
The course will cover the following topics.
* Final stages of stellar evolution, formation of the main compact objects: white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes.
* Black holes: elements of general relativity applied to black holes, Schwarzschild solution in vacuum, geodesic motion in Schwarzschild spacetime, Schwarzschild solution in the presence of matter, hydrostatic equilibrium, TOV equation, Kerr solution (basics).
* Quantum degeneracy and degenerate systems: equation of state for a fully degenerate gas, non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic limits, Lane-Emden equation, and Chandrasekhar mass. Elements of radiative transfer.
* Accretion onto compact objects: spherical accretion (Bondi-Hoyle solution), compact objects in binary systems, Roche lobes and Roche-lobe overflow mechanism, accretion disks, standard accretion disk (Shakura-Sunyaev), spectrum of the radiation emitted by a thin disk.
* Neutron stars: main characteristics, magneto-rotational evolution, the PPdot diagram and neutron star populations, magnetosphere of a neutron star, light cylinder radius, pulsar emission model (Goldreich-Julian currents), accretion onto magnetized neutron stars, Alfven radius, accretion columns, boundary layer, internal structure of neutron stars, cooling mechanisms (URCA and modified-URCA processes, radiative cooling), cooling curves.
* Final stages of stellar evolution, formation of the main compact objects: white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes.
* Black holes: elements of general relativity applied to black holes, Schwarzschild solution in vacuum, geodesic motion in Schwarzschild spacetime, Schwarzschild solution in the presence of matter, hydrostatic equilibrium, TOV equation, Kerr solution (basics).
* Quantum degeneracy and degenerate systems: equation of state for a fully degenerate gas, non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic limits, Lane-Emden equation, and Chandrasekhar mass. Elements of radiative transfer.
* Accretion onto compact objects: spherical accretion (Bondi-Hoyle solution), compact objects in binary systems, Roche lobes and Roche-lobe overflow mechanism, accretion disks, standard accretion disk (Shakura-Sunyaev), spectrum of the radiation emitted by a thin disk.
* Neutron stars: main characteristics, magneto-rotational evolution, the PPdot diagram and neutron star populations, magnetosphere of a neutron star, light cylinder radius, pulsar emission model (Goldreich-Julian currents), accretion onto magnetized neutron stars, Alfven radius, accretion columns, boundary layer, internal structure of neutron stars, cooling mechanisms (URCA and modified-URCA processes, radiative cooling), cooling curves.
- Enseignant: Roberto Taverna
