Preface |
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xi | |
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Chapter 1 You Must Be Crazy |
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1 | (18) |
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1.1 Why do Ages of Stars Matter? |
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5 | (2) |
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1.2 Age of the Sun, Geology, and Biology |
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7 | (4) |
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1.3 Conflict Over the Age of the Universe |
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11 | (8) |
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Chapter 2 An Echo of the Distant Past |
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19 | (32) |
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20 | (8) |
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2.2 Expansion of the Universe and Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation |
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28 | (4) |
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2.3 The Big-Bang Cosmological Model |
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32 | (15) |
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2.3.1 Nucleosynthesis and the Origin of the CMB Radiation |
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41 | (3) |
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44 | (3) |
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2.4 The Formation of Galaxies |
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47 | (4) |
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Chapter 3 Set the Controls for the Heart of the Stars |
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51 | (34) |
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52 | (12) |
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61 | (3) |
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3.2 The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram and the Development of Stellar Evolution Theories |
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64 | (10) |
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74 | (2) |
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3.4 Giant Stars and White Dwarfs |
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76 | (9) |
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Chapter 4 Introducing the Machine |
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85 | (32) |
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4.1 The Equations of Stellar Structure and Evolution |
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85 | (13) |
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4.2 A Summary of Stellar Evolution |
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98 | (9) |
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106 | (1) |
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4.3 Stellar Evolution Tracks and Isochrones |
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107 | (10) |
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117 | (20) |
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5.1 Red Giant Branch Stars |
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118 | (6) |
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5.2 Neutrinos From the Sun |
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124 | (2) |
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5.3 Neutrinos From Supernovae |
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126 | (2) |
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5.4 Helioseismology: the Sun is in Tune |
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128 | (9) |
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133 | (4) |
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Chapter 6 Hipparcos' Legacy |
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137 | (14) |
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6.1 Magnitudes and Colours |
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137 | (8) |
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145 | (3) |
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6.3 Direct Measurements of Radius, Luminosity and Temperature |
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148 | (3) |
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Chapter 7 This is What We Do |
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151 | (34) |
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151 | (12) |
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7.1.1 The Faint Young Sun Problem |
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162 | (1) |
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7.2 Age of Individual Stars |
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163 | (8) |
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7.2.1 Ages from Radioactive Elements |
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169 | (2) |
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171 | (9) |
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7.3.1 Vertical and Horizontal Parameters |
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179 | (1) |
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7.4 Ages From Surface Chemical Abundances |
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180 | (5) |
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185 | (20) |
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8.1 White Dwarf Evolution |
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186 | (9) |
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195 | (10) |
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196 | (2) |
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8.2.2 The White Dwarf Population of the Old Open Cluster NGC 6791 |
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198 | (7) |
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Chapter 9 Far Away Beyond the Field |
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205 | (26) |
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9.1 Star Formation Histories of Galaxies |
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207 | (7) |
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9.2 Unresolved Stellar Populations |
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214 | (17) |
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9.2.1 Integrated magnitudes |
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215 | (7) |
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222 | (9) |
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231 | (12) |
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10.1 How Accurate Are Our Ages? |
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233 | (4) |
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237 | (6) |
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APPENDIX A Assorted (astro-)Physics |
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243 | (16) |
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A.1 Chemical Elements, Elementary Particles And The Four Fundamental Forces Of Nature |
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243 | (7) |
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A.1.1 Mass-Energy Equivalence |
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249 | (1) |
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250 | (3) |
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253 | (2) |
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A.4 Spectroscopic Parallax |
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255 | (1) |
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A.5 Mass, Radius, and Distance of Stars in Eclipsing Binary Systems |
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256 | (3) |
Bibliography |
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259 | (16) |
Index |
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275 | |