Abstract
In §13 we assumed complete ionization of all atoms. This is a good approximation in the very deep interior, where T and P are sufficiently large, but the degree of ionization certainly becomes smaller if one approaches the stellar surface, where T and P are small. In the atmosphere of the sun, for instance, hydrogen and helium atoms are neutral. When a gas is partially ionized the mean molecular weight and thermodynamic properties such as c P depend on the degree of ionization. It is the aim of this section to show how this can be calculated and how it influences the properties of the stellar gas.
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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Kippenhahn, R., Weigert, A. (1990). Ionization. In: Stellar Structure and Evolution. Astronomy and Astrophysics Library. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61523-8_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61523-8_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-58013-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-61523-8
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