Mass Loss and Evolution of O-Type Stars


Book Description

The organization of this Symposium had its beginnings at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Grenoble in 1976. The initial "rounding up" of the Scienti fic Organizing Committee was begun by Drs. Snow and Swings; most of us who became the eventual organizing committee met a few times during the Assembly and formulated the essential outlines of the meeting. Extensive correspondence with all the committee subsequently established the program. The idea was to bring together both observers and theoreticians to discuss the stellar winds and mass loss rates and their effects on evolutions of O-type stars. On the observational side, there are now spectroscopic data from the far UV to the near IR regions concerning the stellar winds. There is also information about the free-free emission in the wind from the IR and radio portions of the spectrum. Fortunately, these different detection methods give more or less the same mass loss rate for the one star, s Pup" which has been observed at all wavelengths. One of the intents of the first three sessions of this Symposium is to outline the eXisting data on mass loss rates as it per tains to the O-type stars.




The Galaxies of the Local Group


Book Description

The Local Group is a small cluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way. At least half of all galaxies in the Universe are thought to belong to similar groups. This authoritative volume provides a comprehensive synthesis of what is known about the Local Group. It begins with a summary of each member galaxy, as well as those galaxies previously regarded as possible members. The book examines the mass, stability and evolution of the Local Group as a whole and includes many important previously unpublished results and conclusions. With clarity, Professor van den Bergh provides a masterful summary of all that is known about the galaxies of the Local Group and their evolution, and expertly places this knowledge in the wider context of on-going studies of galaxy formation and evolution, the cosmic distance scale, and the conditions in the early Universe.




Wolf-Rayet Stars: Observations, Physics, Evolution


Book Description

Proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 99, held at Cozumel, Mexico, September 18-22, 1981




New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics


Book Description

Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. Based on a broad and comprehensive survey of scientific opportunities, infrastructure, and organization in a national and international context, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics outlines a plan for ground- and space- based astronomy and astrophysics for the decade of the 2010's. Realizing these scientific opportunities is contingent upon maintaining and strengthening the foundations of the research enterprise including technological development, theory, computation and data handling, laboratory experiments, and human resources. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics proposes enhancing innovative but moderate-cost programs in space and on the ground that will enable the community to respond rapidly and flexibly to new scientific discoveries. The book recommends beginning construction on survey telescopes in space and on the ground to investigate the nature of dark energy, as well as the next generation of large ground-based giant optical telescopes and a new class of space-based gravitational observatory to observe the merging of distant black holes and precisely test theories of gravity. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics recommends a balanced and executable program that will support research surrounding the most profound questions about the cosmos. The discoveries ahead will facilitate the search for habitable planets, shed light on dark energy and dark matter, and aid our understanding of the history of the universe and how the earliest stars and galaxies formed. The book is a useful resource for agencies supporting the field of astronomy and astrophysics, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over those agencies, the scientific community, and the public.




Effects of Mass Loss on Stellar Evolution


Book Description

The IAU Colloquium No. 59, "The effects of mass loss on Stellar Evolution" was held on September 15-19, 1980 at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Miramare, Trieste (Italy), under the auspices of the IAU Executive Co~ mittee and the Italian National Council of Research. The planning of this conference began two years ago du ring the IAU Symposium No. 83 "Mass loss and evolution of 0 type stars" (Qualicum Beach, Victoria, Canada) when we felt that mass loss and its effects on the evolution of stars was too broad a subject for being confined to 0 type stars only. Therefore we thought that a conference dealing with the general problem of mass loss across the whole HR diagram would have been of interest to all people working in the field. The main idea was that bringing together Astronomers and Astrophysicists of the widest range of interests and e~ pertize - all in some way related to the problem of mass loss from stars - would have spurred thorough discussions on the many aspects and implications of this topic. We hope this goal has been achieved. Furthermore, the most recent observational and theoreti cal developments on the problem of mass loss from early ty pe stars avoided this meeting to be a simple updating of the Qualicum Beach Symposium as far as this issue is concerned.




Understanding Stellar Evolution


Book Description

'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.




Ultraviolet Astronomy and the Quest for the Origin of Life


Book Description

Ultraviolet Astronomy and the Quest for the Origin of Life addresses the use of astronomical observations in the ultraviolet range to better understand the generation of complex, life-precursor molecules. The origin of RNA is still under debate but seems to be related to the generation of pools of complex organic molecules submitted to heavy cycles of solution in water and drying. This book investigates whether these cycles require a planetary surface or may occur in space by examining both the theoretical and observational aspects of the role of UV radiation in the origin of life. This book offers the latest advances in these studies for astronomers, astrobiologists and planetary scientists. - Addresses both the theoretical and observational aspects of the role of Ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the origin of life - Builds on the requirements to produce prebiotic molecules in space and the implications for the origin of RNA - Investigates the use of ultraviolet observations related to planetary system formation, the evolution of young planetary disks, and the interaction of stars with planetary atmospheres




Introduction to Stellar Winds


Book Description

The first comprehensive introduction to the observations and theories of stellar winds; a long-awaited graduate textbook, written by two founders of the field.




Astronomy with Radioactivities


Book Description

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


Book Description

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.