the Schwarzschild radius
    • Accretion power and the Eddington limit
    • The census of compact remnants
    • Problems
  16. Phases of the interstellar medium and the birth of stars
    • The phases of the interstellar medium
    • Interstellar dust: extinction and reddening
    • The 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen
    • HII regions and the Stromgren sphere
    • Molecular clouds
    • The Jeans mass and gravitational collapse
    • Protostars and the cycle of star formation
    • Problems
  17. The Milky Way: populations, structure, rotation and the Galactic centre
    • The structure of the Milky Way
    • Stellar populations
    • Differential rotation and the tangent-point method
    • The rotation curve and the enclosed mass
    • Dark matter and the dark halo
    • Spiral structure
    • The Galactic centre and its black hole
    • Problems
  18. Galaxies: morphology, photometry and dynamical scaling relations
    • The Hubble sequence of galaxy morphology
    • The recession velocities of galaxies
    • Surface brightness and galaxy photometry
    • Rotation curves of spiral galaxies
    • The Tully-Fisher relation
    • Velocity dispersion in elliptical galaxies
    • Clusters of galaxies and the virial mass
    • Problems
  19. The expanding universe, the cosmological principle and Olbers' paradox
    • Hubble's law
    • The Hubble time and the age of the universe
    • The cosmological principle
    • The scale factor and cosmological redshift
    • Olbers' paradox
    • The cosmic microwave background
    • The critical density and the density parameter
    • Problems
  20. Dark matter: dynamical and lensing evidence, candidates and detection
    • Dynamical evidence for dark matter
    • Gravitational lensing
    • The Bullet Cluster
    • The baryon budget: dark matter is not atoms
    • What the dark matter must be and the candidates
    • Direct detection
    • Indirect and collider searches
    • The mass ladder from stars to the universe
    • Problems