An Introduction to Close Binary Stars [Paperback]

R. W. Hilditch (Author)

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Product Details

Paperback: 392 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (Mar 12 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0521798000
ISBN-13: 978-0521798006
Product Dimensions: 24.6 x 17.4 x 2.2 cm
Shipping Weight: 662 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #999,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

'Combining the experience of many years of teaching with an equal length of service in observational research on binary stars, Ron Hilditch has produced a book that will be a standard reference for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and more mature researchers for a long time to come ... I found this book inspirational.' David Stickland, The Observatory

'It covers all the essentials a postgraduate student or undergraduate project student will need to know if they will be working with and interpreting observations of close binary stars and is full of useful sources of further information ... I would recommend this book to any astronomer who studies close binary stars or wants a better understanding of them.' Astronomy Now

'This textbook provides advanced undergraduate and graduate students a thorough introduction to binary stars as well as a lucid companion for courses on stellar astrophysics, stellar structure and evolution, and observational astrophysics.' Europe & Astronomy

'This is a comprehensive companion book for courses on stellar astrophysics, and stellar structures and evolution.' Aslib Book Guide

Product Description

Binary systems of stars are as common as single stars. This original text provides a pedagogical and comprehensive introduction to binary stars. The author combines theory and observations at all wavelengths to develop a unified understanding of binaries of all categories. Chapters review methods for calculating orbits, the Roche model, ideas about mass exchange and loss, methods for analyzing light curves, the masses and dimensions of different binary systems, and imaging the surfaces of stars and accretion structures. This volume offers advanced undergraduate and graduate students a thorough introduction to binary stars that will aid their learning of stellar astrophysics, stellar structure and evolution, and observational astrophysics.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
The points of light in the night-time sky that we call stars can be divided into two categories. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for serious amateur astronomers, Dec 23 2007

By Herbert F. Helbig "physicist" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: An Introduction to Close Binary Stars (Paperback)

If you are an amateur astronomer studying eclipsing binary star systems, and have some training in physics, this book by R.W. Hilditch is a goldmine of information about the interaction of binaries. His treatment is closely tied to observational data, so that you will be motivated to follow the analyses he provides of light curve shapes. The information content of spectroscopic studies and of pulsar and x-ray data are also covered. The book is about as clear as it can be considering the detail provided. Even if equations frighten you, you might find the graphical and pictorial information useful.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An Introduction to Close Binary Stars., Aug 1 2009

By John A. Shaw - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: An Introduction to Close Binary Stars (Paperback)

I bought this book then left it on the shelf for awhile. However, when I was teaching the mechanics portion of an introductory astrophysics course I pulled it down and found it very useful for its discussion of the spectroscopic determination of the masses and orbital parameters from observational data. It was just right for explaining to the students in the class how to calculate masses, eccentricities, and the other orbital parameters from data available in the literature. This wasn't quite possible from the other textbooks I used (including Carroll and Ostlie and the new textbook by Bradt) which covered the same material but didn't develop it as fully. I am working through the interacting binary part of the book now, but have found the book to be one of the ones I turn to when I need a decent explanation of the mathematics before hitting the technical literature. If you need to calculate it and not just get a synopsis this is your book.

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