The Ages of Stars (IAU S258)

by Eric E. Mamajek, David R. Soderblom, Rosemary F. G. Wyse

Overview

Estimating accurate stellar ages is one of the most difficult challenges in astrophysics. A star's age cannot be measured directly, and currently we only know the accurate age for one star: the Sun. Stellar ages lie at the heart of much of astrophysics. The accurate determination of timescales for physical processes in the stars allows us to compare the properties of stars at different stages in their lives. In IAU Symposium 258 astrophysicists from around the world discuss the current state of the problem of estimating ages of stars and stellar populations. They describe their efforts to better constrain the ages of individual stars and groups of stars through improved observations and physical models. IAU S258 highlights where the advances are being made and predicts what the near future offers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521889896
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/25/2009
Series:	Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union Symposia and Colloquia , #258
Pages:	490
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. The Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies Guido De Marchi; Part II. Ages of Young Stars Michal Simon; Part III. Models of Stars and Tests of Models Sylvie Vauclair; Part IV. Globular Clusters and Old Open Clusters Rosemary Wyse; Part V. White Dwarfs Robert Rood; Part VI. Brown Dwarfs Michael Liu; Part VII. Age-related Properties of Solar-type Stars Fred Walter; Part VIII. Asteroseismology and the Sun Jeff Valenti; Part IX. Nucleochronology John Stauffer; Author index; Object index; Subject index.