An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The → moment of inertia of a body about an arbitrary axis x' is equal to the sum of its moment of inertia about axis x, passing through the center of mass of the body and parallel to axis x', and the product of the mass M of the body by the square of the distance d between axes x and x': I_x' = I_x + Md². Same as → parallel axis theorem.

Named after Jakop Steiner (1796-1863), a Swiss mathematician who derived this statement; → theorem.

A small → main belt  → asteroid of size 5.9 x 4 km, discovered in 1969 by N. S. Chernykh. It was visited by the → Rosetta space probe in 2008.

Named after Karlis Šteins (1911-1983), a Latvian and Soviet astronomer.

Same as → aberration of starlight .

→ stellar; → aberratio.

1) A large, loose grouping of 10 to 1000 stars that are of similar spectral type and share a common origin. The members move together through space, but have become gravitationally → unbound. Stellar associations are primarily identified by their common movement vectors and ages. → OB association; → T association; → R association.
2) An → unbound stellar agglomeration for which the age of the stars is smaller than the → crossing time (Giels & Portegies Zwart, 2010, MNRAS Letters, astro-ph/1010.1720). See also → star cluster.

The concept of stellar association was first introduced by Viktor A. Ambartsumian (1908-1996), Armenian astrophysicist (1947, Stellar Evolution and Astrophysics, Armenian Acad. of Sci.; German translation, Abhandl. Sowjetischen Astron. Ser. 1. 33, 1951). → stellar; → association.

The branch of astronomy that deals with the study of stars, their physical properties, formation, and evolution. Same as → stellar astrophysics and → stellar physics.

→ stellar; → astronomy.

The field of → astrophysics concerned with the study of the physical characteristics of stars, more specifically their → internal structure, physical processes taking place in their interiors, atmospheres, → stellar winds, → mass loss, interaction with the → interstellar medium, as well as the physical laws governing → star formation. Same as → stellar physics and → stellar astronomy.

→ stellar; → astrophysics.

The outer envelope of gas and plasma that surrounds a star; characterized by pressure, temperature, density, chemical composition, and opacity at varying altitudes.

→ stellar; → atmosphere.

A model that computes the radiation field crossing the boundary layers of a star at all frequencies. The parameters used for the characterization of a stellar atmosphere model are: → effective temperature, → surface gravity, and → metallicity.

→ stellar; → atmosphere; → model.

A bar-shaped accumulation of stars in galaxies, created by → density waves in a → spiral galaxy. → galactic bar, → barred spiral galaxy.

→ stellar; → bar.

A → black hole with a mass in the range 3-30 → solar masses representing the end-product of → massive star evolution. Since → neutron stars cannot have masses larger than 3 solar masses, compact objects more massive than this must be black holes. There is good observational evidence for the existence of stellar black holes, based in particular on dynamical measurements of the masses of compact objects in → transient X-ray sources. Same as → stellar-mass black hole.

→ stellar; → black; → hole.

Any of the largest stellar assemblages consisting of the groupings of → star clusters, → stellar associations, and individual stars with sizes of 300-1000 → parsecs and ages of up to 100 millions years. Most stellar complexes are physical entities containing objects of common origin and are the birth places of most star clusters and associations. The brightest and youngest complexes are well-known stellar superstructures that outline the Galactic → spiral arms, and also include → H II regions, → giant molecular clouds, and → neutral hydrogen clouds (Efremov, Y. N., 1996, The Origins, Evolutions, and Densities of Binary Stars in Clusters, ASP Conf. Series, Vol. 90).

→ stellar; → complex.

The number of stars born per unit area in the mass range log M to log M + d log M during the time interval t to t + dt. The integration of the creation function over time gives the → present-day mass function (Miller & Scalo, 1797, ApJSS 41, 513).

→ stellar; → creation; → function.

A steeply rising radial profile (→ cusp) in the number density of stars in the central region of a galaxy resulting from the gravitational influence of a central → supermassive black hole, as predicted by theoretical models. An important assumption of all cusp formation models is that the stellar cluster is in dynamical equilibrium in the black hole potential. This radial profile is usually characterized by a power law of the form n(r) ∝ r^-γ, with a slope that is steeper than that of a flat isothermal → core. For a single-mass stellar cluster, Bahcall & Wolf (1976) determined the dynamically relaxed cusp will have γ = 7/4. The presence of such a cusp is important observationally because it may represent a simple test for black holes in stellar systems where dynamical mass estimates are difficult, such as in the cores of galaxies. In the case of the Milky Way, several attempts have been done to probe the presence of such a stellar cusp. However, the presence of the cusp is not confirmed. For example, based on the late-type stars alone, Do et al. (2009, ApJ 703, 1323), show that γ is less than 1.0 at the 99.7% confidence level. This is consistent with the nuclear star cluster having no cusp, with a → core profile that is significantly flatter than that predicted by most cusp formation theories, and even allows for the presence of a central hole in the stellar distribution (See also Genzel et al., 2010, Rev.Mod.Phys. 82, 3121, also at astro-ph/1006.0064).

→ stellar; → cusp.

The field of astrophysics that describes systems of many → point mass particles whose mutual gravitational interactions determine their orbits. Theses systems include → star clusters, → globular clusters, and galaxies (→ galaxy) consisting of about 10²-10³, 10⁴-10⁶, and up to about 10¹² members respectively. Stellar dynamics deals with systems in which each member contributes importantly to the overall gravitational field and is usually concerned with the statistical properties of many orbits. It can be compared to the → kinetic theory of gases developed in the late 19th century. In contrast, → celestial mechanics deals with systems where the gravitational force of a massive planet or star determines the orbits of its satellites.

→ stellar; → dynamics.

The gradual changes in physical state (spectrum, luminosity, temperature) and chemical composition that occurs during the life of a star.

→ stellar; → evolution.

The process whereby large quantities of → energy and → momentum are released into the gas surrounding → star formation regions in galaxies. More specifically, → massive stars inject → energy, → mass, and → metals back to the → interstellar medium through → stellar winds and → supernova explosions. Feedback inhibits further star formation either by removing gas from the galaxy, or by heating it to temperatures that are too high to form new stars. Observations reveal feedback in the form of → galactic-scale outflows of gas in galaxies with high → star formation rates, especially in the → early Universe. Feedback in faint, low-mass galaxies (→ low-mass galaxy) probably facilitated the escape of ionizing radiation from galaxies when the Universe was about 500 million years old, so that the hydrogen between galaxies changed from neutral to ionized, a process called → reionization (Dawn K. Erb, 2015, Nature, 9 July).

→ stellar; → feedback.

That part of a star which lies below the photosphere.

→ stellar; → interior.

The total amount of energy emitted by a star per unit time. According to the → Stefan-Boltzmann law, the stellar luminosity is given by: L_* = 4πR_*²σT_eff⁴, where R_* is radius, σ is the → Stefan-Boltzmann constant, and T_eff is → effective temperature. A star's luminosity depends, therefore, on two factors, its size and its surface temperature. Stellar luminosity is measured either in ergs per second or in units of → solar luminosity or in → absolute magnitude. See also → luminosity class.

→ stellar; → luminosity.

The → magnetic field associated with a star. Magnetic fields are common among stars of solar and lower masses. So far definitive detections of fields in stars with masses ~1.5 Msun have, for the most part, been made for objects having anomalous chemical abundances (e.g., the → chemically peculiar A and B stars). Recently, however, observations of cyclic variability in the properties of → stellar winds from luminous → OB stars have been interpreted as evidence for the presence of large-scale magnetic fields in the surface layers and atmospheres of these objects (→ magnetic massive star). These inferences have been bolstered by the unambiguous measurement of a weak (~ 360 G) field in the chemically normal B1 IIIe star → Beta Cephei. These results suggest that magnetic fields of moderate strength might be more prevalent among → hot stars than had previously been thought. At the present time, the origin of magnetism in massive stars is not well understood. If the magnetic field of a hot star is produced by → dynamo effect in the → convective core, then a mechanism for transporting the field to the stellar surface must be identified. The finite electrical conductivity of the envelope leads to the outward diffusion of any fields contained therein, but only over an extended period of time. Estimates indicate that for stars more massive than a few solar masses, the resistive diffusion time across the radiative interior exceeds the → main sequence lifetime. Another possibility is that dynamo fields are advected from the core to the surface by rotation-induced → meridional circulation (MacGregor & Cassinelli, 2002, astro-ph/0212224).

→ stellar; → magnetic; → field.

1) The quantity of mass contained in a star. It is usually expressed in terms of the → solar mass (Msun).
2) A component of the total mass of a → galaxy represented by the mass of all its stars.

→ stellar; → mass.