UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

BSc and MSci EXAMINATION 2006

For Internal Students of Royal Holloway

DO NOT TURN OVER UNTIL TOLD TO BEGIN

PH2910A: STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS Time Allowed: TWO hours

Answer QUESTION ONE and TWO other questions No credit will be given for attempting any further questions

Approximate part-marks for questions are given in the right-hand margin

Only CASIO fx85WA Calculators or CASIO fx85MS Calculators are permitted

PH2910A/19 Royal Holloway and Bedford New College 2006 2005-06

GENERAL PHYSICAL CONSTANTS Permeability of vacuum Permittivity of vacuum

0 0
1/40

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

4 10-7 8.85 10-12 9.0 109 3.00 108 1.60 10-19 9.11 10-31 1.66 10-27 1.67 10-27 1.67 10-27 1.76 1011 6.63 10-34 1.05 10-34 1.38 10-23 5.67 10-8 8.31 6.02 1023 6.67 10-11 9.81 2.24 10-2 1.01 105

H m-1 F m-1 m F-1 m s-1 C kg kg kg kg C kg-1 Js Js J K-1 W m-2 K-4 J mol-1 K-1 mol-1 N m2 kg-2 m s-2 m3 N m-2

Speed of light in vacuum Elementary charge Electron (rest) mass Unified atomic mass constant Proton rest mass Neutron rest mass Ratio of electronic charge to mass Planck constant

c e me mu mp mn e/me h = = h/2

Boltzmann constant Stefan-Boltzmann constant Gas constant Avogadro constant Gravitational constant Acceleration due to gravity Volume of one mole of an ideal gas at STP One standard atmosphere

R NA G g

P0

MATHEMATICAL CONSTANTS e 2.718 3.142 loge10 2.303

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ANSWER ONLY FIVE sections of Question One. You are advised not to spend more than 40 minutes answering Question One. 1. (a) Draw and label a (log T, log ) diagram for a choice of parameters that is appropriate for stars (T is the stars temperature and is its density). State which equation of state applies in different regions of the diagram, indicating the slopes of the lines that define the boundaries between regions. Give the definition of optical depth for a star and briefly discuss its physical meaning. State Kramers opacity law. What is the Eddington limit and what are the consequences for a star which exceeds this limit? Recalling that the internal energy U of a star is always proportional to the ratio of its pressure P and its density , show that the specific heat capacity of stars dominated by electron degeneracy pressure is zero. Discuss briefly how this gives rise to thermonuclear runaway in white dwarf stars. Describe the pp-I branch of the pp-chain sequence of nuclear reactions. Give an approximate value for the temperature at which the pp-chain ignites, and state how the reaction rate varies with density and temperature. With the help of a diagram, compare the reaction rate for the pp-chain with that of the CNO cycle. Show that the classical temperature required for two repulsing particles with charge Z1e and Z 2e to achieve a minimum separation d is
T= 2 3 Z1 Z 2 e 2 , 4 0 k d

[4] [4] [4]

(b) (c) (d)

[4]

(e)

[4]

(f)

where e is the electron charge , 0 the permittivity of vacuum and k the Boltzmann constant. Calculate the classical temperature required for two protons of average kinetic energy to approach to within 1fm of each other ( 1fm = 10-15 m ). Compare your answer to the central temperature of the Sun, Tc = 107 K , and discuss the implications of this result.

[4]

TURN OVER

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2.

(a)

For a star with spherical symmetry, described by a density profile ( r ) , state the equation that gives the infinitesimal mass element dm( r ) contained in a thin shell of thickness dr at a distance r from the stars centre (mass continuity equation).

Give an expression for the stars average density as a function of the stars mass M and of its radius R. (b) In a star of mass M, the density decreases from the centre to the surface as a function of radial distance r, according to:
r 3 (r ) = c 1 , R

[4]

where c is the central density and R is the stars radius. Show that the total mass m( r ) contained in a sphere of radius r is given by:
1 r 4 c r 3 1 m( r ) = 3 2 R
3

Use the above expression to demonstrate that the central density c is twice as large as the stars average density . (c) The central pressure Pc of a star in hydrostatic equilibrium is given by the following expression:
Pc =
M 0

[6]

G m( r ) dm . 4 r4

Use this formula to calculate the central pressure Pc(1) for a star with uniform density equal to its average density . Use the same formula to show that the central pressure Pc( 2 ) for a star described by the density profile given in (b) is a factor 9/5 larger than Pc(1) .

[10]

TURN OVER

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3.

(a)

The global, general form of the virial theorem for a spherically symmetric star in hydrostatic equilibrium is given by: 3

dm = ,

Define the symbols in the formula above, and give a definition for , explaining its physical meaning. (b) Recalling that the internal energy of an ideal gas is the total kinetic energy of its particles, show that for an ideal gas the internal energy per unit mass is given by:
u gas = 3 Pgas . 2

[4]

Show that for an ideal gas, the virial theorem takes the form: 1 U = . 2 Discuss the implications of this result for a star that can be described as an ideal gas. (c) In astrophysics it is customary to define the parameter so that
Pgas = P Prad = (1 ) P ,

[10]

where Pgas and Prad are the gas and the radiation contributions to the total pressure P, with P=Pgas+Prad . The relationship between radiation pressure and radiation internal energy per unit mass is given by:

u rad = 3

Prad

Assuming a uniform value of throughout the star and defining the total internal energy as U =
M 0

(ugas + urad ) dm , show that, for a star where

both radiation and an ideal gas are present, the virial theorem leads to

E=

U.
[6]

Discuss the limits 0 and 1 .

TURN OVER

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4.

(a)

Stars in hydrostatic equilibrium that obey a polytropic equation of state are described by solutions to the Lane-Emden equation of index n: 1 d 2 d

2 d d

n = .

Here is a dimensionless variable that parameterises the stellar density profile, while is a dimensionless variable defined by r = n , with n a positive constant that depends on the index n. State the equation of state that defines the symbol n and give the value it takes in the case of a non-relativistic degenerate electron gas and of a relativistic degenerate electron gas. (b) The solutions to the Emden-Lane equation are subject to the following boundary conditions:

[4]

( = 0) = 1
d d = 0 . =0

Solve the Lane-Emden equation analytically for n = 0 , which describes a configuration of uniform density. (c) In polytropic models, the central pressure Pc and the central density c of a star are related by the following relationship:
Pc = (4 ) Bn GM 2 / 3 c4 / 3 ,
1/ 3

[8]

where G is the gravitational constant, M is the stars mass and Bn is a constant that depends on the value of n. Analogously, the central density c and the mean density of the star are related by: c = Dn , where Dn is another constant that again depends on the value of n. For a given mass M and a fixed value of the central pressure Pc, show that the ratio between the radius R3/2 of a star described by a polytrope of index 3/2 and the radius R3 of a star described by a polytrope of index 3 is:
R 3 / 2 D3 / 2 = D R3 3
1/ 3

B3 / 2 B 3

1/ 4

.
[6]

(d)

Use the following numerical values to determine which radius is larger: D3/ 2 = 5.991 , D3 = 54.81 , B3/ 2 = 0.206 , B3 = 0.157 .

[2]

TURN OVER

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5.

(a)

Sketch a theoretical Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, Log(L/Lsun) vs. Log(Teff), for a fully evolved globular cluster (like, for example, M3). Label each axis with the appropriate range of values and indicate all main features in the diagram that correspond to the different stages of stellar evolution. Using the homology property of the solutions to the equations of stellar structure (i.e. when solutions are given in terms of the fractional mass x = m / M ), the following expressions may be derived for main sequence stars with constant opacity:
P* = GM 2 R*4 M R*3

[4]

(b)

* =
T* = F* =

P* R gas *

ac T*4 R*4 M F* = q 0 *T*n M .

Define the meaning of the symbols , and n . Using these equations, show that, for a generic index n:
R* M P* M
n 1 n+3 10 2 n n +3

and .

[6]

(c)

What is the dependence of R* on the stars mass when hydrogen burning proceeds preferentially via the pp-chain? And when it proceeds preferentially via the CNO cycle? Will heavier stars have a pressure P* that decreases or increases with the stars mass? Explain why the duration MS of the main sequence (hydrogen burning) stage is roughly inversely proportional to the squared value of the stars mass M:

[4]

(d)

MS M 2 .
Discuss how this result explains the different extent of the upper end of main sequences for stellar clusters of different ages.
[6]

END