Related papers: Stellar structure and compact objects before 1940:…
I argue that the widely adopted framework of stellar dynamics survived since 1940s, is not fitting the current knowledge on non-linear systems. Borrowed from plasma physics when several fundamental features of perturbed non-linear systems…
In the sixties,the first author and R.Kasanin have started developing a mean field theory of dense matter.This paper presents a short review of the basic ideas of the theory,and discusses some examples of its applications,which range from…
As some of the most compact stellar objects in the universe, neutron stars are unique cosmic laboratories. The study of neutron stars provides an ideal theoretical testbed for investigating both physics at supra-nuclear densities as well as…
A century ago, in 1911 and 1913, Plummer and then Reynolds introduced their models to describe the radial distribution of stars in `nebulae'. This article reviews the progress since then, providing both an historical perspective and a…
Oppenheimer and Snyder found in 1939 that gravitational collapse in vacuum produces a "frozen star", i.e., the collapsing matter only asymptotically approaches the gravitational radius (event horizon) of the mass, but never crosses it…
The past years have witnessed tremendous progress in understanding the properties of neutron stars and of the dense matter in their cores, made possible by electromagnetic observations of neutron stars and the detection of gravitational…
During the 1920s and 1930s, Italian physicists established strong relationships with scientists from other European countries and the United States. The career of Bruno Rossi, a leading personality in the study of cosmic rays and an Italian…
Albert Einstein postulated the equivalence of energy and mass, developed the theory of special relativity, explained the photoelectric effect, and described Brownian motion in five papers, all published in 1905, 100 years ago. With these…
Neutron stars are unique cosmic laboratories for the exploration of matter under extreme conditions of density and neutron-proton asymmetry. Due to their enormous dynamic range, neutron stars display a myriad of exotic states of matter that…
The relativistic theory of elasticity is reviewed within the spherically symmetric context with a view towards the modeling of star interiors possessing elastic properties such as theones expected in neutron stars. Emphasis is placed on…
Stars and planets are the fundamental objects of the Universe. Their formation processes, though related, may differ in important ways. Stars almost certainly form from gravitational collapse and probably have formed this way since the…
The recognition that physical space (or space-time) is curved is a product of the general theory of relativity, such as dramatically shown by the 1919 solar eclipse measurements. However, the mathematical possibility of non-Euclidean…
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity was proposed a little over a hundred years back. It remained a bedrock of twentieth century physics right up to Quantum Field Theory. However, the failure over several decades to provide a unified…
We apply the statistical measure of complexity introduced by Lopez-Ruiz, Mancini and Calbet to neutron stars structure. Neutron stars is a classical example where the gravitational field and quantum behavior are combined and produce a…
We present a historical review of Einstein's 1917 paper 'Cosmological Considerations in the General Theory of Relativity' to mark the centenary of a key work that set the foundations of modern cosmology. We find that the paper followed as a…
The astrophysics of compact objects, which requires Einstein's theory of general relativity for understanding phenomena such as black holes and neutron stars, is attracting increasing attention. In general relativity, gravity is governed by…
The discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe, thought to be driven by a mysterious form of `dark energy' constituting most of the Universe, has further revived the interest in testing Einstein's theory of General Relativity.…
The concept that stars form in the modern era began some 60 years ago with the key observation of expanding OB associations. Now we see that these associations are an intermediate scale in a cascade of hierarchical structures that begins on…
Depending on mass and rotational frequency, gravity compresses the matter in the core regions of neutron stars to densities that are several times higher than the density of ordinary atomic nuclei. At such huge densities atoms themselves…
In the context of the standard model of particle physics, there is a definite upper limit to the density of stable compact stars. However, if there is a deeper layer of constituents, below that of quarks and leptons, stability may be…