Old Stellar Population

1. Introduction1.1. The Problem of Galaxy Formation1.2. Decoding the Fossil Record: Photometric and Spectroscopic Diagnostics1.3. Decoding the Fossil Record: The Tools1.4. Low-Mass Stars2. Physical Processes in Low-mass Stars2.1. Basic Equations2.2. Thermodynamics of Low-Mass Stars2.3. Energy Production and Nucleosynthesis2.4. Radiation and Conduction2.5. Convection2.6. Atmospheric Structure2.7. Mass Loss2.8. Atomic Diffusion2.9. Rotation and Rotational Mixing2.10. Additional Processes3. Early Evolution3.1. Overview3.2. Early Nuclear Burnings3.3. Hayashi Track and Convection3.3. Lithium Depletion Boundary3.4. Gyrochronology4. Hydrogen Burning Stages4.1. Overview4.2. Very Low-Mass Stars4.3. The Main Sequence: Stars with Radiative Cores4.4. The Main Sequence: Stars with Convective Cores4.5. Chemical Evolution along the Main Sequence4.6. The Standard Solar Model4.7. Blue Stragglers and SX Phoenicis Stars4.8. Subgiant Branch Evolution4.9. Red Giant Branch Evolution4.10. Main Sequence and Red Giant Branch Isochrones5. Helium Burning Stages5.1. Overview5.2. Semiconvection and Overshooting5.3. The Horizontal Branch5.4. Instability Strip5.5. The Red Clump5.6. Hot Flashers5.7. The Effect of Diffusion, Rotation and Mass Loss6. Double Shell Burning Stage6.1. Overview6.2. Early AGB Phase6.3. Thermal Pulses6.4. Nucleosynthesis6.5. Evolution of Surface Chemical Abundances6.6. Calibration of AGB Models6.7. Synthetic AGB Models6.8. Long Period Variables6.9. Nucleochronolgy6.10. Post-AGB Evolution7. White Dwarf Sequences7.1. Overview7.2. Structure and Energy Budget7.3. From Formation to Crystallization7.4. Crystallization and Beyond7.5. Properties of White Dwarf Isochrones7.6. HE-Core White Dwarfs8. Old Populations in the Galaxy8.1. Introduction8.2. Galactic Globular Clusters8.3. Globular Cluster Distances8.4. Globular Cluster Ages8.5. Estimates of Cosmological HE8.6. Multipopulations in Globular Clusters8.7. Halo Field Star Ages8.8. Ultra Metal Poor Halo Stars8.9. Old Open

Santi Cassisi received his degree in physics from the University of Pisa, Italy, in 1991. He then spent a year at the Astronomical Observatory of Meudon-Paris, France, followed by a PhD-fellowship at the University of L'Aquila, Italy, from 1995 to 1997. In 1998, he accepted a post as staff researcher at the Collurania-Teramo-Observatory, a research unit of INAF. He currently holds a position as associate professor at the same institution. Professor Cassisi's research focuses on theoretical stellar evolution and its application to the study of both galactic and extra-galactic stellar populations. He has authored about 210 scientific papers, 115 of them in peer-reviewed journals, and a monograph.

Maurizio Salaris studied physics at the University of Rome 'La Sapienza', and then worked at the Collurania-Teramo-Observatory, Italy, the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, and the Astrophysics Research Institute of the Liverpool John Moores University, UK, where he currently holds the post of Professor of Stellar Astrophysics. He has published about 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and books, plus a monograph, co-authored by Santi Cassisi. Professor Salaris's scientific work focuses on theoretical stellar evolution, stellar population synthesis models, and the interpretation of photometric and spectroscopic observations of Galactic and extragalactic stellar populations.