Stars & Stellar evolution

The diverse forms that stars assume in the course of their lives can all be
derived from the initial conditions : the mass and the original chemical
composition. In this textbook Stars and Stellar Evolution the basic concepts
of stellar structure and the main roads of stellar evolution are described.
First, the observable parameters are presented, which are based on the
radiation emerging from a stellar atmosphere. Then the basic physics is
described, such as the physics of gases, radiation transport, and nuclear
processes, followed by essential aspects of modelling the structure of stars.
After a chapter on star formation, the various steps in the evolution of stars
are presented. This leads us to brown dwarfs, to the way a star changes into
the red-giant state and numerous other stages of evolution and ultimately to
the stellar ashes such as white dwarfs, supernovae and neutron stars. Stellar
winds, stellar rotation and convection all influence the way a star evolves.
The evolution of binary stars is included by using several canonical examples
in which interactive processes lead to X-ray binaries and supernovae of type
Ia. Finally, the consequences of the study of stellar evolution are tied to
observed mass and luminosity functions and to the overall evolution of matter
in the universe. The authors aim at reaching an understanding of stars and
their evolution by both graduate students and astronomers who are not
themselves investigating stars. To that end, numerous graphs and sketches,
among which the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is the dominant one, help trace
the ways of stellar evolution. Ample references to specialised review articles
as well as to relevant research papers are included.