Compact Objects: White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes

This course offers a comprehensive study of compact astrophysical objects, concentrating on the physical principles and theoretical frameworks to understand their structure and evolution. Students will begin with the Schwarzschild metric and the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations as fundamental tools to describe the equilibrium of relativistic stars. The course covers the physics of dense matter, including Fermi gases, equations of state, and nuclear thermodynamics, to build a foundation for understanding compact stars. White dwarfs and the concept of the Chandrasekhar mass will be examined as the simplest compact objects, followed by a study of neutron stars and pulsars, including phase transitions to hyperons and quark matter, which will be used to describe quark stars and hybrid stars.  Through this course, students will gain a deep understanding of the interplay between fundamental physics and astronomical observations in the study of the most extreme objects in the universe.