Principles of astrophysics: using gravity and stellar physics to explore the cosmos PDF
Preview Principles of astrophysics: using gravity and stellar physics to explore the cosmos
Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics Charles Keeton Principles of Astrophysics Using Gravity and Stellar Physics to Explore the Cosmos Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics Forfurthervolumes: http://www.springer.com/series/8917 UndergraduateLectureNotesinPhysics(ULNP)publishesauthoritativetextscov- eringtopicsthroughoutpureandappliedphysics.Eachtitleintheseriesissuitable as a basis for undergraduate instruction, typically containing practice problems, workedexamples,chaptersummaries,andsuggestionsforfurtherreading. ULNPtitlesmustprovideatleastoneofthefollowing: • Anexceptionallyclearandconcisetreatmentofastandardundergraduatesubject. (cid:129) A solid undergraduate-level introduction to a graduate, advanced, or non- standardsubject. (cid:129) Anovelperspectiveoranunusualapproachtoteachingasubject. ULNPespeciallyencouragesnew,original,andidiosyncraticapproachestophysics teachingattheundergraduatelevel. ThepurposeofULNPisto provideintriguing,absorbingbooksthatwillcontinue tobethereader’spreferredreferencethroughouttheiracademiccareer. Series Editors NeilAshby ProfessorEmeritus,UniversityofColorado,Boulder,CO,USA WilliamBrantley Professor,FurmanUniversity,Greenville,SC,USA MichaelFowler Professor,UniversityofVirginia,Charlottesville,VA,USA MichaelInglis Professor,SUNYSuffolkCountyCommunityCollege,Selden,NY,USA HeinzKlose Oldenburg,Niedersachsen,Germany HelmySherif ProfessorEmeritus,UniversityofAlberta,Edmonton,AB,Canada Charles Keeton Principles of Astrophysics Using Gravity and Stellar Physics to Explore the Cosmos 123 CharlesKeeton DepartmentofPhysicsandAstronomy RutgersUniversity Piscataway,NJ,USA ISSN2192-4791 ISSN2192-4805(electronic) ISBN978-1-4614-9235-1 ISBN978-1-4614-9236-8(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-1-4614-9236-8 SpringerNewYorkHeidelbergDordrechtLondon LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014935057 ©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaNewYork2014 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof thematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation, broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerptsinconnection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’slocation,initscurrentversion,andpermissionforusemustalwaysbeobtainedfromSpringer. PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter.Violations areliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with respecttothematerialcontainedherein. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) To myparents,who helpedmefind mypath Preface Thisbookisdesignedtoshowhowphysicalprinciplescanbeusedattheadvanced undergraduate level to understand astronomical systems such as planets, stars, galaxies,andtheuniverseasawhole.ItemergesfromapairofcoursesatRutgers Universitythatattractnotjustastrophysicsstudentsbutabroadaudienceofphysics andengineeringstudents.Theorganizationistherefore“physics-first”:westartwith keyprinciplesofphysicsandthenexamineapplicationstoastronomicalsystems. AtRutgers,eachhalfofthebookconstitutesacoherentsemester-lengthcourse; while there is a little overlap (notably with cosmology in Chaps.11 and 20), the two halves are largely independent and complementary. Part I focuses on gravity, because this is the dominant force in many astronomical systems and it governsmanytypesofmotionsweobserve.ThegoalofChaps.2–11istodevelop a progressively richer understanding of gravity and the way astrophysicists use gravitationalmotiontoinvestigatemass. PartIIcentersononeofthe“bigquestions”wehumansask.Whyarewehere?is admittedlybeyondtherealmofphysics,butarelatedquestioniswithinourreach: How did we come to be here? As the Sun was forming, various elements came togetherintherightcombinationtoformarockyplanetwithatenuousatmosphere. On thisplanetEarth,the energyfromthe Sunandthe gasin theatmospherewere justrighttoallowtheemergenceoflife.Theenergythatsustainsusoriginatesdeep insideourstar,thankstoE Dmc2.Theatomsthatcompriseourbodieswereforged inpreviousgenerationsofstars.Literally,wearestardust.ThegoalofChaps.12–20 istounderstandtherolesthatelectromagnetismaswellasgas,atomic,andnuclear physicsplayinthisremarkablestory. I hopethisbookwillhelpyoulearntothinklikean astrophysicist.Rather than memorizingfacts aboutspecific astronomicalsystems, youwill learn to breakthe systems into pieces you can analyze and understand using material that should be familiarfromintroductoryphysicsandvectorcalculus.(The necessaryphysics topics are reviewed as they arise; vital aspects of vector calculus are reviewed in AppendixA.)Then youwillbeequippedtoinvestigateinterestingsystemsthatyou vii viii Preface encounter in the future, even if they are not addressed in this book. Astrophysics isadynamicfieldofresearch—andoneinwhichyoucanunderstandthephysical principlesthatunderlieeventhenewestdiscoveries.Solet’shavefun! Piscataway ChuckKeeton December2013 Acknowledgements “Nobookisanisland,entireofitself.”ThatisnotwhatJohnDonneactuallywrote, but it could have been. It is certainly apt here. This book would not exist in its presentformwithoutthehelpofmanypeople. ArthurKosowskyoriginallydevelopedthestructurefortheastrophysicscourses atRutgers,whichisreflectedinthemakeupofthisbook.SaurabhJha,EricGawiser, andJohnMoustakashavetaughtfromthismaterialatvariousstagesofdevelopment, andprovidedcriticalfeedback.Allcontributedideasforhomeworkproblems;and many rounds of students have (perhaps to their chagrin) field-tested a lot of the problems.TheRutgersDepartmentofPhysicsandAstronomy,andinparticularthe astrophysicsgroup,hasprovidedanenvironmentwhereexcellenceinresearchand teachingarebothencouragedandsupported. ArtCongdon,AllanMoser,ErikNordgren,BarnabyRowe,andTimJoneshave done yeomen’swork with the manuscript.They providedextensive and insightful comments throughout the drafting process, catching everything from typos to muddledthinking.Allremainingerrorsaremyfault,nottheirs! Manyresearchershavegraciouslyletmeuseimagesandfigurestoillustratethe material.Theyaretoonumeroustolisthere,butarecreditedinthefigurecaptions. A numberof bookshave contributedto my own learning,buttwo in particular standout.AnIntroductiontoModernAstrophysicsbyBradleyW.CarrollandDale A. Ostlie is a monumentalsurvey of astrophysics at the undergraduatelevel. The “big orange book” maintains a respected place on every astronomer’s bookshelf. AstrophysicsinaNutshellbyDanMaozisamorefocusedtreatisethatsharesalot of the spirit animating this book.Both have influenced my thinking abouthow to presentthismaterial,asindicatedthroughoutthetext. Last but not least, my wife and son have not merely endured this absorbing project,butactivelyendorsedit.ToKelly:thankyouforlettingmedream.ToEvan: ifyoucandreamit,youcandoit,butitmighttakemoreeffortthanyouimagine. This work has received financial support from the U.S. National Science FoundationthroughgrantAST-0747311. ix
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