ASTR 498N Stellar Structure & Evolution PaperPage
Course paper 5–6 pages, handwritten equations OK.
Due: Tu May 21
Goal: Explore and report on a limited topic in stellar structure and evolution using a couple of papers in the research literature. Some possibilities are listed below, but you are not limited to these. Please discuss your plan with me.
Some of the papers below are “classic/update” twins. Aim to explain what was important about the original paper and what has changed (or not) since then.
Some of the papers are didactic. Look for the essential physical points.
Scientific writing is still writing: make sure that you say something, clearly.
· "Synthesis of the Elements in Stars" (Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler & Hoyle, 1957, Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 547). An all-time classic (long). Update: "The r-, s-, and p-Processes in Nucleosynthesis" (Meyers, 1994, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 32, 153).
· Analytic/OofM models of stellar structure. "Solar structure without computers" (Clayton, 1986, Am. J. Phys. 54, 354). "Order-of-magnitude 'theory' of stellar evolution" (Greenstein, 1987, Am. J. Phys. 55, 804). "A polytropic model of the Sun" (Hendry, 1993, Am. J. Phys. 61, 906). Hendry’s paper is a variation on classical Lane-Emden models discussed in texts, but Clayton’s paper is different and instructive.
· Why (“really”) does a star become a red giant? "The transformation of a main sequence star into a red-giant star" (Hauptmann, Herrmann & Schmidt, 2000, Am. J. Phys. 68, 421). "A simple way to assess the structure of red giants" (Celnikier, 1990, Am. J. Phys. 58, 169).
· "The Luminosity Function and Stellar Evolution" (Salpeter, 1955, Ap. J. 121,161). Another classic. Update: "The stellar initial mass function: constraints from young clusters, and theoretical perspectives" (Meyer et al., 2000, Protostars & Planets IV, ed. Mannings, Boss & Russell, U. Arizona Press).
· "Tests of evolutionary sequences using color-magnitude diagrams of globular clusters" (Renzini & Fusi Pecci 1988, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 26, 199). Recent update addressing theoretical uncertainties: "Red giant branch stars: the theoretical framework" (Salaris, Cassisi & Weiss, 2002, astro-ph eprint).
· The solar neutrino problem. "How uncertain are solar neutrino predictions?" (Bahcall, Basu & Pinsonneault, 1998, Phys. Lett. B 433, 128). "High energy physics: neutrinos reveal split personalities" (Bahcall, 2001, Nature 412, 29). Also see the new Sudbury Neutrino Observatory link below.
Astrophysics Data System (online journal articles)
Solar neutrinos definitely change flavor! (Sudbury neutrino observatory)