Astrophysics

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6 domain-specific abstractions whose origin domain is Astrophysics.

• Chandrasekhar Polarization — Solve polarized radiative transfer through a plane-parallel, scattering-dominated atmosphere to obtain a tangential center-to-limb polarization field that cancels on a symmetric unresolved disk but becomes observable when the projected weighting breaks that symmetry.
• Chandrasekhar's white dwarf equation — Model a cold, completely degenerate white dwarf by a dimensionless nonlinear radial initial-value equation coupling electron-degeneracy pressure to Newtonian hydrostatic self-gravity.
• Leonard–Merritt mass estimator — A projected mass estimator for a spherical stellar system using stars' sky positions and two proper-motion velocity components, designed to be insensitive to velocity anisotropy under its assumptions.
• M–Sigma Relation — An empirical, approximately power-law correlation between a galaxy's central supermassive-black-hole mass and the stellar velocity dispersion of its spheroidal component, used as a demographic scaling relation whose calibration and interpretation depend on sample, morphology, measurement, and selection.
• Star formation — The gravitational collapse and fragmentation of dense interstellar gas into protostars that accrete and evolve toward stellar objects.
• Stellar core — Identify the central high-pressure, high-temperature region of a star whose composition, transport regime, and current nuclear or degeneracy state govern the star's structure and evolutionary phase.