The recommended text book for this course is:
- The Stars: their structure and evolution
R. J. Tayler (Cambridge University Press)
The latest edition of this book is dated 1994 and you will be able to
find it for around 27 pounds (paperback). You will find that this book
is very clearly written and well structured. The author taught me the
subject and it is this book that the course is largely based upon. The
book does not cover every topic I expect you to know (e.g. polytropes)
and is not detailed enough in others (e.g. degeneracy pressure), so it
must be used in conjuction with these lecture notes.
The Information Commons holds 3 copies of this book.
There are numerous other texts on the subject of stellar structure and
evolution. These include:
- Introduction to stellar astrophysics, volume 3: Stellar structure and
evolution
E. Bohm-Vitense (Cambridge University Press)
The latest edition of this book is dated 1992 and you will be able to
find it for around 36 pounds. It is the final volume of a three-volume
work on the properties of stars. The book goes into a little more
detail than Tayler's, but is not as clearly written or
well-structured, in my opinion, and uses some confusing units.
The Information Commons holds 5 copies of this book.
- The Physics of Stars
A. C. Phillips (Wiley)
A very nicely written book at exactly the right level for PHY213. It
tends to concentrate on the physical processes occurring within stars
much more than Tayler, at the expense of being relatively light-weight
on stellar structure and evolution (compared to Tayler). You will be
able to buy the latest edition of this book (dated 1999) in paperback
for around 33 pounds. The Information Commons holds 4 copies of this
book.
- An Introduction to the Theory of Stellar Structure and Evolution
Dina Prialnik (CUP)
The second (revised) edition of this book came out in 2009 and the
hardback edition can be bought for around 40 pounds. The level is just
right for PHY213. It has some excellent figures and fully worked
example problems, and gives good explanations of the various
physical concepts involved. The Information Commons holds one copy of
this book.
- An Introduction to Stellar Astrophysics
Francis LeBlanc (Wiley)
This is the newest text book on stellar astrophysics, and is very
good. It covers all of the topics that you will find in PHY213 at just
the right level of detail. You can buy the paperback edition of this
text for around 35 pounds. The library doesn't currently stock this
book, unfortunately.
At a more elementary level:
- 100 Billion Suns: The birth, life and death of the stars
R. Kippenhahn (Princeton University Press)
This is an excellent book that I would recommend everyone reads. It
is an easy-reading, popular science-level book on stellar
astrophysics; the stellar astrophysicists' equivalent of A brief
history of time! You should be able to buy the most recent (1993)
paperback version of this book for around 14 pounds, if you can find it.
The Information Commons holds 2 copies of this book.
At a more advanced level:
- Stellar Structure and Evolution
R. Kippenhahn & A. Weigert (Springer-Verlag)
This is widely acknowledged as the classic advanced text on the
subject. The book is pitched at around graduate level, so is slightly
more advanced than PHY213. Do not be put off by this, however, as
there is much that you will find of use in this text. You will be able
to buy the thoroughly-revised second edition (2012) in hardback for
around 81 pounds, but paperback copies of the first edition (1994) can
be found for around 43 pounds. The Information Commons and Western
Bank Library hold 1 copy each of the first edition of this book.
©Vik Dhillon, 25th September 2013
