ADVANCED ASTROPHYSICS

1) Stellar Winds. Introduction. Coronal winds: Isothermal case. Generale case. Topology of the solution of the momentum equation. Line-driven winds: Wind dynamics. Radiative acceleration due to one single line. Optically thick case and optically thin case. Multiple line models. Kastor-Abbott-Klein formalism. Application to hot and luminous stars. Dust-driven winds: Momentum equations for the gas and dust components. Drift velocity. Drag force. Dynamical coupling gas-dust. Dust grains: chemical composition and optical properties. The single-scattering limit. Dust grain opacities. Grain cross sections. Planck mean opacities (silicates, graphite, amorphous carbon). Condensation radius and temperature of dust species. Effect of stellar pulsation in the subsonic region. Application to cool giant stars.

2) Variable stars. Overview of history, observations, classification. Introduction to the theory of stellar pulsation, time scales, period-mean density relation, linearization. Adiabatic approximation and LAWE. Non-adiabatic oscillations, stability conditions, quasi-adiabatic approximation. Driving: epsilon and kappa+gamma mechanisms, opacity bump, classical instability strip. RR Lyr and Cepheid variables. Red giant variables. Overview of non-radial oscillations and asteroseismology.

3) Deaths and final fates of massive and very massive stars: electron-capture supernovae, core-collapse supernovae, pair-instability supernovae, neutron star-merger kilonovae. Physics of the explosions and related uncertainties. Successful and failed explosions and related remnants (neutron star, black hole, none). The initial mass- final mass relation. Explosive nucleosynthesis.