Modeling and analysis of eclipsing binary stars : the theory and design principles of PHOEBE / Andrej Pr�sa.

"Version: 20181201"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references.

1. Introduction to the field -- 1.1. Why binaries are important -- 1.2. Why eclipsing binaries are even more important

part I. Observations. 2. Observations and data acquisition -- 2.1. Timekeeping -- 2.2. Photometry -- 2.3. Spectroscopy -- 2.4. Interferometry -- 2.5. Astrometry -- 2.6. Polarimetry -- 2.7. Asteroseismology

part II. Theoretical background. 3. Geometry and dynamics of binary stars -- 3.1. A quick look at the Roche model -- 3.2. Roche model generalization -- 3.3. Orbital properties of close binaries -- 3.4. Dynamical aspects of binary systems

4. Radiation : the basics -- 4.1. Intensity -- 4.2. Flux -- 4.3. Luminosity -- 4.4. Limb darkening -- 4.5. Computational efficiency -- 4.6. Relative units -- 4.7. Blackbody radiation -- 4.8. Putting it all together

5. Radiative properties of binary stars -- 5.1. Gravity darkening -- 5.2. Reflection effect -- 5.3. Stellar spots -- 5.4. Doppler boosting -- 5.5. Interstellar and atmospheric extinction

6. Advanced topics -- 6.1. Misaligned stellar rotation axes -- 6.2. Multiple systems -- 6.3. Granulation -- 6.4. Color indices and effective temperatures -- 6.5. Limitations

part III. Modeling considerations. 7. Numerical model -- 7.1. Discretization of stellar surfaces -- 7.2. Dynamical aspects -- 7.3. Computation of local geometric quantities -- 7.4. Computation of local radiative quantities -- 7.5. Computation of aspect-dependent quantities

8. Approaches to solving the inverse problem -- 8.1. Local and global minima in the parameter hyperspace -- 8.2. Differential corrections -- 8.3. Powell's direction set method -- 8.4. Nelder & Mead's downhill simplex method -- 8.5. Adaptive simulated annealing -- 8.6. Formal errors of the fit -- 8.7. Handling degeneracies efficiently -- 8.8. Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers -- 8.9. Parameter constraints as degeneracy breakers -- 9. Conclusion.

The fascinating and observationally spectacular world of binary stars is a vast and beautiful one that is a significant aspect of many astrophysical studies. Modeling and Analysis of Eclipsing Binary Stars gives a comprehensive analysis and description of the science behind eclipsing binaries. It also explores the assumptions and the difficulties that can occur when using the modeling principles of the classical codes as well as introducing PHOEBE (the PHysics Of Eclipsing BinariEs)--a modern suite for modeling binary stars. PHOEBE was conceived by Andrej Pr�sa and his collaborators, and has become one of the standard tools in the eclipsing binary field.

Also available in print.

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Andrej Pr�sa is a Slovenian astrophysicist who obtained his PhD in physics from the University of Ljubljana in 2005. The principal result of his doctoral thesis was PHOEBE (PHysics Of Eclipsing BinariEs), a modeling suite for binary stars that has since become one of the standards in the binary star community. Pr�sa is passionate about his subject and he is a dedicated teacher and astrophysicist whose research and work is a huge asset to the astronomical community.

Title from PDF title page (viewed on January 16, 2019).