Old Stellar Populations: How to Study the Fossil Record of Galaxy Formation

1. Introduction 1.1. The Problem of Galaxy Formation 1.2. Decoding the Fossil Record: Photometric and Spectroscopic Diagnostics 1.3. Decoding the Fossil Record: The Tools 1.4. Low-Mass Stars 2. Physical Processes in Low-mass Stars 2.1. Basic Equations 2.2. Thermodynamics of Low-Mass Stars 2.3. Energy Production and Nucleosynthesis 2.4. Radiation and Conduction 2.5. Convection 2.6. Atmospheric Structure 2.7. Mass Loss 2.8. Atomic Diffusion 2.9. Rotation and Rotational Mixing 2.10. Additional Processes 3. Early Evolution 3.1. Overview 3.2. Early Nuclear Burnings 3.3. Hayashi Track and Convection 3.3. Lithium Depletion Boundary 3.4. Gyrochronology 4. Hydrogen Burning Stages 4.1. Overview 4.2. Very Low-Mass Stars 4.3. The Main Sequence: Stars with Radiative Cores 4.4. The Main Sequence: Stars with Convective Cores 4.5. Chemical Evolution along the Main Sequence 4.6. The Standard Solar Model 4.7. Blue Stragglers and SX Phoenicis Stars 4.8. Subgiant Branch Evolution 4.9. Red Giant Branch Evolution 4.10. Main Sequence and Red Giant Branch Isochrones 5. Helium Burning Stages 5.1. Overview 5.2. Semiconvection and Overshooting 5.3. The Horizontal Branch 5.4. Instability Strip 5.5. The Red Clump 5.6. Hot Flashers 5.7. The Effect of Diffusion, Rotation and Mass Loss 6. Double Shell Burning Stage 6.1. Overview 6.2. Early AGB Phase 6.3. Thermal Pulses 6.4. Nucleosynthesis 6.5. Evolution of Surface Chemical Abundances 6.6. Calibration of AGB Models 6.7. Synthetic AGB Models 6.8. Long Period Variables 6.9. Nucleochronolgy 6.10. Post-AGB Evolution 7. White Dwarf Sequences 7.1. Overview 7.2. Structure and Energy Budget 7.3. From Formation to Crystallization 7.4. Crystallization and Beyond 7.5. Properties of White Dwarf Isochrones 7.6. HE-Core White Dwarfs 8. Old Populations in the Galaxy 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Galactic Globular Clusters 8.3. Globular Cluster Distances 8.4. Globular Cluster Ages 8.5. Estimates of Cosmological HE 8.6. Multipopulations in Globular Clusters 8.7. Halo Field Star Ages 8.8. Ultra Metal Poor Halo Stars 8.9. Old Open Clusters 8.10. Old Open Clusters Ages 8.11. Eclipsing Binary Systems: Ages and Distances of Star Clusters 9. Resolved old Systems in the Local Group 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Magellanic Clouds Clusters 9.3. Globular Clusters in M31 9.4. Star Formation Histories of Dwarf Galaxies 10. Unresolved Old Systems 10.1. Introduction 10.2. Low Resolution Diagnostics 10.3. High Resolution Diagnostics 10.4. Extragalactic Globular Clusters 10.5. Elliptical Galaxies and Bulges