Once considered secondary targets, red giant stars have become central to asteroseismology thanks to missions like CoRoT, Kepler, and TESS. These stars now offer precise insights into stellar masses, radii, ages, and evolutionary stages. Combined with spectroscopic (APOGEE) and astrometric (Gaia) data, they help answer key questions about stellar and galactic evolution. This book explores how red giants evolved into such valuable scientific tools, what we call The Golden Gift of Red Giants. It traces the life cycle of low-mass stars and showcases how space-based asteroseismic data are transforming our understanding of the cosmos.
Key features:
Stellar evolution Red giant branch stars He-burning stars Asteroseismology Galactic evolution