Nuclear and Particle Physics

Lecture Note: 10
A“we shall overcome” lecture series during COVID - 19 Pandemic.
Module III: Astrophysics
Instructor: Dr. Jimmy Sebastian

Course Code: 19U6CRPHY11 Semester VI

2 Classification of stars

The most comprehensive classification of stars was done on the basis of the
correlation between their luminosities (an observable parameter of stars) and
temperatures. This classification gave rise to Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) di-
agram.

2.1 Hertzsprung - Russel diagram

An extremely useful tool for understanding the evolution of a star is the H-R
diagram first devised in the early part of the last century. It is a plot of
stellar temperature (or spectral class) on the horizontal axis versus stellar
luminosity on the vertical axis. It was found that particular types of stars lie
on certain regions in this diagram according to their evolutionary state and
their mass. H-R diagram involves parameters such as temperature, luminos-
ity and radius of the stars.

The luminosity (L) of a star is defined as the total energy radiated by it, in
one second, consisting of radiations of all wavelengths.

One of the fundamental parameters of a star is its diameter and it is related to

the star’s luminosity and temperature. To understand better, lets consider a
normal candle flame which has a low surface area. The candle flame, despite

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being very hot, cannot radiate much heat and its luminosity is low. However,
if the candle flame were 25 cm long, it would have larger surface area. In this
case, despite being at the same temperature, it would radiate more heat and
would have high value of luminosity.

Stefan–Boltzmann law:
Stefan–Boltzmann law states that the total energy radiated per unit surface
area of a black body across all wavelengths per unit time j (also known as the
black-body radiant emittance) is directly proportional to the fourth power of
the black body’s thermodynamic temperature T:

j = σT 4 (2.1.1)

Here j is the total energy radiated per unit surface area of a black body across
all wavelengths per unit time.

Luminosity (L)

If A is the surface area of the star of radius R then the luminosity (L) is
given by

L = Aj = 4πR2 σT 4 (2.1.2)

If we compare the luminosity L of a star with the luminosity of the sun Ls

we get

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L R T
= (2.1.3)
Ls Rs Ts

Here Rs and Ts are the radius and temperature of the sun. Thus we see that
its not only the temperature but also the size of the star with determines its
luminosity.
The H-R diagram contains quite a lot of information about stars.
1. Since the absolute magnitude or luminosity refers to the intrinsic bright-
ness of a star, H-R diagram relates the intrinsic brightness of a star with its

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 Figure 1: HR diagram

temperature.
2. The H-R diagram separates the effects of temperature and surface area on
the luminosity of the stars because the brightness of two stars at the same
temperature is proportional to their radii. This feature enables us to classify
stars in terms of their diameters.
3. The location of a star on the H-R diagram is in no way related to its
location in space
4. A star located near the bottom of the diagram simply means that its
luminosity is low
5. A star in the right indicates that its temperature is low (because the tem-
perature decreases away from the origin)
6. Another interesting feature of the H-R diagram is that the position of
a star on it changes with time. This is because the star’s luminosity and

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temperature change with its age.
7.The change in position of a star has nothing to do with the star’s actual
motion.

The stars have been divided into different types/groups on the basis of their
location on the H-R diagram. Figure 1, you may note that the distribution
of stars follows a pattern such that a majority of stars fall along a central di-
agonal called the main sequence. The main sequence stars account for nearly
90 per cent of all stars. The other types of stars such as giants, supergiants,
white dwarfs populate other regions. The giant stars (named so because of
their big size) located at the top right of the H-R diagram have low temper-
ature but high luminosity.

Figure 2: HR diagram

On the basis of the strength of spectral lines, particularly Balmer lines, in

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stellar spectra, stars were classified into seven main spectral types namely O,
B, A, F, G, K and M. as shown in Figure 2. It was shown by M N Saha that
this classification essentially refers to the temperatures of stars.

3 Stellar evolution

Some 400, 000 years after the Big Bang, matter in the form of electrons,
protons, and 4 He drifted throughout the universe much like gas particles in
a large room. Eventually, as the temperature continued to decrease, gravi-
tational forces managed to bring some of the matter together into massive
gaseous clouds, which formed the basis for stars.

As the protons were attracted together by their gravitational interaction,

their kinetic energy rose. This process continued as the interior temperature
of these infant stars kept increasing.

The interior of a gaseous cloud had a higher density and temperature than
the outside. The cloud continued to contract until finally the temperature
reached about 107 K, and the nuclear fusion process began. Nuclear fusion is
a characteristic of a star. It may have taken a million or more years for the
contraction of the cloud to be able to produce fusion for the star to be born,
although some recent results indicate it could happen in as little as 200, 000
years. The schematic formation of a star is shown in Figure 3.

Nuclear fusion process is the energy source of stars. The proton-proton chain
releases energy, which is observed as radiation. The eventual result of this
fusion process is 4 He, which collects at the center of the star. Other processes
form 12 C and heavier masses if the temperature in the star is high enough;
this occurs later in a star’s life.

We can measure the surface temperature of stars by measuring the color of

the radiated light, but it is difficult to know the interior temperature. We
believe the surface temperature of the sun to be about 5800K and the core
temperature to be as high as 14 × 106 K. A star the size of our sun may burn
for 1010 years, but a larger star will use up its fusion fuel much faster. The

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Figure 3: (a) Stars form when interstellar gas and clouds condense by gravitational at-
traction. (b) As the matter contracts, a core forms that heats up and radiates energy.(c)
Eventually the outer region becomes so dense that the radiation from the hot inner core can
no longer escape. The collapse slows, but the matter continues to heat, and eventually a
protostar of high density and temperature forms.(d) For a star of about 1 solar mass (the
mass of our sun), the contraction eventually heats up enough to sustain nuclear fusion. The
radiation pressure produced by nuclear fusion balances the gravitational contraction, and the
star stabilizes into a main sequence star. The star will burn for 10 billion years, converting
its hydrogen into helium.

light presently received by Earth was most likely produced in the interior of
the sun more than 105 years ago and underwent many scatterings until it was
emitted from the surface of the sun.
Final stage of the star
The final stages of stellar evolution begin when the hydrogen fuel in the core is
exhausted. At this point the gravitational attraction continues; the density
and temperature increase. The temperature becomes hot enough that the
helium nuclei begin to fuse. Heavier elements are subsequently created in
nuclear fusion processes that are well understood. For more massive stars,
the fusion process continues until nuclei near the iron region are produced,
where elements have the highest binding energy per nucleon . The nuclear
fusion process can no longer continue, and the reactions stop.
Stars more massive than Sun
The star’s ultimate fate depends on its mass. For stars somewhat more
massive than the sun, the gravitational attraction of the mass continues until
the density of the star is incredibly high. Let us look at this process in some
detail. Let there be N nucleons, each of mass m, in the star. The gravitational
self potential energy of a uniform sphere of mass N m and radius R is
3 G(N m)2
Ugrav = − (3.0.1)
5 R
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The gravitational pressure is the force per unit area. Since

F = −∇U (3.0.2)

F 1 dUgrav 3G (N m)2
Pgrav = =− = (3.0.3)
A 4πR2 dR 5 4πR4

Writing it in terms of the volume(V = 34 πR3 ) we have

(N m)2
Pgrav = 0.32G (3.0.4)
V 4/3
Matter is kept from total collapse by the outward electron pressure. This
occurs because the Pauli exclusion principle effectively keeps two electrons
from occupying the same state. However, for a sufficiently massive star,
gravity will eventually force the electrons to interact with the protons through
the reaction

e − + p → n + νe (3.0.5)

to form neutrons. Thus a neutron star which is composed mostly of neutrons

is formed. However, because neutrons also obey the exclusion principle, an
outward pressure similar to that of the electrons will also result from neutrons.
The pressure of a neutron gas is shown to be

3.9~2 (N/V )5/3

Pn = (3.0.6)
2m
In equilibrium, the outward pressure of the neutrons due to the exclusion
principle will balance the gravitational pressure.

Pgrav = Pn
(N m)2 3.9~2 (N/V )5/3 (3.0.7)
0.32G 4/3 =
V 2m

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We solve this equation for the cube root of the volume

1/3 6.5~2
V = 1/3 3 (3.0.8)
N mG
Note that the more massive the neutron star, the smaller its size.

Stars similar to Sun

After a low mass star like the Sun exhausts the supply of hydrogen in its
core, there is no longer any source of heat to support the core against gravity.
Hydrogen burning continues in a shell around the core and the star evolves
into a red giant. When the Sun becomes a red giant, its atmosphere will
envelope the Earth and our planet will be consumed in a fiery death.

Meanwhile, the core of the star collapses under gravity’s pull until it reaches
a high enough density to start burning helium to carbon. The helium burning
phase will last about 100 million years, until the helium is exhausted in the
core and the star becomes a red supergiant. At this stage, the Sun will have
an outer envelope extending out towards Jupiter. During this brief phase
of its existence, which lasts only a few tens of thousands of years, the Sun
will lose mass in a powerful wind. Eventually, the Sun will lose all of the
mass in its envelope and leave behind a hot core of carbon embedded in a
nebula of expelled gas. Radiation from this hot core will ionize the nebula,
producing a striking ”planetary nebula”, much like the nebulae seen around
the remnants of other stars. The carbon core will eventually cool and become
a white dwarf, the dense dim remnant of a once bright star.

White dwarf
A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a stellar core remnant com-
posed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense:
its mass is comparable to that of the Sun, while its volume is comparable
to that of Earth. A white dwarf’s faint luminosity comes from the emission
of residual thermal energy; no fusion takes place in a white dwarf. nearest
known white dwarf is Sirius B, at 8.6 light years from earth.

Black dwarf
A white dwarf is very hot when it forms, but because it has no source of en-

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ergy, it will gradually cool as it radiates its energy away. This means that its
radiation, which initially has a high color temperature, will lessen and redden
with time. Over a very long time, a white dwarf will cool and its material
will begin to crystallize, starting with the core. The star’s low temperature
means it will no longer emit significant heat or light, and it will become a
cold black dwarf.

Chandrasekar limit
The Chandrasekhar limit is the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf
star. The currently accepted value of the Chandrasekhar limit is about
1.4M (2.7651030 kg). where M is the solar mass (mass of sun).

White dwarfs resist gravitational collapse primarily through electron degener-

acy pressure, compared to main sequence stars, which resist collapse through
thermal pressure. The Chandrasekhar limit is the mass above which electron
degeneracy pressure in the star’s core is insufficient to balance the star’s own
gravitational self-attraction. Consequently, a white dwarf with a mass greater
than the limit is subject to further gravitational collapse, evolving into a dif-
ferent type of stellar remnant, such as a neutron star or black hole. Those
with masses up to the limit remain stable as white dwarfs.The limit was
named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Indian born American scientist.

Black holes
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing
— no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light — can escape
from it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact
mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole.Black holes of stellar mass
form when massive stars collapse at the end of their life cycle. After a black
hole has formed, it can grow by absorbing mass from its surroundings. Super-
massive black holes of millions of solar masses may form by absorbing other
stars and merging with other black holes. There is consensus that supermas-
sive black holes exist in the centres of most galaxies. Sagittarius A∗ , at the
core of the Milky Way galaxy, contains a supermassive black hole of about
4.3 million solar masses.

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Supernova explosion
A supernova is a powerful and luminous stellar explosion. This transient
astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive
star or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The
original object, called the progenitor, either collapses to a neutron star or
black hole, or is completely destroyed. The peak optical luminosity of a
supernova can be comparable to that of an entire galaxy before fading over
several weeks or months.

Photon Diffusion time

Photon diffusion is a situation where photons travel through a material with-
out being absorbed, but rather undergoing repeated scattering events which
change the direction of their path. The path of any given photon is then
effectively a random walk. A large ensemble of such photons can be said to
exhibit diffusion in the material, and can be described with a diffusion equa-
tion. In astrophysics, photon diffusion occurs inside a stellar atmosphere.

The sun is a very complex system. We can simplify it dramatically if we con-

sider it as having two major regions; the interior and the solar atmosphere. A
photon born in the very center of the sun finds itself in one of the most hos-
tile environments ever conceived. Immense temperature and pressure create
a place where the boundaries of atoms become less well defined. Particles are
just thrown around and photons are absorbed and re-emitted continuously.
As our photon starts to head toward the surface of the sun, it doesn’t get far
until it encounters another particle in its way. When a photon passes near
an electron, the electron can actually absorb the photon and take its energy.
This causes the electron to jump out of its orbit to a new higher orbit. Since
the electron can only exist at specific energy levels, this usually results in the
electron giving off a photon or photons to release the added energy and the
electron goes back down to its stable orbit. So technically, a photon born in
the middle of the sun NEVER makes it to the surface. It is always absorbed
and re-emitted as another photon. Photons are continually absorbed and
re-emitted throughout the interior region of the sun. The re-emitted photons
may also leave the electron at a different angle than they came in based on
conservation of momentum, mass, spin, etc. So our photon, that was trying
to get to the surface, may have just been shot back to the middle of the sun

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again. This whole process of the photon making its way to the surface is
called photon diffusion.

Once the photon reaches the solar atmosphere, it finds itself in a little different
environment. The pressure isn’t as great and the density has reduced making
it have to travel longer to reach another particle and interact. In contrast
to the interior, the outer part of the sun is largely transparent, and if the
photon makes it here, it has a good chance of getting away and starting it’s
trip to Earth. So we can really just look at the photon travel from the center
to the start of this zone as the diffusion time.

This is a difficult time to actually pin down to an exact amount. We learn

more and more about the sun over time and our understanding of its compo-
sition and the nature of its interior has grown dramatically. Let’s do a quick
calculation to see what the light travel time is from the center of the sun to
the outside to get a reference for the shortest straight line distance.
Radius of Sun
time =
Speed of light
(3.0.9)
696340
= = 2.3 seconds
3 × 108
So if there were no interactions of our photon, it would take a little over 2
seconds to exit the sun when traveling from the center. Do you have a guess
at how much longer that time is when we add in these random interactions?

photon diffusion time = 170, 000 years (3.0.10)

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