PHY 521: Stars
A graduate class covering stellar interiors, evolution and death, and atmospheres
Instructor: Michael Zingale
Fall 2025∗ Course information
syllabus: see Brightspace for the latest syllabus.
assignments: all homeworks will be assigned and turned in via Brightspace.
∗ Online resources
- The electronic content associated with our recommended text is available here: Extra Materials for Stellar Evolution
- Our other recommended text is available online: Stellar Physics
- Stellar Structure and Evolution Notes by Onno Pols
∗ Software tools
- The MESA stellar evolution code: this is a widely-used stellar evolution code that can evolve stars from pre-main sequence through white dwarf formation / supernova.
- MESA-Web: run MESA online!
- pynucastro: this is a python library for exploring nuclear reaction rates and networks.
∗ Numerical overview
Here are some notes on numerical methods to help you with some of the computational parts of the assignments.
∗ Homework
Homeworks are managed by Brightspace. The PDF of the assignment is copied here for convenience.| # | topic | assigned | due | solutions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | basics of stars | 02-Sept-2025 | 11-Sept-2025 | homework1.pdf | HW1 solutions |
| 2 | equations of state | 11-Sept-2025 | 23-Sept-2025 | homework2.pdf | HW2 solutions |
| 3 | radiation | 23-Sept-2025 | 02-Oct-2025 | homework3.pdf | HW3 solutions |
| 4 | convection | 02-Oct-2025 | 09-Oct-2025 | homework4.pdf | HW4 solutions |
| 5 | reactions | 16-Oct-2025 | 28-Oct-2025 | homework5.pdf |
∗ Lecture schedule
Note: the topics may shift a bit depending on our interests.