| Home Page | Overview | Site Map | Index | Appendix | Illustration | About | Contact | Update | FAQ |
![]() |
![]() |
The Stonehenge (Figure 08-01a) is possibly the oldest astronomical instrument. It was built around 1500 BC outside Salisbury, England to track the movement of the sun and mark the solstice. The first record of a total eclipse of the sun was made in China as early as 899 BC. Figure 08-01b is the 13th-century Beijing Ancient Observatory - one of the most advanced facilities in the pretelescopic era. Modern astronomical instrument was first constructed by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). He used a 30X telescope from lenses made by himself to draw a picture of the |
Figure 08-01a Stonehenge |
Figure 08-01b Ancient Observatory [view large image] |
moon. He also discovered sun spots and Jupiter's 4 satellites. More detailed description of the instruments used by astronomers today can be found in the appendix: Astronomical Instruments. |
![]() |
![]() |
general direction of an object on the celestial sphere (see Figure 08-01e). To bring order from the chaos of naming stars, around the year 1600 Johannes Bayer, in what is now Germany, applied lower case Greek letter names to the stars more or less in order of brightness, rendering the brightest star in a constellation "Alpha", the second "Beta", and so on. To the Greek letter name is appended the Latin possessive form of the constellation name. Thus the brightest star in Orion is Alpha Orion, which is also known as Betelgeuse. |
Figure 08-01c Constalla- tions [view large image] |
Figure 08-01d Constallation Names [view large image] |
![]() |
The positions of stars and other heavenly bodies are described by coordinate systems imposed onto an imaginary celestial sphere with the Earth (or the Sun) located at the center as shown in Figure 08-01e. The red arrow indicates the sphere's apparent daily movement westward (corresponding to the Earth's eastward rotation - counter-clockwise). There are 4 commonly used coordinate systems on the celestial sphere:
|
Figure 08-01e Celestial Sphere [view large image] |
south with a negative value and ends with -90o at the South Pole. This is the system most commonly used in astronomy. |
![]() |
The Zodiac is a band of sky 18o wide across the ecliptic (Figure 08-01f): the ancients divided it from the gamma point (at the vernal equinoxe near Aries about 2000 year ago) into 12 signs 30o wide each, and to each sign gave the name of its most representative constellation. As the positions of the Earth and the other celestial bodies change, the Sun, the planets and the Moon are projected onto the Zodiac. During the year the Sun passes through all the signs as it moves along the ecliptic. |
Figure 08-01f Ecliptic and Zodiac [view large image] |
Each night we view a slightly different part of the Zodiac because of this revolution. The precession of the equinoxes has since moved the gamma point about 30o toward the constellation Pisces. |
![]() |
![]() |
clockwise. The altitude is 0o at the horizon. It runs up with a positive value and ends with 90o at a point vertically overhead - the zenith. Many sky charts are drawn in this system corresponding to certain time and place on Earth with the observer at the center (Figure 08-01g). |
Figure 08-01g Horizon Coordinates |
Figure 08-01h Star Tracks |
Figure 08-01h,a shows the star tracks at mid northern latitude. The north circumpolar stars are present all the time at that latitude, but the constellations would be observed in different |
![]() |
from the galactic center (Figure 08-01i). In 1958, because of increased precision in determining the location of the galactic center, based on observations of the 21-centimeter line, a new system of galactic coordinates was adopted with the origin at the galactic center in Sagittarius at R.A. 17h 42.4m, Dec. -28o 55' (epoch 1950). The new system is designated by a superior Roman numeral II (i.e., bII, lII) and the old system by a superior Roman numeral I. Galactic coordinates are used to specify the position of objects in the Milky Way as observed from the Earth. |
Figure 08-01i Galactic Co- ordinates [view large image] |
The apparent magnitude m is a measure of the amount of light arriving on Earth from a star or other celestial objects. The brighter object has a smaller apparent magnitude. This curious property of "less is more" is a result of the work of Hipparchus (c130 BC) who classified stars into six magnitudes. The ‘first magnitude stars’ were the brightest in the heavens, which included Capella (alpha Aurigae), Sirius (alpha Canis Majoris), Vega (alpha Lyrae) and the like. Hipparchus categorized the other stars according to their relative brightness, down to the dimmest that the naked eye could see, which were called sixth magnitude.
In simple mathematic the apparent magnitude is defined by the formula:
D2) is the intensity (apparent brightness), L is the luminosity (intrinsic brightness), D is the distance to the object, and Io = 2.52x10-5 erg-sec-1-cm-2 is the intensity corresponding to m = 0.
![]() |
![]() |
latitude 10 to 15 degrees north or south of this) - suitable for viewing in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. The Southern Hemisphere charts usually depict the sky from a latitude of 35oS. These are for use in the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and southern Africa. The sky charts in Figure 08-01j, k divide |
Figure 08-01j Sky Chart, North [view large image] |
Figure 08-01k Sky Chart, South [view large image] |
the sky of the Northern Hemisphere in January into two quadrants one facing North, the other South. It has a legend to show the various objects in the sky and the apparent magnitude of the objects. |
![]() |
![]() |
Figure 08-01l shows the Northern sky at 50o latitude at midnight for the beginning of the four seasons. An one piece sky chart plots the sky with the North Pole at its center (see Figure 08-01m). An oval opening in an overlapping disc represents the heavens as seen from a certain latitude, e.g., 45oN. The time and date of viewing can be selected by rotating the disc around the center. This particular view is set at 22:00 h, January 20. The transparent cursor scale (from -50o to 90o) is used to calculate the declination of celestial objects. The right ascension is marked at the outer-most circle. |
Figure 08-01l Sky Chart [view large image] |
Figure 08-01m Star Finder [view large image] |
The East and West are switched in the chart. It will show the correct direction by rotating 180o when it is held over head to compare with the actual sky view. |
![]() |
![]() |
Sky charts computer software is perhaps the most versatile. It allows the user to specify any location and date/time as shown in Figure 08-01n, which displays a chart tailored to a "Sample" with latitude 42o and longitude 270o at 22:00 h on January 20, 2004. The detail of objects can be adjusted by the user. It can display the ecliptic as well as the Galactic equator. The coordinate grids can be numbered. Outline of the Milky Way can be plotted on the chart. The name of each object (if not already shown) can be obtained by |
Figure 08-01n Sky Chart, Computer Generated |
Figure 08-01o Sky Chart, Horizon Coordinate |
clicking the pointer (such as NGC2539 in the sample chart). Figure 08-01o shows the same chart in horizon coordinate facing North. This free sky charts software is offered by Cartes du Ciel. |
![]() |
The first stars appeared about 200 million years after the Big Bang. It formed in the denser regions of gas inside the protogalaxies. The protogalaxies in turn would be most likely located at the nodes of the filaments in the large structure. Since there was little metals present in the early universe, the production of nuclear energy is less efficient, the first stars were able to assemble more mass and still maintained a stable structure. The limit should be no more than 1000 solar mass. Figure 08-02a compares the calculated characteristics of the first stars with those for the Sun. The most iron-deficient star HE0107-5240 was discovered in late 2002. This primitive star has a measured abundance of iron less than 1/200000 that of the Sun. It seems to have formed shortly after the Big Bang. |
Figure 08-02a First Stars [view large image] |
![]() |
These oldest stars belong to the population III category opposing to the older population II objects in galactic halo and the young population I objects in galactic disk. It is not clear if the small trace of iron was generated within HE0107-5240 itself, or contaminated by materials from stars of later/earlier generations. Figure 08-02b compares the abundance of elements between the HE0107-5240 data (red circles) and those produced by the 25 Msun population III supernova model. Meanwhile, measurements of quasar absorption spectrum indicate that there is neutral hydrogen (not re-ionized) billion years after the Big Bang in contradiction to the 200 |
Figure 08-02b HE0107-5240 |
million years derived from the observation of first star. Perhaps reionization was a slow process, which only gradually encompassed the whole universe. Further study is required to resolve the discrepancy. |
![]() |
In the June 2011 issue of the Astronomy magazine, there is an article to describe a more detailed development of the first stars. Figure 08-02c is a pictorial summary of the birth and death of the first stars as presented in the article (with slight modification). Although the first stars have yet to be found in the future (may be by the James Webb |
Figure 08-02c Evolution of First Stars [view large image] |
Space Telescope - the successor to the HST), the first galaxy have already been detected with an estimated age of about 480 million years after the Big Bang. |
![]() |
Figure 08-02d presents the images of a portion of sky in the Hubble Deep Field North at two different infrared wavelengths, 3.6 m and 4.5 m, including an overlapping region as shown. The black pixels are bright sources masked off leaving extended fuzzy blobs glowing in the background. It is claimed that these could be fluctuations, due to nascent cosmic structure, in a bright pregalactic infrared background. The brighter, uniform, non-fluctuating component of the background is not directly detectable in these data, because |
Figure 08-02d First Stars Signatures as Infrared Blobs |
it cannot be distinguished from other sources of noise and emission. In short, these puffy blobs are just the signatures of the early stars (not the real thing). See "Angular-Size Redshift Relation" for an explanation of the large angular size of the blobs. |
The Hertzspung-Russell diagram was introduced in the 1910s to plot a point representing a star with a certain values of luminosity and surface temperature as shown in Figure 08-03a.
It soon became apparent that the HR diagram is not randomly populated, but that stars preferentially fall into certain regions. The majority of them occupy a strip called main sequence as indicated in Figure 08-03a. This just reflects the fact that all the stars spend most of their time burning off hydrogen fuel with a constant luminosity and surface temperature. There are variable stars, which change their brightness, color, spectrum and other characteristics in the order of hours to few hundred days. They appear as a transient phenomenon in the HR diagram. The evolutionary track of an individual star with a given mass can be traced in the HR diagram as shown in Figure 08-04, 08-05a, and 08-05b. The age of the globular clusters can be estimated from the branch-off point in the HR diagram.![]() |
![]() |
luminosity is related to the Absolution Magnitude; and since different temperature of the stars generate different set of absorption lines, this scale can be translated into spectral types such as O, B, A, F G, K, and M as shown in Figure 08-03a. Each spectral type is further subdivided into numerals, e.g., G2 for the Sun, which is located in the middle of the main sequence. Sometimes the horizontal axis is labelled by the colour index B - V or mB - mV, i.e., magnitude in blue - |
Figure 08-03a HR Diagram |
Figure 08-03b HR Diagram, Centennial Commemoration |
magnitude in visual (yellow). It is a directly measurable quantity from photometer with colour filters. |
![]() |
Figure 08-04 is another version of the HR diagram. It shows the progression of mass along the main sequence, and the pre-main-sequence evolutionary track for different masses from 0.5 to 15 Msun. The mass of a star determines all its properties in the HR diagram. The observed upper limit for stellar mass is about 60 Msun, the star becomes unstable beyond this limit. The heavy star will be an O type located at the upper left corner of the main sequence. The observed lower limit is about 0.05 Msun occupying a position down in the lower right corner of the main sequence as M type stars. Protostar below this limit is not able to ignite hydrogen burning and becomes a brown dwarf. The contraction time to the main sequence is plotted as contours in range from 104 to 107 years. The pre-main-sequence stars begin their life as interstellar clouds (with a size of several light years), which collapse under the influence of gravity |
Figure 08-04 HR Pre-Main-Sequence [view large image] |
to a stage called T Tauri stars before settling down onto the main sequence (see Figure 08-07). In tabulation form, Table 08-01 lists some characteristics of main-sequence stars as a function of mass. |
| Mass (Msun) | Spectral Type | Luminosity (Lsun) | Diameter (Dsun) | Central Density (Water=1) | Lifetime (109 yrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | M7 | 0.0001 | 0.1 | 60 | 1000 |
| 0.5 | K8 | 0.03 | 0.7 | 80 | 100 |
| 1 | G2 | 1 | 1 | 90 | 10 |
| 1.5 | F3 | 5 | 1.3 | 85 | 1.8 |
| 2 | A6 | 17 | 1.7 | 70 | 0.8 |
| 5 | B8 | 500 | 3 | 20 | 0.075 |
| 10 | B5 | 5000 | 5 | 9 | 0.02 |
| 15 | B1 | 20000 | 10 | 6 | 0.01 |
| 30 | O8 | 100000 | 15 | 3 | 0.004 |
![]() |
The structure of a star is maintained in equilibrium via the balance of the gravitational attraction with a tendency to contract and the thermal pressure with a tendency to expand. When the star has exhausted its hydrogen fuel, it cools off and collapses until the pressure has risen sufficiently to ignite helium and other types of nuclear burning. This process of re-igniting fuel burning with different nuclear species is represented by the zigzag paths in Figure 08-05a. The variation of stellar radius can be traced with the curves crisscrossing the loci of constant radius. It shows that the maximum extent can be 100 Rsun or more and hence the names of giant, and supergiant. These stars have evolved to the terminal phase as shown in Figure 08-05a and 08-05b. Eventually, all the available fuels are consumed, there is no more source to supply the thermal pressure necessary to stop further collapsing. However, for star with mass smaller than 5 Msun the degeneracy pressure of the electrons |
Figure 08-05a Post-Main-Sequence [view large image] |
lends its support to stop complete collapse and it forms a white dwarf with remnant less than 1.4 Msun. For star with mass in between 5 and 15 Msun the protons combine with electrons to form neutrons under the tremendous pressure. Then the degeneracy pressure |
![]() |
![]() |
of the neutrons can provide support up to 3 Msun (of the remnant) and it becomes a neutron star (or pulsar - spinning neutron star). For star with mass greater than 15 Msun, no amount of support is sufficient to stop the collapse to a black hole. Figure 08-05b portrays the post-main-sequence evolutionary track for the Sun in details. While Figure 08-05c shows the post main- |
Figure 08-05b HR Post-Main-Sequence [view large image] |
Figure 08-05c HR Post-Main-Sequence, 3 Msun [view large image] |
sequence evolution of a three solar mass star with metallic abundance Z = 0.02. |
![]() |
astronomers discovered the first definite brown dwarf in 1995. Now, a new analysis of Hubble Space Telescope data implies our galaxy has almost as many of these failed stars as it does normal stars like the Sun. Several brown dwarfs probably lurk unseen within just 12 light-years of the Sun. This volume of space contains more than two dozen main sequence stars like the Sun — but only two known brown dwarfs. Both these brown dwarfs orbit the orange dwarf star Epsilon Indi, which is 11.8 light-years from Earth. They are the closest known brown dwarfs to the Sun. Figure 08-06 shows an artist's conception on the relative size of a hypothetical brown dwarf-planetary system and the solar system. |
Figure 08-06 Brown Dwarf [view large image] |
![]() |
The changes of brightness in (intrinsic) variable stars indicate that something is happening to them. The cause must be truly physical, because changes of color, spectrum, magnetic field, and radial velocity accompany the changes in light. Some variable stars display a more or less regular rhythm, or period, and are known as the periodic variables. Others, only roughly periodic, are know as the cyclic or semiregular variables, and then there are stars whose variations show no obvious pattern, the irregular variables. Far more spectacular are the changes shown by some stars that undergo some sort of explosion - the so-called cataclysmic variables. These include the novae (new stars), and the |
Figure 08-07 HR, Variable Stars [view large image] |
supernovae, which undergo the largest changes and attain the greatest luminosities recorded for any variable or nonvariable stars. Figure 08-07 shows the various types of variable stars in the HR diagram. Table 08-02 summarizes the properties of all the types. |
| Type | Period Range | Mag. Range |
Spectral Types | Mean Abs. Mag. | Spatial Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical Cepheids | 2 - 8 d | 1 | F, G superg. | -3 | Dust-filled galactic plane |
| RR Lyrae | 0.1 - 1 d | 1 | A, F giants | 0 | Dust-free galactic nucleus |
| Type II Cepheids (W Vir, RV Tau) |
1 - 100 d | 1 | F-G, G-K | -2 | High galactic latitude, halo |
| Long Period | 90 - 600 d | 3 - 6 | M,S,R,N (em) | -1, 0 | Dust-free galactic plane |
| Semiregular | ~ 100 d | 1 | M,S,R,N | -2 | Dust-filled galactic nucleus |
| Irregular | 0.1 | M,S,R,N | -2 | Dust-filled galactic nucleus | |
| Beta Cepheids (CM) | 3 - 6 h | 0.1 | B | -3 | Dust-Filled regions |
| Dwarf Cepheids | 1 - 3 h | 0.2 - 1 | A - F | +2 | Dust-filled regions |
| Magnetic or Spectrum | 0.5 - 1 d | 0.1 | A | 0 | |
| R Coronae Borealis Stars | irrg. (fading) | 6 | G, K, R (em) | -3 | Low galactic lat., carbon stars |
| Flare Stars | irrg. | 6 | K, M (em) | +10 | Lower main sequence stars |
| T Tauri Stars | irrg. | 1 - 3 | G, K - M | +5, +2 | Dark clouds of dust & gas |
![]() |
![]() |
high and the total luminosity is also high. Since the average luminosity is low, the star appears red. This big red star is a red giant. Figure 08-08a is a schematic diagram depicting this initial phase of a red giant with a (main-sequence) mass of 1 Msun. |
Figure 08-08a Red Giant 1 |
Figure 08-08b Red Giant 2 [view large image] |
![]() |
an even larger volume. The much brighter, but still reddened star is called a red supergiant (it is blue supergiants for O, B stars). Some of these supergiants are unstable and form the very important Cepheid variables (as standard candles for determining distance to galaxies). In their final stages, supergiants will explode into supernovae. The collapse of these massive stars may produce a neutron star or a black hole. |
Figure 08-09 Supergiant |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
When a star with mass less than 5 Msun reaches the end of its life, it casts off its gaseous outer-envelope at high speed (1000-2000 km/sec) and leaves behind a planetary nebula as shown in Figure 08-10 (click on image to obtain larger view). The one on the left is the side view in bipolar appearance, while the Helix |
Figure 08-10 |
Planetary Nebulae |
Nebula in the middle is the end-on view. The right image shows ten different planetary nebulae in a |
![]() |
The shrinking core of a low mass star cannot contract far enough to raise its temperature high enough for carbon burning to commence. No further thermonuclear energy generation is possible. The shrunken remnant becomes a white dwarf with a size comparable to the Earth and is composed predominantly of carbon and oxygen. The structure is supported by electron degeneracy pressure. The matter in the white dwarf is packed very tight (up to 3x107 gm/cm3 in the core) in layers (see Figure 08-11). Under such conditions of high density the atomic electrons are no longer attached to individual nuclei. The electrons are ionized and form an electron gas. In the absence of nuclear energy sources, the star cools down, but, because degeneracy pressure is unaffected by the decreasing temperature, the cooling white dwarf does not contract. It instead continues to cool and to fade away gradually. Over ten billions years or more it will eventually evolve to become a cold dark |
Figure 08-11 White Dwarf [view large image] |
body called a black dwarf. This process takes so long that there has not been enough time since the origin of the universe for any star to reach the black dwarf state. Table 08-03 compares the properties of the Sun, the Earth, and Sirius B - a typical white dwarf. |
| Property | Sun | Earth | Sirius B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass (Msun) | 1.0 | 3x10-6 | 0.94 | Radius (Rsun) | 1.0 | 0.009 | 0.008 | Luminosity (Lsun) | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0028 | Mean Density (gm/cm3) | 1.41 | 5.5 | 2.8x106 | Central Density (gm/cm3) | 160 | 9.6 | 3.3x107 | Surface Temperature (oK) | 5770 | 287 | 27000 | Central Temperature (oK) | 1.6x107 | 4200 | 2.2x107 |
![]() |
A nova can suddenly flares up in brilliance, by a factor of up to about one million, and then, over the next few months or years, fades back more or less to its original luminosity. It appears to be an event that occurs on the surface of a white dwarf in a close binary system when material flowing from the companion star onto the white dwarf's surface undergoes thermonuclear reactions, which trigger a violent explosion. The detonation blows surface material into space, leaving the underlying white dwarf unscathed. If the mass of the white dwarf is close to the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 Msun, hydrogen dragged from its companion burns to helium on its surface. The resulting increase in mass eventually triggers a Type Ia supernova explosion that completely destroys the white dwarf. Figure 08-12a is a recurrent nova in the constellation of Pyxis. It is surrounded by more than 2000 gaseous blobs packed into an area about 1 light year across. |
Figure 08-12a Nova |
![]() |
![]() |
development from the massive blue supergiant star, which is on the verge of blowing apart by the enormous radiation pressure. It occupies a region in the H-R diagram, where the surface temperature is 30,000oK and the luminosity is 106 times that for the Sun. It throws off so much material that the inside of the star generated by nuclear fusion such as helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, become visible. It is designated as WN, WC, or WO stars depending on whether it is enriched in nitrogen, carbon or oxygen (Figure 08-12b). Eventually, the successive nuclear fusions turn the core into iron. Then it will go supernova and collapse to either a neutron star or black hole |
Figure 08-12b Wolf-Rayet Star [view large image] |
Figure 08-12c Eta Carinae [view large image] |
in a period as short as a week. Eta Carinae is an example of such star on the way to its final destruction (Figure 08-12c). |
![]() |
When stars with mass greater than 5 Msun exhaust their nuclear fuel, they collapse suddenly in a process called supernova explosion, which flings off huge amount of heavy elements into interstellar space. Supernovae can be classified into two types. Their characteristics are listed in Table 08-04. Figures 08-13 shows images of the Crab Nebula taken at different wavelengths. The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant after an explosion at 1054 AD. |
Figure 08-13a Crab Nebula [view large image] |
In the optical image, red colour comes from electron recombination to form neutral hydrogen (producing emission lines), while blue colour is generated by synchrotron radiation. The X-ray image shows an enlarged view of the central region with rings of high-energy particles flinging |
|
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table 08-04 Types of Supernova |
Figure 08-13b Supernova, Spectral Types of [view large image] |
![]() |
![]() |
The brightest supernova on record so far (2007) is the SN2006GY (Figure 08-14), which was the dying explosion of a star 150 times the mass of the Sun. In such an exceptionally massive star, it is suspected that an instability (produced by high temperature and pressure) could convert light into matter-antimatter pairs. This would cause a pressure drop, making the star contract and igniting a runaway nuclear |
Figure 08-14 SN200GY |
Figure 08-15a GRB080319B [view large image] |
reaction to obliterate the stellar core. Thus, unlike other massive star supernovae, neither neutron star, nor black hole, would remain. |
![]() |
The fading afterglow was captured in both X-rays and Ultraviolet light (Figure 08-15a). The farthest gamma-ray burst (GRB090423) was detected by the Swift Observatory in April 2009. At redshift z = 8.2, it occurred only 630 million years after the Big Bang and could be one of those first stars turning into a black hole. The infrared afterglow was captured by the Gemini Observatory as shown in Figure 08-15b. Observation on another cosmic blast GRB090102 indicates that there is a considerable polarization of the order 10% in the optical radiation (unusually high for astrophysical sources). The most logical - but not the only - explanation for the high degree of polarization is that |
Figure 08-15b GRB090423 [view large image] |
the emitting source is permeated by large-scale, ordered magnetic fields, and that the emission is non-thermal synchrotron emission from electrons as they spiral around the magnetic fields at relativistic speeds. |
![]() |
![]() |
Meanwhile, preliminary data for the energy spectrum of gamma-ray burst 120323A (Figure 08-15c, also see Nature News), discovered in March 2012 by the Fermi telescope, shows a bump that is likely to come from thermal emissions - casting doubt on a long-held view that synchrotron emissions alone could explain the bursts. The thermal emission could originate from the surface of a fireball as a spinning star collapses to form a black hole and explodes in a supernova as shown in Figure 08-15d. Since the GRB is much |
Figure 08-15c GRB120323A |
Figure 08-15d GRB Model [view large image] |
brighter than the quasars, it is now used to find out the chemical composition and evolution in the early universe at the epoch of a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. |
![]() |
It is estimated that the observed number of supernovae is only about half of the prediction from theoretical calculation. One explanation proposes that some supernovae fail to explode because the shock wave has been stalled by the material rushing into the core (Figure 08-15e). The failed supernovae should produce huge amount of very energetic electron-neutrinos. If the next generation of neutrino detectors are able to detect the diffuse supernova neutrino background, |
Figure 08-15e Failed Supernova [view large image] |
then by comparing the spread of energies to those seen in the individual supernovae bursts, researchers will be able to work out the proportion of successful to failed supernovae. |
![]() |
![]() |
When the core of the star collapses to a density of about 1014 gm/cm3 (of the order of that in the nuclei) it causes the atomic electrons to combine with the nuclear protons in the electron capture reaction as shown in Figure 08-16. This is the point where gravitational forces have won out over the pressure supplied by nuclear matter. |
Figure 08-16 Electron Capture |
Figure 08-17a Neutron Star, Structure [view large image] |
Figure 08-17a shows the structure of a neutron star in several layers over a depth of ~ 10 km: |
![]() |
standard) can be explained with the formation of superfluid in the core. The process releases neutrinos, which carry away a lot of energy. The charged protons there also make the core superconducting. The onset of superfluidity in materials on Earth occurs at extremely low temperatures near absolute zero, while it happens in neutron star at temperature near a billion degrees. The difference can be explained by the fact that the low temperature variety involves the very weak force between Cooper pair, while the interaction is via the strong nuclear force between nucleons in neutron star. This information may show us how to achieve superfluidity and superconductor at room temperature on Earth. The X-ray image in Figure 08-17b is colored in red, green and blue, optical data is in gold color. |
Figure 08-17b Superfluid in CasA [view large image] |
![]() |
attached to the curve show what is happening to the microscopic matter as it is compressed from low densities to high. At normal densities, cold, dead matter is composed of iron. As the iron is squeezed from its normal density of 7.6 gm/cm3 up toward 100, then 1000 gm/cm3, the iron resists by the same means as a rock resists compression - the degeneracy-like motions of electrons. When the density has reached 100000 gm/cm3, the electron's degeneracy pressure completely overwhelm the electric forces with which the nuclei pull on the electrons. The electrons no longer congregate around the iron nuclei; they completely ignore the nuclei and form the electron gas moving around freely. At a density of about 107 gm/cm3 the motion of the electrons become relativistic (near the speed of light). |
Figure 08-18 Equation of State [view large image] |
![]() |
![]() |
shreds by centrifugal force. The magnetic field at the surface of a collapsing star grows in strength as the surface area of the star decreases (decreases in radius / increases in magnetic field strength ~ 1 / 105). The magnetic field strengths at the surfaces of neutron stars are likely to be between 108 and 1013 gauss. In some extreme examples (known as magnetars) they may be as high as 1015 gauss. Figure 08-19a shows the |
Figure 08-19a Pulsar Signal |
Figure 08-19b Pulsar Model [large image] |
pulsar signal from the neutron star inside the Crab Nebula with a period of 0.03 sec in the X-ray range. |
![]() |
![]() |
"starquakes" that occur when the outer crust (a solid crystalline layer of heavy nuclei) slips to the fluid interior or by some abruptly adjustments. Extremely violent starquakes are believed to be induced when the intense magnetic fields of magnetars fracture their crusts. The energy released in such events may be responsible for producing the intense bursts of gamma rays that characterize objects called soft gamma-ray repeaters. Figure 08-19c shows the evolution of a neutron star to either a pulsar or magnetar. Figure 08-19d is an artist’s |
Figure 08-19c Magnetar Pathway |
Figure 08-19d Magnetar [view large image] |
impression of a magnetar. A powerful explosion just beneath a magnetar's surface has been detected by the XMM-Newton orbiting X-ray observatory in 2007. |
| Subclass | Magnetic Field (Gauss) | Electromagnetic Radiation | Pulsation Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnetar | 1013 - 1015 | X-ray, Gamma Ray | 1-0.1/sec |
| High-Magnetic-Field Radio Pulsar | 1013 - 1014 | X-ray, Gamma Ray | 1-0.1/sec |
| Isolated Neutron Star (INS) | 5x1012 | X-ray | 10/sec |
| Radio Pulsar | 108 - 1013 | Radio | 0.1-105/sec |
| Rotating Radio Transient (RRAT) | 1010 | Intermittent Radio | |
| Compact Central Object (CCO) | 109 - 1010 | X-ray | |
| Millisecond Pulsar | 109 | Radio, X-ray, Gamma Ray | 100-1000/sec |
![]() |
In one theory, both the High-Magnetic-Field radio pulsar and INSs are the progenies of magnetars. The millisecond pulsars had been in the terminal phase of the pulsar evolution. They are now at the stage of spin-up, because they happen to be in a binary system, which enables their rejuvenation by accretion of matter from the other star. CCOs are the central object at the centers of supernova remnants. They pulsate irregularly only in X-ray. These objects may be born with slow spinning rate and low magnetic field. Many pulsars are surrounded by nebula |
Figure 08-19e Subclass of Pulsars [view large image] |
with their intensely magnetized wind of highly energetic particles resulting in dramatic morphologies such as the "Hand of God". Astronomers detect this "pulsar wind nebulae" only in the most powerful pulsars. |
![]() |
![]() |
Recently in 2010, observations from Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and the Swift satellite have allowed astronomers to learn more about the details of the explosions. It is reported that at least for one GRB an intermittent phase is detected. It lasted for hundreds of seconds and has the signature of a magnetar, the rapid rotation (with a rate of more than one thousand per second) |
Figure 08-19f GRB Light Curve [view large image] |
Figure 08-19g GRB 130427a [view large image] |
of which delays the eventual collapse to a black hold as shown in Figure 08-19f. |
![]() |
A quark star (Figure 08-20a) is a hypothetical type of star composed of quarks. This is an ultra-dense phase of matter that is theorized to form inside particularly massive neutron stars. It is theorized that when the neutronium, which makes up a neutron star is put under sufficient pressure due to the star's gravity, the individual neutrons break down and their constituent quarks form strange matter. The star then becomes known as a "strange star" or "quark star". Strange matter is composed of up quarks, down quarks and strange quarks bound to each other directly, in a similar manner to how neutronium is composed of neutrons; a strange star is essentially a single gigantic nucleon. A quark star lies between neutron stars and black holes in terms of both mass and density, and if sufficient additional matter is added to a strange star it will collapse into a black hole as well. |
Figure 08-20a Quark Star |
n +
, while a second release of neutrinos of all flavours stemming from thermal pair processes (pair annihilation, plasmon decay, photoneutrino and Bremsstrahlung) releasing 99% of the energy. Supernovae are expected to radiate about 3×1053 ergs in the form of neutrinos, half of this within 2 seconds, the other half within less than 1 minute. The SN1987a event was captured by three neutrino detectors around the world - Kamiokande II (in Japan), IMB (Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven in the US) and
![]() |
![]() |
Baksan neutrino observatory (in the Caucasus). Their data are shown in Figure 08-20c. A research report in 2009 indicates that there is a significant time delay between the two bursts. It is suggested the first burst was released when a neutron star formed, while the second was triggered seconds later by its collapse into a quark star. High-resolution X-ray observatories, due to fly in space in the next decade, may be able to verify such claim. Neutron |
Figure 08-20b SN1987a |
Figure 08-20c SN1987a Data |
stars and quark stars should look very different at X-ray wavelengths. |
![]() |
of superstring. More recently in the 2000s, confidence in string theory has waned in some quarters, leading to renewed interest in alternative approaches, including preon models (see Wikipedia for more about preon theory). There are now several proposed methods to test the preon theory and preon star. An obvious test is for the LHC to break up the quark into its constituent preons. While preon star can be detected via gravitational lensing or gravitational waves with its special signatures. Figure 08-20d compares the size and density of the various degeneracy stars. The data for the preon star are highly speculative especially when no one knows the |
Figure 08-20d Degeneracy Stars |
mass of the preons. It is also suggested nevertheless that preon stars could possibly account for some of the dark matter in the universe. |
![]() |
Most black holes are said to be stellar: formed from stars. It is estimated that the Milky Way contains 10 million of these black holes. Their mass can be 10 times that of the sun and the radius of event horizon can be a few kilometers. Because not even light can escape from inside the event horizon, it is hard to detect black holes. Astronomers get around this problem by indirect observations on some signatures, which are peculiar to a black hole. It usually involves the interaction of the black hole with its environment, e.g., a companion star. Figure 08-21 is a model of a stellar black hole drawing material (the accretion stream) from the companion star. The accretion stream forms an accretion disc before finally spiraling into the black hole and generates bursts of X-rays. |
Figure 08-21 Blackhole Model |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
GRS1915 is probably the largest stellar black hole discovered; while the X-ray source GRO J0422+32 near V518 Persei seems to be the smallest with a mass of 3 to 5 Msun. |
Figure 08-22 Cygnus X-1 |
Figure 08-23 V404 Cyg |
Figure 08-24a GRS1915 |
| Final Event | Initial Mass (Msun) / Type | Final Mass (Msun) | Life Time (109 yrs.) | Heaviest Element Synthesized | Residual Core |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gradual Cooling | < 0.1 / M7 | same | > 1000 | Helium | Brown Dwarf |
| Stellar Wind | < 0.4 / M5 | ~ same | > 200 | Helium | White Dwarf |
| Stellar Wind or Planetary Nebula |
< 1.0 / G2 | < 0.7 | > 10 | Helium or Carbon | White Dwarf |
| Planetary Nebula | < 3.0 / A0 | < 0.8 | > 0.35 | Oxygen | White Dwarf |
| Supernova, Type I / II | < 10 / B5 | < 1.5 | > 0.02 | Oxygen or Silicon | White Dwarf or Neutron Star |
| Supernova, Type II | < 15 / B1 | < 10 | > 0.01 | Silicon or Iron | Neutron Star or Black Hole |
| Supernova, Type II | < 30 / O8 | < 20 | > 0.004 | Iron | Black Hole |
![]() |
![]() |
other than hydrogen and helium), their fates are depicted in Figure 08-24b. The Iron-core-collapse supernova turns the iron core into neutrons and neutrinos leaving a neutron star behind. The pair-instability supernova (as discussed earlier) blows the whole thing apart leaving nothing behind (as recently observed in SN2007bi). The dotted line marks the point above which pair-unstable stars are thought to form black hole instead of exploding. The blue shaded area denotes a transition region in which stars first become 'pair unstable', but eventually undergo iron-core collapse. Triangles and |
Figure 08-24b High Mass Supernovae |
Figure 08-24c Types of Supernovae |
squares denote values obtained by different theoretical studies; green triangles for zero metallicity. Figure 08-24c displays a pictorial explanation for these types of supernovae. |
![]() |
![]() |
The novel mechanism is related to the zero point energy, which normally has a value near to zero by almost complete cancellation of the positive and negative contributions. A semi-classical investigation reveals that if the collapse proceeds significantly slower than free falling, the zero point energy is disturbed in such a way that a large repulsive force would be generated near the event horizon and the collapse might come to a complete halt just short of forming an event horizon, or it might continue forever at an ever slower pace, becoming ever closer to forming an event horizon but never actually producing one. Such scenario is similar to the vacuum polarization |
Figure 08-25 Black Star Formation [view large image] |
Figure 08-26a Black Star |
by electric charge, but the virtual particles surrounding the mass now carry negative mass (Figure 08-25). This object is called black star as shown in Figure 08-26a. |
![]() |
hasn't happened within the visible universe anytime in the last 10 billion years, except perhaps in the core of these electroweak stars. But it could happen at the extreme temperatures and densities when a star begins to collapse into a black hole. The energy generated could halt the collapse, much as the energy generated by nuclear fusion prevents ordinary stars like the Sun from collapsing. In other words, an electroweak star is the possible next step before total collapse into a black hole. If the electroweak burning is efficient, it could consume enough mass to prevent what's left from ever becoming a black hole. Most of the energy eventually emitted from electroweak stars is in the form of neutrinos, which are hard to detect. A small fraction comes out as light, and this is where the electroweak star's signature will likely be found. Further study is required to understand such star better. And until then, it is hard to tell an electroweak star from the other varieties. There's time, however, to learn. The theorists have calculated that this phase of a star's life |
Figure 08-26b Electroweak Star [view large image] |
can last more than 10 million years - a long time for us, though just an instant in the life of a star. Figure 08-26b shows some of the massive stars in a nebula that could be electroweak stars. |
![]() |
In most cases, the density, the temperature, and the chemical composition of a star change appreciably only over very long time intervals. For the Sun, only 1% of the hydrogen is depleted and converted into helium in one billion years . Thus the change induced by nuclear fuel depletion is entirely negligible. A static stellar model is appropriate for the Sun and most of the main sequence stars. Time does not appear in any equation under this circumstance. Whether it is static or dynamic, the stellar structure is governed by five basic equations. In mathematical terms, they are a set of inter-dependent differential equations (see Figure 08-27). A verbal description is given below for simulating the structure of a main sequence star. |
Figure 08-27 Stellar Model [view large image] |