Astrophysics Books

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Book SynopsisCosmic radiation has been an active field of study at least since the heroic balloon flights of Viktor F. Hess in the first decade of this century. In the earliest days, cosmic ray physics meant a study of the basic properties of electricity and magnetism. Later, it was particle physics before accelerators were built. Still later, it became astrophysics -- studying the Galactic sources of the lower energy cosmic rays, the magnetic fields in the heliosphere and the Galaxy, and the acceleration mechanisms in supernova shocks. Today, cosmic ray astrophysics touches on the nuclear astrophysics of stars and supernova, particle physics at energies above those achievable by terrestrial accelerators, the cosmology of the microwave and IR backgrounds, the Galactic physics of chemical evolution and interstellar medium processes, and unexplored physics at extremely high energies. This book deals with charged cosmic rays. Primarily nuclei, from Galactic and extra-Galactic sources.

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Book SynopsisSpacetime Physics Research Trends

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Book SynopsisQuantum gravity is the field of theoretical physics attempting to unify the theory of quantum mechanics, which describes three of the fundamental forces of nature, with general relativity, the theory of the fourth fundamental force: gravity. The ultimate goal is a unified framework for all fundamental forces -- a theory of everything. This book examines state-of-art research in this field.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents the latest results on solar-stellar research and the study of solar terrestrial physics. It includes all aspects of solar physics, ranging from the internal structure of the sun and its evolution, to outer corona and solar wind in interplanetary space.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents the latest research in two leading areas of physics.

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Book SynopsisSubject Interest Groups: physics, mathematics, theoretical physics, astrophysics This book includes important papers written by R Cahill, J G Hartnett, F Cardone, A Marrani and R Mignani, J Dunning-Davies, A Gutierrez-Rodriguez, M A Hernandez-Ruiz and J M Rivera-Juarez, A Vankov, P O''Donell, J Lopez-Bonilla et al, V Varlamov, G.-j. Ni. Interesting mathematical questions of relativity theory, relations to the modern astrophysics, as well as some conceptual foundations are considered in the papers.

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Book SynopsisReviewing the fundamental instrumental techniques and current observational results, this book unveils the mysteries of the physical processes in the central parsec of our Milky Way: the super-massive black hole embedded in a central stellar cluster as well as the gas and dust in the circumnuclear region.The observations described cover the entire electromagnetic spectrum from decimeter radio-waves to high energy X-ray and γ-rays, and a comprehensive summary of up-to-date astrophysical interpretations is given.The emphasis is put on observational techniques, image processing aspects, and a detailed presentation of the most cutting-edge work carried out in the near-infrared wavelength regime. These recent results include both the first orbits of stars around the central black hole and the multiwavelength variability of the central source.Table of Contents# Observational Techniques: # The GC Across the Electromagnetic Spectrum # NIR Imaging Through the Atmosphere # Speckle Imaging # Single Telescope Adaptive Optics # Cleaning and Deconvolution # Future IR Interferometry # Observational Results: # The Discovery of Sagittarius A* # Large-Scale Structures at the Galactic Center # The Circum Nuclear Disk # The Mini- Spiral # Radio Filaments # Near-Infrared Images of the Central Stellar Cluster # The Radio and Infrared Positional Reference Frames # Number Density Counts # Polarization of Filaments and Stars # Stellar Velocities and Orbital Accelerations # Spectroscopy # Star Formation at the Galactic Center? # Sgr A* Across the Electromagnetic Spectrum # Astrophysical Results: # The Stellar Velocity Field # Scenarios for Star Formation at the Galactic Center # The Central Dark Mass # Stability of the Enclosed Dark Mass # Agglomerations of Exotic Particles? # The Central Stellar Cusp # Analysis of Stellar Orbits Near the Central Black Hole # The Central Black Hole # Comparison to Nuclei of Other Galaxies # Massive Black Holes at High Redshifts

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses the methods used in helio- and asteroseismology for the collection, analysis and interpretation of data. It is the first comprehensive discussion of helioseismic and asteroseismic methodology, collecting techniques from over 300 research papers spread out over decades, with a critical discussion and inter-comparison. It enables the reader to follow the path of inference from the collection of the data at the telescope through to the understanding gained in terms of the modeling of solar and stellar physics and stellar evolution.By focusing on how results are obtained, rather than on the results themselves, this book provides the essential background needed to understand this field, which is rapidly advancing due to the availability of modern observing facilities both on the ground and in space. The material is accessible for advanced undergraduates and post-graduates, and provides an essential resource for researchers in the field.Table of ContentsGlobal Helioseismology: The Data; Global Helioseismology: Modeling; Global Helioseismology: Inverse Methods; Local Helioseismology; Asteroseismology; Appendices: Useful Vector Formulas; Explicit Forms of Vector Operations; Useful Constants.

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Book SynopsisThis second edition astrophysics book covers a wide range of topics, including stellar phenomena, galaxies, clusters, and more. It incorporates recent advancements in Astronomy and Astrophysics, such as L and T dwarfs, solar models, cosmic background radiation, and more. Each chapter ends with problems and suggested readings.

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Book SynopsisThis is an invaluable collection of colloquium-type lectures given by some of the most prominent theoretical physicists of today. In a form accessible to the interested general physicist, it covers topics ranging from the use of field-theoretical methods in different contexts via duality symmetries between various field theories, to the Ads/CFT correspondence and cosmology.Table of ContentsThe Weak Interaction: Its History and Impact on Physics (T D Lee); Electron Orbits and Superconductivity of Carbon 60 (T D Lee); The Power of Duality - Exact Results in 4D SUSY Field Theory (N Seiberg); String Theory as a Universal Language (A M Polyakov); The Cosmological Tests (P J E Peebles); Anti-de-Sitter Space, Thermal Phase Transition, and Confinement in Gauge Theories (E Witten); Can There Be Physics Without Experiments? Challenges and Pitfalls (G 't Hooft).

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Book SynopsisThe second set of The Encyclopedia of Cosmology, in three volumes, continues this major, long-lasting, seminal reference at the graduate student level laid out by the most prominent researchers in the general field of cosmology. Together, these volumes will be a comprehensive review of the most important current topics in cosmology, discussing the important concepts and current status in each field, covering both theory and observation.These three volumes are edited by Dr Giovanni Fazio from the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, with each volume authored or edited by specialists in the area: Modified Gravity by Claudia de Rham and Andrew Tolley (Imperial College), Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics edited by Floyd Stecker (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center), Black Holes edited by Zoltan Haiman (Columbia University). These volumes follow the earlier publication in 2020 of The Encyclopedia of Cosmology, which comprises the following four volumes: Galaxy Formation and Evolution by Rennan Barkana (Tel Aviv University), Numerical Simulations in Cosmology edited by Kentaro Nagamine (Osaka University / University of Nevada), Dark Energy by Shinji Tsujikawa (Tokyo University of Science), and Dark Matter by Jihn E Kim (Seoul National University). The Encyclopedia aims to provide an overview of the most important topics in cosmology and serve as an up-to-date reference in astrophysics.

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Book SynopsisThis book constitutes the proceedings of the 13th Course of the International School of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics. It focuses on major areas of astrophysics, their relation to cosmic ray physics, and our current understanding of the energetic processes in the Galaxy and the Universe that govern the acceleration and form the features of the cosmic rays that we detect at Earth.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• CC Proceedings — Engineering & Physical SciencesTable of ContentsUnderstanding and Modeling the Universe and Its Luminous Systems; Cosmic Rays; Extensive Air Showers; Gamma Ray and Neutrino Astronomy.

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Book SynopsisEfforts to uncover the explosion mechanism of core collapse supernovae and to understand all of their associated phenomena have been ongoing for nearly four decades. Despite this, our theoretical understanding of these cosmic events remains limited; two- and three-dimensional modeling of these events is in its infancy. Most of the modeling efforts over the past four decades have, by necessity, been constrained to spherical symmetry, with the first two-dimensional, albeit simplified, models appearing only during the last decade. Simulations to understand the complex interplay between the turbulent stellar core fluid flow, its magnetic fields, the neutrinos produced in and emanating from the proto-neutron star, the stellar core rotation, and the strong gravitational fields have yet to be performed. Only subsets of these fundamental ingredients have been included in the models thus far, often with approximation.The purpose of this volume is to identify the outstanding issues that remain in order to come to a complete understanding of these important astrophysical events. As the book focuses on open issues rather than the current state of the art in the field — although the latter will certainly be discussed — it will remain relevant for some time.Table of Contents# Fundamental Issues in Radiation Magnetohydrodynamics # The Core Collapse Supernova Mechanism # Neutrino Mixing # Neutrino Interactions # The Equation of State # Nucleosynthesis and Light Curves

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Book SynopsisTo the eyes of the average person and the trained scientist, the night sky is dark, even though the universe is populated by myriads of bright galaxies. Why this happens is a question commonly called Olbers' Paradox, and dates from at least 1823. How dark is the night sky is a question which preoccupies astrophysicists at the present. The answer to both questions tells us about the origin of the universe and the nature of its contents — luminous galaxies like the Milky Way, plus the dark matter between them and the mysterious dark energy which appears to be pushing everything apart. In this book, the fascinating history of Olbers' Paradox is reviewed, and the intricate physics of the light/dark universe is examined in detail. The fact that the night sky is dark (a basic astronomical observation that anybody can make) turns out to be connected with the finite age of the universe, thereby confirming some event like the Big Bang. But the space between the galaxies is not perfectly black, and data on its murkiness at various wavelengths can be used to constrain and identify its unseen constituents.Table of ContentsThe Enigma of the Dark Night Sky; The Intensity of Cosmic Background Light; The Spectrum of Cosmic Background Light; Dark Cosmology; The Radio and Microwave Background; The Infrared and Visible Background; The Ultraviolet Background; The X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Background; The High-Energy Gamma-Ray Background; The Universe Seen Darkly.

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Book SynopsisSpace-based laboratory research in fundamental physics is an emerging research discipline that offers great discovery potential and at the same time could drive the development of technological advances which are likely to be important to scientists and technologists in many other different research fields. The articles in this review volume have been contributed by participants of the international workshop “From Quantum to Cosmos: Fundamental Physics Research in Space” held at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, Virginia, USA, on May 21-24, 2006. This unique volume discusses the advances in our understanding of fundamental physics that are anticipated in the near future, and evaluates the discovery potential of a number of recently proposed space-based gravitational experiments. Specific research areas covered include various tests of general relativity and alternative theories, search of physics beyond the Standard Model, investigations of possible violations of the equivalence principle, search for new hypothetical long- and short-range forces, variations of fundamental constants, tests of Lorentz invariance and attempts at unification of the fundamental interactions. The book also encompasses experiments aimed at the discovery of novel phenomena, including dark matter candidates, and studies of dark energy.Table of ContentsPolicy: Space-based Research in Fundamental Physics and Quantum Technologies (S G Turyshev et al.); Space-based Science and the American Competitiveness Initiative (J H Marburger III); Laboratory Experiments for Fundamental Physics in Space (W D Phillips); Gravitational Theory: Observable Consequences of Strong Coupling in Theories with Large Distance Modified Gravity (G Dvali); Theory and Phenomenology of DGP Gravity (C Deffayet); Testing Strong MOND Behavior in the Solar System (J Magueijo & J Bekenstein); Gravitational Experiment: Apollo: A New Push in Lunar Laser Ranging (T W Murphy Jr et al.); Asynchronous Laser Transponders: A New Tool for Improved Fundamental Physics Experiments (J J Degnan); A Laboratory Test of the Equivalence Principle as Prolog to a Spaceborne Experiment (R D Reasenberg & J D Phillips); Physics Beyond the Standard Model: Detecting Sterile Dark Matter in Space (A Kusenko); Electron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment with Slow Atoms (H Gould); Testing Relativity at High Energies Using Spaceborne Detectors (F W Stecker); Atoms and Clocks: New Forms of Quantum Matter Near Absolute Zero Temperature (W Ketterle); Atomic Quantum Sensors in Space (T van Zoest et al.); Precision Measurement Based on Ultracold Atoms and Cold Molecules (J Ye et al.); Cosmology and Dark Energy: Dark Energy Task Force: Findings and Recommendations (R N Cahn); CMB Polarization: The Next Decade (B Winstein); Natural Inflation: Status After WMAP Three-Year Data (K Freese et al.); and other papers.

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Book SynopsisDark Matter, Neutrinos, and Our Solar System is a unique enterprise that should be viewed as an important contribution to our understanding of dark matter, neutrinos and the solar system. It describes these issues in terms of links, between cosmology, particle and nuclear physics, as well as between cosmology, atmospheric and terrestrial physics. It studies the constituents of dark matter (classified as hot warm and cold) first in terms of their individual structures (baryonic and non-baryonic, massive and non-massive, interacting and non-interacting) and second, in terms of facilities available to detect these structures (large and small). Neutrinos (an important component of dark matter) are treated as a separate entity. A detailed study of these elusive (sub-atomic) particles is done, from the year 1913 when they were found as byproducts of beta decay — until the discovery in 2007 which confirmed that neutrino flavors were not more than three (as speculated by some).The last chapter of the book details the real-time stories about the “regions” that were not explored thus far, for lack of advanced technology. Their untold fascinating stories (which span up to 2010) are illustrated here datewise in full.The book concludes with the latest news that the Large Hadron Collider team at CERN has finally succeeded in producing 7 trillion electronic Volts of energy by creating head-on-collisions of protons and more protons (in search of God-particle). The energy produced was three times more than previous records.Table of ContentsThe Advent of Dark Matter: Galaxies, Clusters, Planet Formation, and Comet Collision; Stars of Poor Visibility and the Methods to Track Them; Models in Cosmology, the Luminosity of a Star, White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars; Black Holes: The Stars with no Shine; Particles We Encounter (A Historical Overview); Dark Matter and Dark Energy (A Peep into the Deep): Some Questions and Answers; Neutrino - The Puzzle and the Power; Detection of Lightest Supersymmetric Particles (LSPs) in Dark Matter, and the Search for WIMPs; The Years 2004 - 2010: A Boom for Planetary Scientists.

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Book SynopsisThe Marcel Grossmann Meetings seek to further the development of the foundations and applications of Einstein's general relativity by promoting theoretical understanding in the relevant fields of physics, mathematics, astronomy and astrophysics and to direct future technological, observational, and experimental efforts. The meetings discuss recent developments in classical and quantum aspects of gravity, and in cosmology and relativistic astrophysics, with major emphasis on mathematical foundations and physical predictions, having the main objective of gathering scientists from diverse backgrounds for deepening our understanding of spacetime structure and reviewing the current state of the art in the theory, observations and experiments pertinent to relativistic gravitation. The range of topics is broad, going from the more abstract classical theory, quantum gravity, branes and strings, to more concrete relativistic astrophysics observations and modeling.The three volumes of the proceedings of MG13 give a broad view of all aspects of gravitational physics and astrophysics, from mathematical issues to recent observations and experiments. The scientific program of the meeting included 33 morning plenary talks during 6 days, and 75 parallel sessions over 4 afternoons. Volume A contains plenary and review talks ranging from the mathematical foundations of classical and quantum gravitational theories including recent developments in string/brane theories, to precision tests of general relativity including progress towards the detection of gravitational waves, and from supernova cosmology to relativistic astrophysics including such topics as gamma ray bursts, black hole physics both in our galaxy and in active galactic nuclei in other galaxies, and neutron star and pulsar astrophysics. Volumes B and C include parallel sessions which touch on dark matter, neutrinos, X-ray sources, astrophysical black holes, neutron stars, binary systems, radiative transfer, accretion disks, quasors, gamma ray bursts, supernovas, alternative gravitational theories, perturbations of collapsed objects, analog models, black hole thermodynamics, numerical relativity, gravitational lensing, large scale structure, observational cosmology, early universe models and cosmic microwave background anisotropies, inhomogeneous cosmology, inflation, global structure, singularities, chaos, Einstein-Maxwell systems, wormholes, exact solutions of Einstein's equations, gravitational waves, gravitational wave detectors and data analysis, precision gravitational measurements, quantum gravity and loop quantum gravity, quantum cosmology, strings and branes, self-gravitating systems, gamma ray astronomy, and cosmic rays and the history of general relativity.Table of ContentsOn the Cosmological Singularity (Vladimir Belinski); GRB Afterglow Discovery with Bepposax: Its Story 15 Years Later (Filippo Frontera); Rotation, Convection, and Core Collapse (David Arnett); Spacetime Singularities: Recent Developments (Claes Uggla); Hidden Symmetries: from BKL to Kac-Moody (Philipp Fleig & Hermann Nicolai); Recent Developments in Mathematical GR (Sergiu Klainerman); Higher Dimensional Black Holes (Harvey S Reall); Causal Dynamical Triangulations and the Search for a Theory of Quantum Gravity (Jan Ambjorn & Andrzej Gorlich); On Quantum Gravity, Asymptotic Safety, and Paramagnetic Dominance (Andreas Nink & Martin Reuter); Perturbative Quantum Gravity as a Double Copy of Gauge Theory and Implications for UV Properties (Bern Zvi); Type IA Supernova Cosmology: Past and Future (Ariel Goobar); The Accelerating Universe: A Nobel Surprise (Robert Kirshner); Strong, Weak, Electromagnetic and Gravitational Interactions in Neutron Stars (Jorge Rueda & Remo Ruffini); Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy Using Ground-Based Interferometers (David H Reitze & David H Shoemaker); Gamma-Ray Burst Prompt Emission (Bing Zhang); Black Holes, Supernovae and Gamma Ray Bursts (Remo Ruffini); Precisions Tests of Theories of Gravity Using Pulsars (Michael Kramer); The Planck Mission: Recent Results, Cosmological and Fundamental Physics Perspectives (Nazzareno Mandolesi, Carlo Burigana, Alessandro Gruppuso & Paolo Natoli); Unavoidable CMB Spectral Features and Black Body Photosphere of our Universe (Rashid Sunyaev & Rishi Khatri); Observation of a New Boson at a Mass of 125 GeV with the CMS Experiment at the LHC (Chiara Mariotti); Search for the Standard Model Higgs with the ATLAS Detector (Domizia Orestano); From the Tian Shan to the Tian Kong: Personal Reflections on Fang Lizhi (Remo Ruffini); Marcel Grossmann and His Contribution to the General Theory of Relativity (Tilman Sauer);

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Book SynopsisUses the figure of A S Eddington (1882-1944) - a pioneer in astrophysics, relativity, and the popularization of science, and a devout Quaker - to show how religious and scientific values can interact without compromising the integrity of either. This book questions many common assumptions about the relationship between science and spirituality.Trade Review"Although Eddington's work has often been noted by scholars dealing with the relationship between science and religion, no one has attempted an analysis of his thought at anything like the level of detail now provided by Matthew Stanley. Practical Mystic throws much extra light on Eddington himself and will serve as a model for what this kind of detailed study can do to help us understand how technical science can actually be influenced by the individual scientist's position on wider issues." - Peter J. Bowler, Queen's University Belfast"

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Book SynopsisBlack holes and neutron stars are generally recognized as key components of many astrophysical systems. Based on a symposium held in honour of S. Chandrasekhar, these papers provide a comprehensive summary of progress made in the 1990s on the theory of black holes and relativistic stars.Table of ContentsContributors Preface 1: Gravitational Waves, Stars and Black Holes Valeria Ferrari 2: Rotating Relativistic Stars John L. Friedman 3: Probing Black Holes and Relativistic Stars with Gravitational Waves Kip S. Thorne 4: Astrophysical Evidence for Black Holes Martin J. Rees 5: The Question of Cosmic Censorship Roger Penrose 6: Black Hole Collisions, Toroidal Black Holes, and Numerical Relativity Saul A. Teukolsky 7: The Internal Structure of Black Holes Werner Israel 8: Black Holes and Thermodynamics Robert M. Wald 9: The Statistical Mechanics of Black Hole Thermodynamics Rafael D. Sorkin 10: Generalized Quantum Theory in Evaporating Black Hole Spacetimes James B. Hartle 11: Is Information Lost in Black Holes? Stephen W. Hawking 12: Quantum States of Black Holes Gary T. Horowitz Chandra: A Tribute Kameshwar C. Wali Our Song Lalitha Chandrasekhar

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Book SynopsisThe contentious history of the idea of the black holethe most fascinating and bizarre celestial object in the heavens For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapesnot even lightseemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein and Hawking and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe. Renowned science writer Marcia Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einstein's greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades during which it had been pushed into the shadows. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood

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