Horace A. Smith – författare

This is a comprehensive account of RR Lyrae stars, and traces the story from their initial discovery a century ago, through to their present status. This book reviews our current understanding of RR Lyrae stars. It is a unique explanation of the multiple applications of these variable stars for a range of astrophysical problems. Horace A. Smith describes the use of RR Lyrae stars as probes of old stellar populations, both in the Milky Way and other galaxies, and as an outstanding testing ground for stellar evolution and pulsation theories. He stresses the significance of variable stars for our ultimate understanding of the history and scale of the Milky Way and nearer extragalactic systems. For advanced students and researchers of astronomy, this is a definitive account of the modern theories surrounding RR Lyrae stars.

This book surveys our understanding of stars which change in brightness because they pulsate. Pulsating variable stars are keys to distance scales inside and beyond the Milky Way galaxy. They test our understanding not only of stellar pulsation theory but also of stellar structure and evolution theory. Moreover, pulsating stars are important probes of the formation and evolution of our own and neighboring galaxies. Our understanding of pulsating stars has greatly increased in recent years as large-scale surveys of pulsating stars in the Milky Way and other Local Group galaxies have provided a wealth of new observations and as space-based instruments have studied particular pulsating stars in unprecedented detail.

This book surveys our understanding of stars which change in brightness because they pulsate. Pulsating variable stars are keys to distance scales inside and beyond the Milky Way galaxy. They test our understanding not only of stellar pulsation theory but also of stellar structure and evolution theory. Moreover, pulsating stars are important probes of the formation and evolution of our own and neighboring galaxies. Our understanding of pulsating stars has greatly increased in recent years as large-scale surveys of pulsating stars in the Milky Way and other Local Group galaxies have provided a wealth of new observations and as space-based instruments have studied particular pulsating stars in unprecedented detail.