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Stellar Atmospheres (Tatum)

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    This stellar atmospheres textbook provides a comprehensive, physics-based treatment of how radiation is generated, transported, and modified in stellar environments, building from foundational radiation theory through detailed spectral diagnostics. It begins by carefully defining radiative quantities and blackbody radiation, then develops the mathematical tools and astrophysical concepts needed to describe flux, intensity, and radiation pressure. Central to the text is the equation of radiative transfer, including absorption, scattering, source functions, and observable effects such as limb darkening. The book then connects radiation to atomic and molecular physics, covering quantum mechanics, atomic structure, spectroscopy, and the physical origins of spectral lines. Statistical mechanics via the Boltzmann and Saha equations links thermodynamic conditions to ionization and excitation states, while oscillator strengths, line profiles, and broadening mechanisms explain how spectral features form and evolve. The text culminates in the curve of growth, providing a practical framework for interpreting stellar spectra and extracting physical properties of stellar atmospheres from observations.

    Thumbnail: This image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on June 20, 2013 shows the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the Sun. (Public Domain; NASA/SDO via NASA)​

    This page titled Stellar Atmospheres (Tatum) is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jeremy Tatum via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.