StarTutorial

To get started quickly, the following steps will run a standard evolutionary sequence without preloading any of the stellar-evolution specific components. What is loaded at startup depends on the name of the program: if the jar file is called "star.jar" then stellar evolution components are preloaded. To avoid this, and load just your desired components, rename star.jar to ccmb.jar and run that.

1. Start catacomb as usual.
2. Select "Star" from the objects menu. The Star object contains no data, but just provides links to other components.
3. Click "show_data_tables". This brings up a window for an empty list -as yet there are no defined data tables.
4. In the new window, select "new" from the top middle menu. Another window will open, asking for a name for the new object.
5. Click "accept" to use the default. A new StarDataTables object is created, and displayed in the window. The data tables object is a container for all the physical data necessary - reaction rates, opacity tables, and neutrino generation rates. Because the data is permanent it does not let you change the tables themselves, but just keeps the location of a file from which they can be read.
6. Click "browse" in the "sourceFile" file field
7. In the file dialog, and find the standard z=0.02 opacity and reaction tables distributed with this program. When you have located them, click "save" in the file dialog. They are probably called star_data_z02.asc" or similar.
8. Click "load_data" in the StarDataTables window. This reads the specified file into the data tables object. You can check memory usage at any time by looking at the original model-browser window. It shows the current heap size at the bottom right. Note that this includes everything necessary for the graphical user interface, as well as space taken by models and data.

9. Return to the "Star" window and click "show_models". As before, this will open a window on an empty list.
10. Select "new" from the top middle menu, and accept the name suggested. You now have an outline model, but without any internal structure. As with the data tables, this can be loaded from a file.
11. Click "browse" in the "sourceFile" field, and select the one solar mass model file distributed with this program.
12. Click "read structure". It will read the specified file, and display a brief summary.

13. Now click "show views" in the "Star" window. As usual, you get an empty list.
14. Select "new" and accept the default. You now have a star display window, which is not showing anything. The data and model which has just been loaded appear in the lists labelled "starModel" and "starDataTables".
15. Select the first element under "starModel".
16. Select the first element under "starDataTables". Now you have a graph of the internal structure of the stellar model. The two menus, "X" and "Y" let you select what to use for the X axis, and which variables to plot against it. You can zoom and pan with the mouse in a wide range of ways - see the results display page for details.

17. In the "StarView" window, click "make new sequence". This is equivalent to going back to the "Star" window, clicking "show sequences" and selecting "new". In general, there are many ways to navigate around a model. Use any one that works. You can also always go back to the "CcmbView" window to view the entire structure of the current session. A new window will appear for constructing evolutionary sequences. The variables are described on the StarModelSequence page, but are not needed right away.
18. for each of the menus at the top, select the first available item - that is, for starDataTable, starModel, starView.
19. Click "initialize" This checks all the necessary inputs for running the evolution.
20. Click "run" This will start constructing new models in the sequence. The current step is displayed near the bottom of the sequence window. Further information is written to the terminal, and, if specified, to a log file. While the model is running, you can see the progress by creating a HRDiagram object.

21. Select "new" under the "hRDiagram" menu and accept the default name. This will open a new window for a HRDiagram, but not display anything yet.

22. In the hRDiagram window, select the first item under "starModelSequence". Now the models made so far will be displayed, plotting the model index against itself.
23. Select "-logT" and "logL" for the X and Y axes respectively.'
24. Put the mouse over the diagram, click once, then press the "f" key to frame the data. This is one of the options on any graph. A number of other common functions are available as single letter shortcuts. Clicking the top right corner of a graph gives a menu which shows the options, and, capitalised, their shortcuts.
25. in the sequence window, click "stop", and congratulate yourself.