Compact Star Physics

Cambridge University Press, 2020

This is a textbook I have written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students which is now available from Cambridge University Press (for the US and Canada starting October 2020). It is intended as an introduction to the rich research areas of compact stars. So the textbook covers such diverse areas as general relativity, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, nuclear physics, and, of course, astrophysics. The focus is on explaining key concepts and basic insights on properties of compact stars in general. Applications to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and quark stars follow as well as relations to nuclear astrophysics (neutron-rich nuclei), relativistic heavy-ion collisions (equation of state and phase transitions). Also I tried to implement the rapid advances in astrophysics, as the observation of supermassive neutron stars from pulsar timing and the gravitational wave detection of neutron star merger (GW170817).

Illustration: Credit: ESO/L. Calcada. Cover Design by Zoe Naylor.

If you klick here you will find a flyer with a discount valid until May 31, 2021. A click on the picture will direct you to the webpage of the book at Cambridge University Press with more details.

I will post corrections on this webpage. If you find one, please send it to me. I will add it to the list with your name (first come first serve). I hope it will be a short list.

I have given a three-hour per week course on compact star physics which closely follows my textbook. The lectures have been videotaped and can be found here.