Research Catalog

Title

Fundamentals of astrophysics / Stan Owocki, University of Delaware.

Author

Owocki, Stan

Publication

• Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2021.
• ©2021

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xiv, 290 pages : illustrations (chiefly color); 26 cm

Summary

"This concise textbook, designed specifically for a one-semester course in astrophysics, introduces astrophysical concepts to undergraduate science and engineering students with a background in college-level, calculus-based physics. The text is organized into five parts covering: stellar properties; stellar structure and evolution; the interstellar medium and star/planet formation; the MilkyWay and other galaxies; and cosmology. Structured around short easily digestible chapters, instructors have flexibility to adjust their course's emphasis as it suits them. Exposition drawn from the author's decade of teaching his course guides students toward a basic but quantitative understanding, with "quick questions" to spur practice in basic computations, together with more challenging multipart exercises at the end of each chapter. Advanced concepts such as the quantum nature of energy and radiation are developed as needed. The text's approach and level bridges the wide gap between introductory astronomy texts for nonscience majors and advanced undergraduate texts for astrophysics majors"--

Subject

• Astrophysics
• SCIENCE / Physics / Astrophysics

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Preface -- Part I. Stellar properties. 1. Introduction -- 2. Astronomical distances -- 3. Stellar luminosity -- 4. Surface temperature from a star's color -- 5. Stellar radius from luminosity and temperature -- 6. Composition and ionization from stellar spectra -- 7. Surface gravity and escape/orbital speed -- 8. Stellar ages and lifetimes -- 9. Stellar space velocities -- 10. Using binary systems to determine masses and radii -- 11. Stellar rotation -- 12. Light intensity and absorption -- 13. Observational methods -- 14. Our sun -- Part II. Stellar structure and evolution. 15. Hydrostatic balance between pressure and gravity -- 16. Transport of radiation from interior to surface -- 17. Structure of radiative versus convective stellar envelopes -- 18. Hydrogen fusion and the mass range of stars -- 19. Post-main-sequence evolution: low-mass stars -- 20. Post-main-sequence evolution: high-mass stars -- Part III. Interstellar medium and formation of stars and planets. 21. The interstellar medium -- 22. Star formation -- 23. Origin of planetary systems -- 24. Water planet Earth -- 25. Extra-solar planets -- Part IV. Our Milky Way and other galaxies. 26. Our Milky Way galaxy -- 27. External galaxies -- 28. Active galactic nuclei and quasars -- 29. Large-scale structure and galaxy formation and evolution -- Part V. Cosmology. 30. Newtonian dynamical model of universe expansion -- 31. Accelerating universe with a cosmological constant -- 32. The hot big bang -- 33. Eras in the evolution of the universe -- Appendix A. Atomic energy levels and transitions -- Appendix B. Equilibrium excitation and ionization balance -- Appendix C. Atomic origins of opacity -- Appendix D. Radiative transfer -- Index.

ISBN

• 9781108844390
• 1108844391
• 9781108948128
• 110894812X
• 9781108951012 (canceled/invalid)
• 9781108952828 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

• 2021012367
• 99989491249

OCLC

• on1240305566
• 1240305566
• SCSB-14032569

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries