The development of early pulsation theory, or, how Cepheids are like steam engines"

Details The development of early pulsation theory, or, how Cepheids are like steam engines" The development of early pulsation theory, or, how Cepheids are like steam engines"

May 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...218.9903s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #218, #99.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Scientific paper

The pulsation theory of Cepheid variable stars was a major breakthrough of early twentieth-century astrophysics. At the beginning of that century, the basic physics of normal stars was very poorly understood, and variable stars were even more mysterious. Breaking with accepted explanations in terms of eclipsing binaries, Harlow Shapley and A.S. Eddington pioneered novel theories that considered Cepheids as pulsating spheres of gas. These theoretical models relied on highly speculative physics, but nonetheless returned very impressive results despite attacks from figures such as James Jeans. Surprisingly, the pulsation theory not only depended on developments in stellar physics, but also drove many of those developments. In particular, models of stars in radiative balance and theories of stellar energy were heavily inspired and shaped by ideas about variable stars. Further, the success of the pulsation theory helped justify the new approaches to astrophysics being developed before World War II.

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