Search results for """ "Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects""

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Book SynopsisMichael R. Rampino builds on the latest findings from leading geoscientists to take “neocatastrophism” a step further, toward a richer understanding of the science behind major planetary upheavals and extinction events. Cataclysms offers a cosmic context for Earth’s geologic evolution.Trade ReviewCataclysms is a useful, well-written and not overly technical summary of Neocatastrophism since the Alvarez team published the initial work in the early 1980's. Rampino paints a lively picture of how work in the area of geoscience is actually done - aided and abetted to good purpose by copious illustrations -- Niles Eldredge, author of Eternal Ephemera As late as 1964, it was hard to find a scientist who believed that crashing meteorites, rather than volcanism, had caused craters on the Moon and the Earth. In this well-written and provocative book, Michael Rampino tantalizes us with his examination of the relationship between astronomy and geology, which he argues could become truly predictive of the past and future. Cataclysms takes us far out, indeed. But if there is one lesson from the history of geology, it is that we should listen to those like Rampino who think outside the box - or even outside the solar system. -- James Powell, author of Fixing the SkyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Catastrophism Versus Gradualism 2. Lyell's Laws 3. The Alvarez Hypothesis 4. Mass Extinctions 5. Kill Curves and Strangelove Oceans 6. Catastrophism and Natural Selection: Charles Darwin Versus Patrick Matthew 7. Impacts and Extinctions: Do They Match Up? 8. The Great Dying: The End-Permian Extinctions 9. Catastrophic Volcanic Eruptions and Extinctions 10. Ancient Glaciers or Impact-Related Deposits? 11. The Shiva Hypothesis: Comet Showers and the Galactic Carousel 12. Geological Upheavals and Dark Matter Epilogue: What Does It All Mean? A New Geology Sources and Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDonald K. Yeomans, Winner of the 2013 Carl Sagan Medal, American Astronomical Society Donald K. Yeomans, One of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people 2013 "Balancing the wonders of astronomy with the looming potential for an epic, planet-wide disaster, Yeomans, a fellow and research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explores the origins of near-Earth objects--asteroids, comets, meteors, and meteoroids--and the threat they can pose to our planet... Yeomans's book is an accessible and far-ranging primer on the science of near-Earth objects."--Publishers Weekly "As Earth creaks on its course around the Sun, it is exposed to a relentless barrage of asteroids and comets. Donald Yeomans, who manages NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, offers an introduction to the science of these lethal monsters, one of which may have seen off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago and created the Chicxulub crater. Yeomans shows how the threats are balanced by potential boons, such as the theoretical delivery of the building blocks of life on Earth. Can these reeling masses even become interplanetary pitstops on the road to Mars?"--Nature "[Near Earth Objects] gives readers an inside account of the latest efforts to find, track and study life-threatening asteroids and comets."--ScientificAmerican.com's Observations blog "Near-Earth Objects is a fascinating tour guide of the asteroids we should worry about."--Marcus Chown, New Scientist "Despite its title, Near-Earth Objects offers a concise and informative overview of the formation of the entire solar system: why the planets differ, the latest theories on how they lined up and the origin of such leftovers as comets and asteroids. Yeomans also makes a good case that a near-Earth asteroid is an accessible target for our next space adventure, readying us for Mars and preparing us for a time when we might depend on them as a source of rare minerals."--Marcia Bartusiak, Washington Post "[C]ompact and readable... [Near-Earth Objects's] main goal is to invite readers to share a topic that is fascinating beyond its practical importance."--Fred Bortz, Dallas Morning News "[Yeomans's] book offers an excellent introduction to the layperson on near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), those objects that can potentially pass within about 29 million miles of Earth as they orbit around the sun... I highly recommend the book. Since it covers so many aspects of these fascinating asteroids, I found it comprehensive and a great read. While Yeomans covers a topic that some of us worry about, he provides the facts needed to stay cool yet informed."--Astro Bob blog "Yeomans makes it seem like we're uncomfortably close to an asteroid-induced apocalypse. Luckily, he has a sense of humor about it, and he has some sensible scientific solutions."--Sarah Rothbard, Slate.com "This is a superb book that brings the reader up-to-speed on those menacing denizens of the deep--Near Earth Objects, or NEOs for short. Moreover, this book is good bedtime reading for those that stay awake at night awaiting celestial calamity."--Leonard David, Coalition for Space Exploration "The book has an impressive from-the-horse's-mouth authority, yet it also has a pleasing, storytelling style, wry humour and some fun facts."--Hazel Muir, BBC Sky at Night "Sixty-five million years ago, a 10-km-wide asteroid slammed into Earth, killing off the dinosaurs. While that's the best-known Earth-asteroid collision, the truth is, space debris rains down on us all the time, notes Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office. He and other scientists are on a mission to track the largest asteroids that swarm around our planet, and his book is a behind-the-scenes look at how they do it--hopefully finding them before they find us."--Maclean's Bookmarked blog "Unlike many books involving space exploration I didn't get the feeling of fantasy, wishful thinking or sabre rattling. Yeomans just gives us good, reasoned arguments, presented in the main in a likeable, friendly fashion... [I]f you are interested in astronomy, the solar system or the survival of the human race, this is a book that should spark your interest."--Brian Clegg, Popular Science "This authoritative book, written in a lucid style well suited to intelligent laypersons, addresses this subject... [E]xcellent."--Choice "Near-Earth Objects is an excellent, short, very detailed, complete reference on rocks flying through Earth-space... [T]his book is highly recommended. It is a wonderful resource, very well written and full of great footnotes."--Haym Benaroya, QuestTable of ContentsIllustrations vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1 Earth's Closest Neighbors 1 Chapter 2 The Solar System's Origin: The Classical View 15 Chapter 3 How and Where Do Near-Earth Objects Form? 29 Chapter 4 Near-Earth Objects as the Enablers and Destroyers of Life 47 Chapter 5 Discovering and Tracking Near-Earth Objects 57 Chapter 6 The Nature of Asteroids and Comets 79 Chapter 7 Nature's Natural Resources and the Human Exploration of Our Solar System 100 Chapter 8 Near-Earth Objects as Threats to Earth 109 Chapter 9 Predicting the Likelihood of an Earth Impact 125 Chapter 10 Deflecting an Earth-Threatening Near-Earth Object 140 References 155 Index of Asteroid and Cometary Objects 159 General Index 161

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Book SynopsisSir William Herschel''s contributions to astronomy during the late eighteenth century are unrivalled. His lasting legacy is his dedicated all-sky survey of star clusters and nebulae, and these objects continue to be among the most studied in the night sky. This unique book provides a complete re-examination of Herschel''s entire catalogue of non-stellar discoveries, making it the most accurate and up-to-date reference of its kind. Retrace the footsteps of one of history''s greatest astronomers and explore every one of Herschel''s landmark discoveries, including those considered to be lost or non-existent. Read detailed notes about each object''s appearance and physical characteristics, and view hundreds of photos of the most intriguing Herschel objects, along with dozens of sketches of what is visible at the eyepiece. This superb book is a must-have for amateur astronomers seeking new and exciting observing challenges, and as the ultimate reference on the Herschel objects.Trade Review'Deep-sky observers will appreciate this comprehensive guide that offers clear descriptions of the visual telescopic appearance of each one of the over 2400 Herschel objects. Wisely using NGC designations throughout, author Mark Bratton has produced a meticulous and highly useful contribution to amateur astronomy. Highly recommended.' Terence Dickinson, Editor, SkyNews magazine'Some books have already appeared about the 2500 deep sky objects discovered by William Herschel in the late eighteenth century, but Mark Bratton's The Complete Guide to the Herschel Objects is an exceptional one. It comprehensively covers the subject, giving an inspiring combination of history, theory and practical observing. The historical part describes the pre-Herschel findings, Herschel's telescopes, observing methods and his many discoveries. This valuable information establishes the basis for Bratton's own observations of the Herschel objects, made with various telescopes from different sites. The presented results show his great experience as a visual observer. This well organized book is an important tool for anyone interested in deep sky objects, both from the historical and practical point of view.' Wolfgang Steinicke, author of Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters'… as a guide to the Herschel objects this book is excellent. I would definitely recommend it to all deep sky observers and those interested in the historical aspect of deep sky observing, particularly William Herschel's contribution. If you're a serious deep sky observer who has advanced beyond the Messiers and are doing the Herschel Objects (the Herschel 400 is often viewed as the 'next step'), then this book is for you. Highly recommended.' FJAstronomy.com'4 stars: This in-depth guide takes the reader through a fascinating history of William Herschel: the man, the observer and the telescope maker … a well researched reference book.' BBC Sky at Night Magazine'Bratton is spot-on with every reference. The Herschel story of a musician turned astronomer has been written up many times, however, Bratton has taken the practical route: context of observing sties, telescope maker and observer. This is unique and gets straight down to business … illustrations are well researched and superbly distributed within the text …meticulously researched and there is an outstanding attention to detail throughout.' Astronomy Now'… nicely produced … This book can be recommended to anyone with an interest in what Herschel did, and to all deep-sky observers.' The Observatory'… the catalogue of objects is a magnificent achievement that would have delighted William (and Caroline) Herschel.' Michael Hoskin, Journal for the History of AstronomyTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The telescope maker; 2. The deep sky before Herschel; 3. Surveyor of the skies; 4. The Herschel catalogue; General references; Index.

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Book SynopsisBlack Hole Accretion is all about Sub-Keplerian Flows.- Radiative Acceleration of Relativistic Jets from Accretion Disks around Black Holes.- Noisy Accretion Flows.- Bondi Flow from Various Perspectives.- Dissipative Shocks in Accretion Flows: A Theoretical Forecast of the Spectral State Transitions in Black Hole X-ray Binaries.- Extreme Magnetic Fields around Black Holes.- Study of Accretion Disks around Black Holes with Two Types of Gas Inflows.- Universality of Coronal Properties in Accreting Black Holes.- Mode of Accretion and Jet Power in Episodic AGN Jets.- Can Morphological Dichotomy in Radio Galaxies be resolved through Galactic Potential−Induced Shocks.- Mean Field Dynamo: Beyond MHD.- General Relativistic Hydrodynamic Simulations around Accreting Black Holes.- Towards a Theory of Hydromagnetic Turbulence with Higher Order Fluid Moments.- Accretion Disk-Outflow/Jet and Hard State ULXs.- Magnetically Arrested Advective Accretion Flows and Jets/Outflows around Stellar Mass Black Holes: Explaining Hard State ULXs with GRMHD Simulations.- X-ray Observations of Black Hole Sources.- Light Curves and HID Signatures of Recurrent Black Hole X-ray Binary Sources.- QPOs in Compact Sources as a Non-Linear Hydrodynamical Resonance: Determining Spin of Compact Objects.- Estimation of Spin Parameters of Stellar Mass Black Holes: LMC X-1, LMC X-3 and GX 339-4.- Decoding the Deterministic Nature of Black Hole IGR J17091–3624.- Recent Observational and Theoretical Progress in the Study of Gamma-Ray Bursts.- Multi-Temperature Blackbody Emission in GRB 170409A. Ten Years of Searching for Relics of AGN Jet Feedback through RAD@home Citizen Science.- UV Star Formation Properties of NGC 1097.- Simultaneous Optical to X-ray Spectra of OJ 287 and X-ray Spectral Changes.- On the Origin of Merging Compact Object Binaries.- Observational Imprints of Accretion Disk on Observed GravitationalWave Data from LISA.- Can we Detect Super-Chandrasekhar White Dwarfs via Continuous Gravitational Waves.- Was it Really a Kerr Black Hole that EHT Imaged in 2019.- Exploring Magnetic Field Limits in Anisotropic Neutron Starsthrough GW190814 Tidal Deformability.- Observational Mass-Radius Relation for Magnetized White Dwarfs.- Simulating Super-Chandrasekhar White Dwarfs.- Ultralight Dark Matter - A Novel proposal.- The Origin of Cosmic Rays: An Enduring Mystery in Physics.- A Glitch in Gravity: Cosmic Lorentz-Violation from Fiery Big Bang to Glacial Heat Death.- Inference of Hubble Constant using Standard Sirens and Reconstructed Matter Density Field.- Novel Understanding of Cosmological Phenomena using Fast Radio Bursts.- Cosmic Phase Transitions in a Supercomputer.- Quantum Correlations in Neutrino and Neutral Meson Oscillations.- Influence of Gravity on the Quantum Speed Limit in Neutrino Oscillations.- Increasing Quantum Speed Limit of Relativistic Electron via Non-Uniform Magnetic Field.- Affine Connection and Quantum Theory.- Holographic Approach to Anomalous Transport in a Massive ??(1)Gauge Theory.- Holographic Fermions in Nonlinear Arcsin Electrodynamics.- A Covariant Approach to the Berry Phase Arising due to Einstein Gravity.- Black Hole Thermodynamics in Modified Gravity.- Faster Rate of Hawking Radiation in Modified Gravity Constraining Dark Matter.- Deciphering Interstellar Ice Morphology: Atomistic Simulations Reveal the Complex Behavior of Ethanethiol.- Representation of Continuum Equations in Physical Components for Arbitrary Curved Surfaces Appearing in Biophysical Modeling.- Black Holes, White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, related Fluid Mechanics and Nuclear Astrophysics: My Research Journey from 1997 to.

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Book SynopsisThis Element is a survey of central topics in the metaphysics of material objects. The topics are grouped into four problem spaces. The first concerns how an object''s parts are related to the object''s existence and to the object''s nature, or essence. The second concerns how an object persists through time, how an object is located in spacetime, and how an object changes. The third concerns paradoxes about objects, including paradoxes of coincidence, paradoxes of fission, and the problem of the many. The fourth concerns views with radical consequences regarding the existence of composite material objects, including mereological nihilism, ontological anti-realism, and deflationism.Table of ContentsOverview; 1. Parts; 2. Persistence; 3. Paradox; 4. Existence.

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Book SynopsisChronicles twentieth century history as ""universal civil war"" between a succession of conflicting dualisms such as freedom and equality, race and class, capitalism and communism, liberalism and fascism, East and West.Trade ReviewDiner, an enticingly unorthodox and persuasive historian, felicitously shuttles back and forth between philosophic-speculative analysis and a well-informed account of individual actors and events. An important work. - Fritz Stern, author of Five Germanys I Have Known

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Table of Contents(Volume II).- Non-Jeans Instabilities of Gravitating Systems.- VI Non-Jeans Instabilities of Gravitating Systems.- § 1. Beam Instability of a Gravitating Medium.- 1.1. Theorem of a Number of Instabilities of the Heterogeneous System with Homogeneous Flows.- 1.2. Expression for the Growth Rate of the Kinetic Beam Instability in the Case of a Beam of Small Density (for an Arbitrary Distribution Function).- 1.3. Beam with a Step Function Distribution.- 1.4. Hydrodynamical Beam Instability. Excitation of the Rotational Branch.- 1.5. Stabilizing Effect of the Interaction of Gravitating Cylinders and Disks.- 1.6. Instability of Rotating Inhomogeneous Cylinders with Oppositely Directed Beams of Equal Density.- § 2. Gradient Instabilities of a Gravitating Medium.- 2.1. Cylinder of Constant Density with Radius-Dependent Temperature. Hydrodynamical Instability.- 2.2. Cylinder of Constant Density with a Temperature Jump. Kinetic Instability.- 2.3. Cylinder with Inhomogeneous Density and Temperature.- § 3. Hydrodynamical Instabilities of a Gravitating Medium with a Growth Rate Much Greater than that of Jeans.- 3.1. Hydrodynamical Instabilities in the Model of a Flat Parallel Flow.- 3.2. Hydrodynamical Instabilities of a Gravitating Cylinder.- §4. General Treatment of Kinetic Instabilities.- 4.1. Beam Effects in the Heterogeneous Model of a Galaxy.- 4.2. Influence of a “Black Hole” at the Center of a Spherical System on the Resonance Interactions Between Stars and Waves.- 4.3. Beam Instability in the Models of a Cylinder and a Flat Layer.- VII Problems of Nonlinear Theory.- § 1. Nonlinear Stability Theory of a Rotating, Gravitating Disk.- 1.1. Nonlinear Waves and Solitons in a Hydrodynamical Model of an Infinitely Thin Disk with Plane Pressure.- 1.2. Nonlinear Waves in a Gaseous Disk.- 1.3. Nonlinear Waves and Solitons in a Stellar Disk.- 1.4. Explosive Instability.- 1.5. Remarks on the Decay Processes.- 1.6. Nonlinear Waves in a Viscous Medium.- § 2. Nonlinear Interaction of a Monochromatic Wave with Particles in Gravitating Systems.- 2.1. Nonlinear Dynamics of the Beam Instability in a Cylindrical Model.- 2.2. Nonlinear Saturation of the Instability at the Corotation Radiusin the Disk.- § 3. Nonlinear Theory of Gravitational Instability of a Uniform Expanding Medium.- § 4. Foundations of Turbulence Theory.- 4.1. Hamiltonian Formalism for the Hydrodynamical Model of a Gravitating Medium.- 4.2. Three-Wave Interaction.- 4.3. Four-Wave Interaction.- §5. Concluding Remarks.- 5.1. When Can an Unstable Gravitating Disk be Regarded as an Infinitesimally Thin One?.- 5.2. On Future Soliton Theory of Spiral Structure.- Problems.- II Astrophysical Applications.- VIII General Remarks.- § 1. Oort’s Antievolutionary Hypothesis.- § 2. Is There a Relationship Between the Rotational Momentum of an Elliptical Galaxy and the Degree of Oblateness?.- § 3. General Principles of the Construction of Models of Spherically Symmetric Systems.- § 4. Lynden-Bell’s Collisionless Relaxation.- § 5. Estimates of “Collisionlessness” of Particles in Different Real Systems.- IX Spherical Systems.- § 1. A Brief Description of Observational Data.- 1.1. Globular Star Clusters.- 1.2. Spherical Galaxies.- 1.3. Compact Galactic Clusters.- § 2. Classification of Unstable Modes in Scales.- § 3. Universal Criterion of the Instability.- § 4. Specificity of the Effects of Small-Scale and Large-Scale Perturbations on the System’s Evolution.- § 5. Results of Numerical Experiments for Systems with Parameters Providing Strong Supercriticality.- § 6. Example of Strongly Unstable Model.- § 7. Can Lynden-Bell’s Intermixing Mechanism Be Observed Against a Background of Strong Instability ?.- § 8. Is the “Unstable” Distribution of Stellar Density Really Unstable (in the Hydrodynamical Sense) in the Neighborhood of a “Black Hole”?.- X Ellipsoidal Systems.- § 1. Objects Under Study.- § 2. Elliptical Galaxies.- 2.1. Why Are Elliptical Galaxies More Oblate than E7 Absent?.- 2.2. Comparison of the Observed Oblatenesses of S- and SO-Galaxies with the Oblateness of E-Galaxies.- 2.3. Two Possible Solutions of the Problem.- 2.4. The Boundary of the Anisotropic (Fire-Hose) Instability Determines the Critical Value of Oblateness.- 2.5. Universal Criterion of Instability.- §3. SB-Galaxies.- 3.1. The Main Problem.- 3.2. Detection in NGC 4027 of Counterflows as Predicted by Freeman.- 3.3. Stability of Freeman Models of SB-Galaxies with Observed Oblateness.- XI Disk-like Systems. Spiral Structure.- § 1. Different Points of View on the Nature of Spiral Structure.- § 2. Resonant Interaction of the Spiral Wave with Stars of the Galaxy.- 2.1. Derivation of Expressions for the Angular Momentum and Energy of the Spiral Wave.- 2.2. Physical Mechanisms of Energy and Angular Momentum Exchange Between the Spiral Waves and the Resonant Stars.- § 3. The Linear Theory of Stationary Density Waves.- 3.1. The Primary Idea of Lin and Shu of the Stationary Density Waves.- 3.2. The Spiral Galaxy as an Infinite System of Harmonic Oscillators.- 3.3. On “Two-Armness” of the Spiral Structure.- 3.4. The Main Difficulties of the Stationary Wave Theory of Lin and Shu.- §4. Linear Theory of Growing Density Waves.- 4.1. Spiral Structure as the Most Unstable Mode.- 4.2. Gravitational Instability at the Periphery of Galaxies.- 4.3. Waves of Negative Energy Generated Near the Corotation Circle and Absorbed at the Inner Lindblad Resonance—Lynden-BellKalnaj’s Picture of Spiral Pattern Maintenance.- 4.4. Kelvin–Helmholz Instability and Flute-like Instability in the Near-Nucleus Region of the Galaxy as Possible Generators of Spiral Structure.- 4.5. The “Trailing” Character of Spiral Arms.- § 5. Comparison of the Lin–Shu Theory with Observations.- 5. 1 The Galaxy.- 5.2. M33, M51, M81.- § 6. Experimental Simulation of Spiral Structure Generation.- 6. 1 In a Rotating Laboratory Plasma.- 6.2. In Numerical Experiment.- § 7. The Hypothesis of the Origin of Spirals in the SB-Galaxies.- XII Other Applications.- § 1 On the Structure of Saturn’s Rings.- l.1. Introduction.- 1.2. Model. Basic Equations.- 1.3. Jeans Instability.- 1.4. Dissipative Instabilities.- 1.5. Modulational Instability.- Appendix. Derivation of the Expression for the Perturbation Energy of Maclaurin’s Ellipsoid.- § 2. On the Law of Planetary Distances.- §3. Galactic Plane Bending.- 3.1. Quasistationary Tidal Deformation.- 3.2. Free Modes of Oscillations.- 3.3. Close Passage.- § 4. Instabilities in Collisions of Elementary Particles.- § 1. Collisionless Kinetic Equation and Poisson Equation in Different Coordinate Systems.- § 2. Separation of Angular Variables in the Problem of Small Perturbations of Spherically Symmetrical Collisionless Systems.- § 3. Statistical Simulation of Stellar Systems.- 3.1. Simulation of Stellar Spheres of the First Camm Series.- 3.2. Simulation of Homogeneous Nonrotating Ellipsoids.- § 4. The Matrix Formulation of the Problem of Eigenoscillations of a Spherically-Symmetrical Collisionless System.- § 5. The Matrix Formulation of the Problem of Eigenoscillations of Collisionless Disk Systems.- 5.1. The Main Ideas of the Derivation of the Matrix Equation.- 5.2. “Lagrange” Derivation of the Matrix Equation.- § 6. Derivation of the Dispersion Equation for Perturbations of the Three-Axial Freeman Ellipsoid.- § 7. WKB Solutions of the Poisson Equation Taking into Account the Preexponential Terms and Solution of the Kinetic Equation in the Postepicyclic Approximation.- 7.1. The Relation Between the Potential and the Surface Density.- 7.2. Calculations of the Response of a Stellar Disk to an Imposed Perturbation of the Potential.- § 8. On the Derivation of the Nonlinear Dispersion Equation for Collisionless Disk.- § 9. Calculation of the Matrix Elements for the Three-Waves Interaction.- § 10. Derivation of the Formulas for the Boundaries of Wave Numbers Range Which May Take Part in a Decay.- §11. Derivation of the Kinetic Equation for Waves.- § 12. Table of Non-Jeans Instabilities (with a Short Summary).- References.- Additional References.

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Book SynopsisBuilding on the seminal work of Kit Fine in the 1980s, Leon Horsten here develops a new theory of arbitrary entities. He connects this theory to issues and debates in metaphysics, logic, and contemporary philosophy of mathematics, investigating the relation between specific and arbitrary objects and between specific and arbitrary systems of objects. Hisbook shows how this innovative theory is highly applicable to problems in the philosophy of arithmetic, and explores in particular how arbitrary objects can engage with the nineteenth-century concept of variable mathematical quantities, how they are relevant for debates around mathematical structuralism, and how they can help our understanding of the concept of random variables in statistics. This fully worked through theory will open up new avenues within philosophy of mathematics, bringing in the work of other philosophers such as Saul Kripke, and providing new insights into the development of the foundations of mathematics from the eighteenth century to the present day.Trade Review'For the initiated reader, the book promises to add new life to research on arbitrary objects.' R. L. Pour, ChoiceTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Metaphysics of mathematics; 3. Arbitrary objects; 4. Mathematical objects as arbitrary objects; 5. Structure in mathematics; 6. Mathematical structures; 7. Kit fine; 8. Generic systems and mathematical structuralism; 9. Reasoning about generic w-sequences; 10. Probability and random variables; 11. Directions for future research.

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Book SynopsisMany large-scale projects for detecting gravitational radiation are currently being developed, all with the aim of opening a new window onto the observable Universe. As a result, numerical relativity has recently become a major field of research, and Elements of Numerical Relativity and Relativistic Hydrodynamics is a valuable primer for both graduate students and non-specialist researchers wishing to enter the field. A revised and significantly enlarged edition of LNP 673 Elements of Numerical Relativity, this book starts with the most basic insights and aspects of numerical relativity before it develops coherent guidelines for the reliable and convenient selection of each of the following key aspects: evolution formalism; gauge, initial, and boundary conditions; and various numerical algorithms. And in addition to many revisions, it includes new, convenient damping terms for numerical implementations, a presentation of the recently-developed harmonic formalism, and an extensive, new chapter on matter space-times, containing a thorough introduction to relativistic hydrodynamics. While proper reference is given to advanced applications requiring large computational resources, most tests and applications in this book can be performed on a standard PC.Trade ReviewFrom the book reviews:“The book is configured as a set of lecture notes – an accessible and pedagogical intro to the subject. It can serve as a starting point for advanced graduate seminars. … This book is a very accessible and a good first exposure to the ‘big picture’ of Numerical Relativity. … It is best used as a reference guide to other resources in the field and a handy overview of the major techniques and research topics.” (Bojan Tunguz, tunguzreview.com, December, 2014)“This is an extended and improved version of the first edition … . It is well written and informative. … the book can be a helpful starting point for those interested in the field of numerical relativity.” (Bela Szilágyi, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2012 k)Table of ContentsThe 4D Spacetime.- The Evolution Formalism.- Free Evolution.- First-Order Hyperbolic Systems.- Numerical Methods.- Black Hole Simulations.- Matter Spacetimes.

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Book SynopsisAnalysis of Ordinal Categorical Data Alan Agresti Statistical Science Now has its first coordinated manual of methods for analyzing ordered categorical data. This book discusses specialized models that, unlike standard methods underlying nominal categorical data, efficiently use the information on ordering.Table of ContentsModel Notation, Covariances, and Path Analysis. Causality and Causal Models. Structural Equation Models with Observed Variables. The Consequences of Measurement Error. Measurement Models: The Relation Between Latent and ObservedVariables. Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The General Model, Part I: Latent Variable and Measurement ModelsCombined. The General Model, Part II: Extensions. Appendices. Distribution Theory. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisBackground.- About Binoculars (And Everything Connected to Them).- Celestial Mechanics.- Those Wonderful Distant Suns.- Nonstellar Objects.- Using Models to Understand Our Place in Space and Time.- Preparing for Observation Sessions.- Constellations.- Andromeda to Boötes (The Herdsman).- Caelum (The Chisel) to Draco (The Dragon).- Eridanus (The River) to Lyra (The Lyre).- Microscopium (The Microscope) to Puppis (The Stern).- Sagitta (The Arrow) to Vulpecula (The Fox).Trade ReviewFrom the reviews:“This volume is so crammed with information that the index is a very welcome addition. … This provides you with a rich background about objects you can see … . It … deals with the constellations, giving charts, photos and informative text describing the binocular delights within.” (Mark Parrish, Sky at Night Magazine, April, 2010)“Book such as this , subtitled ‘250+ wonderful sky objects to see and explore’ , will attract the attention of many a skygazer. … I expect that many potential readers will wonder, as I did, how much of this material is truly necessary in a book supposedly aimed at users of 10 × 50 binoculars. … It is undoubtedly an impressive achievement … . As if to underline this, the book ends with a list of basic objects for beginners … .” (Ian Ridpath, The Observatory, Vol. 130, August, 2010)Table of ContentsBackground.- About Binoculars (And Everything Connected to Them).- Celestial Mechanics.- Those Wonderful Distant Suns.- Nonstellar Objects.- Using Models to Understand Our Place in Space and Time.- Preparing for Observation Sessions.- Constellations.- Andromeda to Boötes (The Herdsman).- Caelum (The Chisel) to Draco (The Dragon).- Eridanus (The River) to Lyra (The Lyre).- Microscopium (The Microscope) to Puppis (The Stern).- Sagitta (The Arrow) to Vulpecula (The Fox).

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Book SynopsisDrawing on new materialism and object-oriented ontology, Variable Objects proposes that Shakespeare is a vibrant object replete with a variable energy that accounts for its infinite meaning-making capacity.Trade Review"This extraordinary collection will have a profound impact on Shakespeare and appropriation studies. Using object-oriented methodology, the authors develop a speculative approach that refigures Shakespeare as a vibrant, multifarious thing" that actively participates in the creation of limitless interpretations and appropriations. The volume opens up new possibilities for the field. "" -Lisa S. Starks, University of South Florida

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Testot's Cataclysms: An Environmental History of Humanity is a global and historical tour de force of humans facing nature; from the earliest of times to our present days. Testot's book demonstrates that we still are monkeys; basically seeking the tribal pleasures of a warm pool. Yes, the human monkey has conquered the world, dominated nature, and transformed the Earth. But that's it. Nothing more. Thus, in 2020, this monkey world is as vulnerable as ever in its struggle to cope with a single, tiny virus--COVID-19. Now is the time to stop, think, and read this book."--Dag Herbjornsrud, global historian of ideas and founder of SGOKI.org 'Whether it be the internet or the coronavirus, we all know the world is connected. But how did we get here? In this brilliant, highly readable book, Testot answers that question. He follows mankind's trek out of Africa and the footprint this 'naked ape' left behind as humans conquered the world's continents. It is a study of environmental tragedy, but Testot also tells a story of hope. He provides a history of our shared past from the earliest times to the present and, in so doing, suggests how this can help us to make the future better." --Christopher Goscha, Universite du Quebec a MontrealTable of ContentsIntroductionPart I: Monkey Conquers the World 1 We Are the Children of the Climate 2 The End of the Elephants 3 The Wheat Deal 4 CollapsePart II: Monkey Dominates Nature 5 When Gods Guide the Way 6 All Empires Will Fall 7 After Summer Comes Winter 8 Biological Hazards 9 Demographic HazardsPart III: Monkey Transforms the Earth 10 The Promises of Quicksilver 11 Cold, Cold Earth 12 Dying for the Forest 13 Unlimited Energy 14 The Cold Chill of Catastrophe 15 A Time of Excess 16 The Blind Flock 17 Tomorrow’s World Conclusion Epilogue to the English Edition: Two and a Half Years after the French Edition . . . Appendix A: Glossary Appendix B: Chronology Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisObjects generate time; time does not generate or change objects. That is the central thesis of this book by the philosopher Graham Harman and the archaeologist Christopher Witmore, who defend radical positions in their respective fields. Against a current and pervasive conviction that reality consists of an unceasing flux – a view associated in philosophy with New Materialism – object-oriented ontology asserts that objects of all varieties are the bedrock of reality from which time emerges. And against the narrative convictions of time as the course of historical events, the objects and encounters associated with archaeology push back against the very temporal delimitations which defined the field and its objects ever since its professionalization in the nineteenth century. In a study ranging from the ruins of ancient Corinth, Mycenae, and Troy to debates over time from Aristotle and al-Ash‘ari through Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead, the authors draw on alternative conceptions of time as retroactive, percolating, topological, cyclical, and generational, as consisting of countercurrents or of a surface tension between objects and their own qualities. Objects Untimely invites us to reconsider the modern notion of objects as inert matter serving as a receptacle for human categories.Trade Review"Objects Untimely is a remarkable achievement, developing a radical object-oriented theory of archaeology while simultaneously providing a novel account of time’s dependence upon objects. Things will never be (and never have been) the same."Jon Cogburn, Louisiana State University“This is a deeply important book written by two pioneering scholars in their respective fields which argues for nothing less than a radical revolution in the way we think about time in the humanities and social sciences.”Gavin Murray Lucas, University of IcelandTable of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Figures Preface 1 Time and Objects, by Graham Harman and Christopher Witmore 2 The Antiquity of Time: Objects Greek, by Christopher Witmore 3 Discussion of Chapter Two 4 Objects as the Root of Time, by Graham Harman 5 Discussion of Chapter Four A Note on Models of Time Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1973, this influential work discusses Einstein''s General Theory of Relativity to show how two of its predictions arise: first, that the ultimate fate of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse to form ''black holes''; and second, that there was a singularity in the past at the beginning of the universe. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory, including the necessary differential geometry, the authors discuss the significance of space-time curvature and examine the properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein''s field equations. They develop the theory of the causal structure of a general space-time, and use it to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singularities under certain conditions. A Foreword contributed by Abhay Ashtekar and a new Preface from George Ellis help put the volume into context of the developments in the field over the past fifty years.Trade Review'The book is a masterpiece, written by sure hands.' Science'Certain to rank as an outstanding classic of the current advance of relativity theory.' Contemporary Physics'La parution de ce livre est un événement important …' La Recherche'This special 50th anniversary republication of this famous monograph is well welcome addtion to the community. This text helped lay the groundwork for gravitational research for the next 50 years; inspiring and educating generations of researchers. I recommend this text to anyone who is interested in learning the foundation of gravitational research.' Kymani Tieral Keden Armstrong-Williams, https://physicsbookreviewer.blogspot.com/Table of ContentsForeword to the Anniversary Edition Abhay Ashtekar; Preface to the Anniversary Edition George F. R. Ellis; Preface; 1. The role of gravity; 2. Differential geometry; 3. General relativity; 4. The physical significance of curvature; 5. Exact solutions; 6. Causal structure; 7. The Cauchy problem in General Relativity; 8. Space-time singularities; 9. Gravitational collapse and black holes; 10. The initial singularity in the universe; Appendixes; References; Notation; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis textbook describes the equipment, observational techniques, and analysis used in the investigation of stellar photospheres. Now in its fourth edition, the text has been thoroughly updated and revised to be more accessible to students. New figures have been added to illustrate key concepts, while diagrams have been redrawn and refreshed throughout. The book starts by developing the tools of analysis, and then demonstrates how they can be applied. Topics covered include radiation transfer, models of stellar photospheres, spectroscopic equipment, how to observe stellar spectra, and techniques for measuring stellar temperatures, radii, surface gravities, chemical composition, velocity fields, and rotation rates. Up-to-date results for real stars are included. Written for starting graduate students or advanced undergraduates, this textbook also includes a wealth of reference material useful to researchers. eBook formats include color imagery while print formats are greyscale only; a wide selection of the color images are available online.Trade Review'Gray's newest edition has made several key improvements that will render it an important book not only for stellar atmospheres and evolution courses, but also for courses involving modern instrumentation techniques or for anyone working in the field of exoplanets. Each chapter is clearly and logically laid out and extensively referenced, including exercises to support scaffolded learning throughout the undergraduate and graduate curriculum; this makes the book an easy choice for professors teaching both introductory and upper level courses. Gray's new book is destined to become an essential companion for every professional astronomer whose research is impacted by observational effects and the inner workings of stellar photospheres.' Prof. Michelle J. Creech-Eakman, New Mexico Tech'Gray's textbook has been a staple for my teaching and research for the past two decades. The close connection the book makes between theory and observation has always distinguished it and made it particularly valuable. The addition of new topics and results, and the inclusion of many of the more recent, seminal references make the new edition particularly valuable for students and researchers entering the field of stellar astrophysics.' Prof. Christopher M. Johns-Krull, Rice University'David Gray's book puts the decades of the author's hands-on experience, combined with his scientific ingenuity, into a form that students and young researcher love. Clearly, David Gray's book has evolved. The Fourth Edition is not just a graduate student's textbook, it is now also an up-to-date window into practical stellar astrophysical research. As in the past, all my graduate students will get it as their bible.' Prof. Klaus G. Strassmeier, University of Potsdam, and Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics, GermanyTable of ContentsPreface to the first edition; Preface to the second edition; Preface to the third edition; Preface to the fourth edition; 1. Background; 2. Fourier transforms; 3. Spectroscopic tools; 4. Light detectors; 5. Radiation terms and definitions; 6. The black body and its radiation; 7. Energy transport in stellar photospheres; 8. The continuous absorption coefficient; 9. The model photosphere; 10. Analysis of stellar continua; 11. The line absorption coefficient; 12. The measurement of spectral lines; 13. The behavior of spectral lines; 14. The measurement of stellar radii and temperatures; 15. The measurement of surface gravity; 16. The measurement of chemical composition; 17. Velocity fields in stellar photospheres; 18. Stellar rotation; Appendix A. Useful constants; Appendix B: Approximate physical parameters of stars; Appendix C. Atomic data; Appendix D. The strongest lines in the solar spectrum; Appendix E. Computation of random errors; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Earth's climate system depends entirely on the Sun for its energy. Solar radiation warms the atmosphere and is fundamental to atmospheric composition, while the distribution of solar heating across the planet produces global wind patterns and contributes to the formation of clouds, storms, and rainfall. The Sun's Influence on Climate provides aTrade Review"Increasing understanding of how the sun affects climate will deepen human understanding of future trajectories of climate change."--ChoiceTable of Contents1 Introduction 1 2 The Earth's Climate System 12 3 The Sun 40 4 Solar Radiation at the Earth 66 5 Solar Variability 92 6 Solar Signals in Surface Climate 109 7 Solar Influence through the Atmosphere 129 8 Space Weather 154 9 Summary 166 Appendix: Detection of Solar Signals in Climate and Weather Records 171 Glossary 175 Suggestions for Further Reading 185 Bibliography 189 Index 199

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis star guide enables amateur astronomers to focus on a class of object, and using an observation list that begins with the easiest object, find and move progressively over a period of months to more difficult targets.Table of ContentsPreface and Thanks.- Chapter 1: Some Background.- Chapter 2: The Stars.- Chapter 3: Star Clusters.- Chapter 4: Nebulae.- Chapter 5: Galaxies.- Chapter 6: Faint, Far Away and Invisible.- Chapter 7: Naked-Eye Objects.- Appendix.- Index of Objects.

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Book SynopsisThe Universe is made up of systems consisting of a very large number of particles interacting in a very complex way. When studying these systems, a precise microscopic approach is unattainable. In practice, the best strategy is one that is able to “distinguish” between superfluous information and the information needed to make predictions about the evolution of the system. There are two main competing approaches: kinetic and hydrodynamic. Collective Phenomena in Plasmas and Elsewhere presents an overview of the theoretical bases of these kinetic and hydrodynamic approaches, but also discusses their limitations, the links between them and their extension to quantum mechanics and relativity. These methods were born in part out of the study of plasmas, but they also have more universal applications. A general framework for these approaches is outlined, followed by some applications in plasmas, gravitation, Bose–Einstein condensates and dark matter. Particular emphasis is placed on the analogies that can be made between all these different systems.Table of ContentsPreface ix Introduction xi Part 1 Theory 1 Chapter 1 Kinetic Theory 3 1.1 The impossibility of an accurate approach 4 1.2 Boltzmann equation 8 1.3 Collision term 11 1.3.1 Absence of collisions: Vlasov equation 11 1.3.2 Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook relaxation model 12 1.3.3 Boltzmann collision integral 13 1.3.4 Fokker-Planck collision term 16 1.4 Steady state: Boltzmann distribution 18 1.5 Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution: properties 24 1.6 H-theorem 32 1.7 Paradoxes related to H-theorem 35 1.7.1 Loschmidt’s paradox of irreversibility 35 1.7.2 Zermelo paradox 36 Chapter 2 Hydrodynamic Approach 37 2.1 Fluid model: a heuristic approach 38 2.2 Macroscopic transport equation 39 2.3 Fluid model 41 2.4 Pressure tensor 44 2.4.1 Isotropic pressure 45 2.4.2 Anisotropic pressure 45 2.5 A deadlock in the fluid model: closure relationships 46 2.5.1 Zero pressure 46 2.5.2 Isothermal pressure 47 2.6 The collision effect 48 Chapter 3 Quantum Models 51 3.1 Physical interest 52 3.2 Quantum hydrodynamic model 54 3.3 Quantum kinetic approach: Wigner-Moyal theory 58 3.3.1 Wigner distribution 58 3.3.2 Weyl transformation 62 3.3.3 Evolution of the Wigner distribution 64 Chapter 4 General Relativity 67 4.1 Relativistic hydrodynamics 68 4.1.1 Conservation equations 68 4.1.2 Hydrodynamics in special relativity 69 4.1.3 Hydrodynamic model in general relativity 71 4.2 Relativistic kinetic theory 72 4.2.1 Basic concepts 72 4.2.2 Formulation of kinetic theory 75 4.2.3 Collision integral 77 4.2.4 Boltzmann equation in general relativity 79 4.2.5 H-theorem 81 4.2.6 Equilibrium state: Juttner distribution 82 Part 2 Applications 87 Chapter 5 Plasmas 89 5.1 Electronic oscillations in classical plasmas: a hydrodynamic approach 91 5.2 Ion waves: hydrodynamic approach 95 5.3 Classic plasmas: kinetic approach 97 5.4 Quantification of electronic oscillations: hydrodynamic and kinetic approaches 103 5.5 In a relativistic plasma: kinetic approach 105 5.6 Beyond the linear approach: the Korteweg-De Vries equation 110 Chapter 6 Gravitational Systems 115 6.1 Jeans instability: hydrodynamic approach 116 6.2 Kinetic approach and collision effect 120 6.3 Jeans instability in the presence of dark matter 123 6.3.1 Kinetic approach 124 6.3.2 Hydrodynamic approach 128 6.4 Jeans instability: alternative theories 130 Chapter 7 Bose-Einstein Condensates 135 7.1 Quantum hydrodynamic representation 137 7.2 Quantum kinetic representation 139 7.3 Kinetic approach to Bogoliubov oscillations 141 Chapter 8 Cosmology and Dark Matter Models 145 8.1 Hydrodynamics of the Universe 145 8.1.1 Perturbation in a static Universe 149 8.1.2 Perturbations in an expanding Universe 151 8.2 Dark matter models 153 8.2.1 Hydrodynamic representation 155 8.2.2 Kinetic representation 157 Appendix Language of Relativity 159 References 165 Index 169

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Table of ContentsCONTENT A.- Liber primus. Relationes generales inter quantitates, per quas corporum coelestium motus circa solem definiuntur.- Sectio I. Relationes ad locum simplicem in orbita spectantes.- Sectio II. Relationes ad locum simplicem in spatio spectantes.- Sectio III. Relationes inter locos plures in orbita.- Sectio IV. Relationes inter locos plures in spatio.- Liber secundus. Investigatio orbitarum corporum coelestium ex observationibus geocentricis.- Sectio I. Determinatio orbitae e tribus observationibus completis.- Sectio II. Determinatio orbitae e quatuor observationibus, quarum duae tantum completae sunt.- Sectio III. Determinatio orbitae observationibus quotcunque quam proxime satisfacientis.- Sectio IV. De determinatione orbitarum, habita ratione perturbationum.- Tabulae.- Bemerkungen.

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Book SynopsisPart two of an expansive two-volume work which critiques American foreign policy throughout the entire Cold War period.Table of ContentsPreface to the 2015 Edition Preface 1. The Setting 2. Precedents 3. Refugees: Indochina and Beyond 4. Vietnam 5. Laos 6. Cambodia 7. Final Comments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis book covers both the practical and theoretical aspects of catastrophe modelling for insurance industry practitioners and public policymakers. Written by authors with both academic and industry experience it also functions as an excellent graduate-level text and overview of the field. Ours is a time of unprecedented levels of risk from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Fortunately, it is also an era of relatively inexpensive technologies for use in assessing those risks. The demand from both commercial and public interestsincluding (re)insurers, NGOs, global disaster management agencies, and local authoritiesfor sophisticated catastrophe risk assessment tools has never been greater, and contemporary catastrophe modelling satisfies that demand. Combining the latest research with detailed coverage of state-of-the-art catastrophe modelling techniques and technologies, this book delivers the knowledge needed to use, interpret, and build catastrophe models, and prTable of ContentsList of Contributors and Acknowledgements xiii Foreword xxv 1 Fundamentals 1Matthew Jones, Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace, Matthew Foote, and John Hillier 1.1 Overview 1 1.1.1 What Is Included 1 1.1.2 What Is Not Included 1 1.1.3 Why Read This Chapter? 1 1.2 Catastrophes, Risk Management and Insurance 2 1.3 What Are Catastrophe Models? 5 1.4 Why Do We Need Catastrophe Models? 6 1.5 History of Catastrophe Models 7 1.6 Who Provides and Uses Catastrophe Models? 10 1.7 What Are Catastrophe Models Used For? 11 1.8 Anatomy of a Catastrophe Model 12 1.8.1 Hazard 13 1.8.2 Vulnerability 14 1.8.3 Exposure 15 1.8.4 Loss and Financial Perspectives 15 1.8.5 Platform 17 1.9 Model Input 19 1.9.1 Exposure 20 1.9.2 Financial Structure 24 1.9.3 Portfolio Hierarchy 25 1.10 Model Output: Metrics and Risk Measures 26 1.10.1 Common Metrics 26 1.10.2 Exceedance probability curve characteristics 27 1.10.3 More Advanced Metrics 29 1.10.4 Event Loss Tables and Year Loss Tables 29 1.10.5 Event Loss Table (ELT) 29 1.10.6 Year Loss Table (YLT) 36 1.11 Statistical Basics for Catastrophe Modelling 38 1.11.1 Discrete Distributions 40 1.11.2 Continuous Distributions 42 1.11.3 Coherent Risk Measures 44 Notes 44 References 45 2 Applications of Catastrophe Modelling 47Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace 2.1 Overview 47 2.1.1 What Is Included 48 2.1.2 What Is Not Included 48 2.1.3 Why Read This Chapter? 48 2.2 Introduction 48 2.3 Risk Transfer, the Structure of the (Re)insurance Industry and Catastrophe Modelling 49 2.4 Insurance and Reinsurance 52 2.4.1 What Is Insurance? 52 2.4.2 What Is Reinsurance? 53 2.5 Catastrophe Risk Management and Catastrophe Modelling 60Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace and Matthew Foote 2.5.1 What Are Catastrophe Risk Management and Exposure Management? 60 2.5.2 Catastrophe Risk Management Metrics 61 2.5.3 Catastrophe Risk Management Data 62 2.5.4 Exposure Data 63 2.5.5 Common Tools Used in Catastrophe Risk Management 70 2.6 Underwriting and Pricing 70Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace and Matthew Jones 2.6.1 What Is Underwriting? 70 2.6.2 What Is Pricing? 73 2.6.3 Practicalities of Using Catastrophe Model Output for Pricing 81 2.6.4 Pricing Specifics for Insurance and Reinsurance 83 2.7 Accumulation, Roll-Up and Capacity Monitoring 97Claire Crerar and Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace 2.7.1 What Is Accumulation? 97 2.7.2 Use in Underwriting and Risk Management 101 2.7.3 Practicalities of Accumulation 104 2.8 Portfolio Management and Optimization 105Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace and Guillermo Franco 2.8.1 What Is Portfolio Management? 105 2.8.2 What Is Portfolio Optimization? 107 2.8.3 Using Catastrophe Models in Optimization 108 2.8.4 Optimization Methods 109 2.9 Event Response and Integration with Claims Team 111Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace 2.9.1 Early Estimation of Claims 111 2.9.2 Claims Stresses and Inflation 114 2.9.3 Lessons Learnt Analysis 115 2.10 Capital Modelling, Management and Dynamic Financial Analysis 116Junaid Seria 2.10.1 Risk Appetite and Risk Tolerance 116 2.10.2 Why Capital Models? 117 2.10.3 What Is a Capital Model? 118 2.10.4 The Structure of Capital Models 118 2.10.5 Capital Models and Catastrophe Models 120 2.10.6 What is Dynamic Financial Analysis (DFA)? 120 2.11 Regulation and Best Practice in Catastrophe Modelling 121Junaid Seria, Claire Souch, and Paul Nunn 2.11.1 The Evolution of Catastrophe Modelling as a Profession and Best Practice 121 2.11.2 Rating Agencies 125 2.11.3 Regulation and Catastrophe Modelling 126 2.11.4 Case Study: Catastrophe Models and Solvency Regulation, Solvency II 128 2.11.5 Case Study: Regulation of Catastrophe Models for Ratemaking 135 2.12 Case Study: Catastrophe Modelling for Reinsurance and Retrocession Purchase 137Juan England 2.12.1 Introduction 137 2.12.2 Determining the Total Limit Required 138 2.12.3 Layering of a CAT XL Programme 140 2.12.4 Price 140 2.12.5 Cost Allocation 141 2.12.6 Conclusion 141 2.13 Government Schemes and Insurance 142Matthew Eagle 2.13.1 Introduction 142 2.13.2 Government Schemes with Standalone Products Managed by a Central Organization 144 2.13.3 Government Schemes Where Catastrophe Cover Is Provided as an Add-on to Fire 144 2.13.4 Government-Backed Reinsurance/Pooling Schemes 144 2.13.5 Private Insurance Company Pools Supported by Government Legislation 144 2.13.6 Case Study: UK Flood Re 152 2.14 Catastrophe Models and Applications in the Public Sector 154Rashmin Gunasekera 2.14.1 Introduction 154 2.14.2 Public Sector Catastrophe Models 154 2.14.3 Applications of Public Sector Catastrophe Models 155 2.14.4 Case Study: Country Disaster Risk Profiles (CDRP) 156 2.15 Insurance Linked Securities 158Arnab Chakrabati 2.15.1 What Are Insurance Linked Securities? 158 2.15.2 From Insurance to Reinsurance to ILS 159 2.15.3 Common ILS Instruments 160 2.15.4 Preliminaries of ILS Instrument: Measurement and Layering of Losses 160 2.15.5 Pricing an ILS Contract 162 2.15.6 Pricing Cat Bonds with the Thin Layer Model 163 2.15.7 Growth of the Market for ILS 164 2.15.8 Conclusion 166 2.16 Effective use of Catastrophe Models 167Ian Cook, Matthew Jones, Adam Podlaha, and Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace 2.16.1 Treatment of Uncertainty in Catastrophe Models 167 2.16.2 Importance of Framework: A Tool, Not an Answer 179 Notes 181 References 181 3 The Perils in Brief 187John Hillier 3.1 Overview 187 3.1.1 What Is Included 187 3.1.2 What Is Not Included 191 3.1.3 Why Read This Chapter? 191 3.X Structure of the Sections 192 3.X.1 What Is the Peril? 192 3.X.2 Damage Caused by the Peril 192 3.X.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 192 3.X.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 193 3.X.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 193 3.X.6 Key Past Events 193 3.X.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 193 3.X.8 Non-Proprietary Data Sources 193 METEOROLOGICAL PERILS (I.E. ‘WIND-DRIVEN’) 194 3.2 Tropical Cyclones 194James Done and Brian Owens 3.2.1 What Is the Peril? 194 3.2.2 Damage Caused by the Peril 198 3.2.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 198 3.2.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 199 3.2.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 200 3.2.6 Key Past Events 200 3.2.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 201 3.2.8 Nonproprietary Data Sources 202 Acknowledgements 202 3.3 Extra-Tropical Cyclones 202Len Shaffrey and Richard Dixon 3.3.1 What Is the Peril? 202 3.3.2 Damage Caused by the Peril 205 3.3.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 206 3.3.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 206 3.3.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 207 3.3.6 Key Past Events 207 3.3.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 208 3.3.8 Nonproprietary Data Sources 209 3.4 Severe Convective Storms 209Michael Kunz and Peter Geissbuehler 3.4.1 What Is the Peril? 209 3.4.2 Damaged Caused by the Peril 213 3.4.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 214 3.4.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 215 3.4.5 Secondary Perils and Non-modelled Items 216 3.4.6 Key Past Events 216 3.4.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 216 3.4.8 Nonproprietary Data Sources 217 HYDROLOGICAL PERILS (I.E. ‘RAIN-DRIVEN’) 218 3.5 Inland Flooding 218Jane Toothill and Rob Lamb 3.5.1 What Is the Peril? 218 3.5.2 Damage Caused by the Peril 221 3.5.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 221 3.5.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 223 3.5.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 228 3.5.6 Key Past Events 228 3.5.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 229 3.5.8 Nonproprietary Data Sources 229 Acknowledgements 230 3.6 Shrink-Swell Subsidence 230John Hillier 3.6.1 What Is the Peril? 230 3.6.2 Damage Caused Caused by the Peril 231 3.6.3 Forecasting Ability and and Mitigation 231 3.6.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 232 3.6.5 Key Past Events 232 3.7 Earthquakes 232Joanna Faure Walker and Guillaume Pousse 3.7.1 What Is the Peril? 232 3.7.2 Damage Caused by the Peril 237 3.7.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 239 3.7.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 240 3.7.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 242 3.7.6 Key Past Events 243 3.7.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 243 3.7.8 Nonproprietary Data Sources 244 3.8 Mass Movement 245Tom Dijkstra, Craig Verdon, and John Hillier 3.8.1 What Is the Peril? 245 3.8.2 Damage Caused by the Peril 246 3.8.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 246 3.8.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 247 3.8.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 247 3.8.6 Key Past Events 248 3.8.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 249 3.8.8 Nonproprietary Data Sources 249 3.9 Tsunami 250Anawat Suppasri and Yo Fukutani 3.9.1 What Is the Peril 250 3.9.2 Damaged Caused by the Peril 251 3.9.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 252 3.9.4 Representation in Industry Catastrophe Models 252 3.9.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 252 3.9.6 Key Past Events 253 3.9.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 253 3.9.8 Nonproprietary Data Sources 253 3.10 Volcanoes 254Sue Loughlin, Rashmin Gunasekera, and John Hillier 3.10.1 What Is the Peril? 254 3.10.2 Damage Caused by the Peril 256 3.10.3 Forecasting Ability and Mitigation 256 3.10.4 Representation in Catastrophe Models 257 3.10.5 Secondary Perils and Non-Modelled Items 257 3.10.6 Key Past Events 257 3.10.7 Open Questions/Current Hot Topics/Questions to Ask Your Vendor 258 3.10.8 Non-Proprietary Data Sources 258 References 258 4 Building Catastrophe Models 297Matthew Foote, Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace, Matthew Jones, and John Hillier 4.1 Overview 297 4.1.1 What Is Included 297 4.1.2 What Is Not Included 298 4.1.3 Why Read This Chapter? 298 4.2 Introduction 298 4.3 Hazard 301 4.3.1 Deterministic Versus Probabilistic Hazard Models 302 4.3.2 Representing the Hazard Severity 307 4.3.3 Understanding the Historical Hazard 308 4.3.4 Deterministic Hazard Models: Historical Reconstructions 315 4.3.5 Site-Based Extrapolation: A Local Solution 316 4.3.6 Building a Probabilistic Event-Set 319 4.3.7 Secondary or Consequent Perils 331 4.3.8 Time-Dependent Hazard Modelling and Clustering of Catastrophe Events 333 4.4 Exposure Models and Databases 334 4.4.1 Economic or Insured Exposure Data? 336 4.4.2 Economic and Insurance Industry Exposure Database Development Approaches 337 4.4.3 Bottom-Up Industry Exposure Database Development 339 4.5 Vulnerability 341 4.5.1 Vulnerability Function Development 343 4.5.2 Empirical Vulnerability Approaches 348 4.5.3 Analytical Vulnerability Approaches 355 4.5.4 Use of Design Codes in Vulnerability Function Development 357 4.5.5 Using Buildings Damage to Determine Other (Non-Structural) Types of Loss 362 4.5.6 Vulnerabilities for Non-Standard Exposures 363 4.5.7 Validating Vulnerability Models 365 4.6 Integrating Model Components and the Geographical Framework 367 4.6.1 Relative Spatial Resolution/Nominal Scale of Source Data 367 4.6.2 Geodetic and Coordinate Bases of Data Sources 368 4.6.3 Relative Vintage of Source Data 368 4.6.4 Point Representation Versus Cell, Area Geographies 368 4.6.5 Data Generalization, Interpolation and Smoothing 369 4.7 The Financial Model 369 4.7.1 Why We Need a Financial Model 369 4.7.2 Uncertainty 371 4.7.3 Case Study: Combining Distributions: Convolution 373 4.7.4 Applying Financial Structures 377 4.7.5 Case Study: Back-Allocation 378 4.7.6 Financial Model Output 378 4.8 Model Validation 379 4.9 Conclusion 381 Note 381 References 381 5 Developing a View of Risk 389Matthew Jones 5.1 Overview 389 5.1.1 What Is Included 389 5.1.2 What Is Not Included 389 5.1.3 Why Read This Chapter? 389 5.2 Introduction 390 5.2.1 Why Develop a View of Risk? 390 5.2.2 What Developing a View of Risk Involves 392 5.2.3 Practical Considerations in a Resource-Constrained World 392 5.2.4 Insurance Versus Reinsurance 393 5.3 Governance and Model Change Management 394 5.3.1 Governance 394 5.3.2 The View of the Risk Process 395 5.3.3 Prioritization 396 5.3.4 Vendor Selection and High-Level Model Evaluation 397 5.3.5 Detailed Model Evaluation 397 5.3.6 Non-Modelled Peril Evaluation 398 5.3.7 Sign-off 399 5.3.8 Implementation 399 5.3.9 Review Triggers and Frequency 400 5.3.10 Other Governance Aspects 400 5.4 How to Develop a View of Risk 401 5.4.1 Understanding What Is in the Model 401 5.4.2 Analysing Model Output (Including Sensitivity Testing) 405 5.4.3 Actual Versus Modelled, Comparing to Own Company Experience 419 5.4.4 Comparing Multiple Models 427 5.4.5 Using Industry Data 429 5.4.6 Considering the Time Period of Risk 434 5.4.7 Understanding What Is Not in the Model: Non-Modelled Risk 435 5.5 Implementing a View of Risk 442 5.5.1 Different Uses in a Company 442 5.5.2 Consistency in an Organization 443 5.5.3 Methods of Implementation: Single Model 443 5.5.4 Methods of Implementation: Multiple Models 446 5.6 Conclusion 452 Notes 452 References 452 6 Summary and the Future 455John Hillier, Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace, Matthew Jones, and Matthew Foote6.1 Overview 455 6.2 Key Themes in the Book 455 6.2.1 Chapter 1 Introduction 455 6.2.2 Chapter 2 Applications of Catastrophe Modelling 456 6.2.3 Chapter 3 The Perils in Brief 456 6.2.4 Chapter 4 Building a Catastrophe Model 457 6.2.5 Chapter 5 Developing a View of Risk 457 6.3 The Future: Progress, Challenges and Issues 458 6.3.1 Future Changes in Climate 458Clare Souch 6.3.2 Modelling Dependency between Perils 460Rick Thomas 6.3.3 Open Modelling and Open Architectures 461Dicke Whitaker 6.3.4 The Role of Modelling in Disaster Risk Financing 463Rashmin Gunasekera 6.3.5 Changing Global Demographics and Growing Insurance Penetration 464John Hillier References 464 Glossary 467 Index 495

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Book SynopsisThe Barnard Objects have fascinated professional and amateur astronomers for over one hundred years. Many of those objects first imaged by E.E. Barnard on black-and-white photographic plates are now being captured daily in thousands of color astrophotographs. This book tells of Barnard’s story; describing his life and work as well as how the fields of astronomy and astrophotography have transformed ever since.The chapters in this book are equal parts history and science. It will provide readers with an introduction to nebula science and the incredible discoveries made in this field over the decades; including an overview of popular astronomical catalogues and a detailed look at how astronomical imaging has advanced since Barnard’s time, from early plates to digital imaging and chips. In addition, the book features a comprehensive guide to viewing and imaging these objects yourself. A glossary of astronomical and photographic terms is provided, along with detailed references. And, an updated table displaying the locations of these Barnard Objects; including the missing twenty-five objects from E.E. Barnard’s original catalogue.Richly researched and illustrated, this fascinating reference will attract astronomers of all skill levels interested in astrophotography and how it has changed over the past hundred years.Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter2. Nebulae – an overview Bright nebulae Dark nebulae Classical nebulae: HII regions, planetary nebulae, supernova remnants Diffuse nebulae Bok globules Chapter 3. Astronomical Catalogs – an overview Messier NGC IC Sharpless Cederblad DG Lynds Chapter 4. EE Barnard, his life, observations, and his catalogs Max Wolf (1863-1932) Objects discovered and named after Barnard Barnard’s awards and honors Catherine Wolfe Bruce (1816-1900) Bruce photographic telescopes (Yerkes, Mt. Wilson, Heidelberg) Comet observations, Comet Halley Planet observations Barnard’s star Barnard Objects Chapter 5. Visual Observation of Barnard Objects Astronomical League Dark Nebulae Observing Program Chapter 6. Modern Imaging of the Barnard Objects: images and imaging technique What to look for – nova, variable stars, change in nebulosity, astrometry, B&W and color imaging, history of color imaging Imaging techniques Chapter 7. Selected Important Barnard Objects Chapter 8. Filling in the Missing Barnard Objects- #176-200 Chapter 9. Conclusions Glossary and Table of Astronomical Catalogs Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisIntroduction.- Modern Approaches to Understanding Past Earthquakes.- Measuring Ground Motions.- Historical Instrumental Seismology.- Eyewitness Macroseismology.- Shaking Constraints from Geology and the Natural Landscape.- Measuring Ground Deformation.- Remote Sensing of Surface Terrestrial Rupture Length and Slip.- Paleogeodesy of Offshore Earthquakes from Coral Microatolls. - Submarine Rupture extents and Sizes from Seafloor Coring.- Synthesizing Observations of Individual Earthquakes.- Surface Rupture Geometries, Slip Variability & Scaling Relations from Multiple Earthquakes.- Extrapolating Paleoseismic Parameters to an Entire Fault.- Distribution of Deformation through the Earthquake Cycle.- Synoptic Conclusion.- Employing and Combining Diverse Approaches to Understand Past Earthquake Ruptures in Relation to Modern Seismic Events.

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Book SynopsisThe Director controls Ms. B's life. He flatters her, beguiles her, derides her. His instructions pervade each aspect of her life, including her analytic sessions, during which he suggests promiscuous and dangerous things for Ms. B to say and do, when he suspects that her isolated state is being changed by the therapy. The Director is a diabolical foreign body installed in the mind who purports to protect but who keeps Ms. B feeling profoundly ill and alone. The story of Ms. B's analysis is one of many vivid illustrations presented in this collection of papers by Paul Williams, who shares his lifetime of experience working with severely disturbed patients. As the title suggests, the unifying thread of these papers is the investigation of serious mental disturbance, often characterized by the presence of intrusive and invasive thoughts and fantasies that originate in a traumatic past but which can colonize and destroy the rational mind. The diverse papers are grouped intTrade Review"Paul Williams, in this beautifully written set of essays, manages to achieve something extraordinary: He succeeds in conveying the essential core of the psychoanalytic treatment of severe emotional disturbances. He shows the reader how he goes about the difficult task of locating psychologically the embers of the almost extinguished humanity of the patient, and of finding a way to enter into conversation with the patient on subjects that include the desolation resulting from the patient's severed human connection with himself and others. No one writing today brings to life as well as Williams the process of forging a genuine human connection with psychotic patients (and the psychotic aspect of healthier patients), and in doing so, helping to restore the patient's connection with his own humanity - a connection that is the foundation of sanity." - Thomas H. Ogden, M.D., author, Rediscovering Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2008) "In this remarkable book, Paul Williams assembles a wide-ranging array of essays that derive from his experience as a psychoanalyst, anthropologist, and writer. He has long experience in helping psychiatrists to understand the severely psychotic patient, and as such his clinical skill simply leaps off the page. The breadth and depth of Williams' writing will ensure a wide readership of this unusual and important work." - Murray Jackson, M.D., Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist/Psychoanalyst, Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry, London"Drawing on his background as an anthropologist and his training as a psychoanalyst, Paul Williams describes how the search for meaning in human experience is the central quest of his work with his patients. The suffering individual, especially those suffering crippling psychotic anxieties, are at the core of his preoccupations, and his endeavor is to reach and treat them. This requires a continuous search for self-knowledge and a capacity to engage deeply in human relationships. In the compelling accounts of his clinical examples, one can see Williams at work, facilitating the transformation of his patients' disturbances into ordinary humanity. The book also develops his thoughts on potential space and the use of the analyst as a third in the process of enabling symbolization of the object. This is a profound and deeply moving book that I highly recommend." - Rosine Perelberg, Ph.D., author, Time, Space, and Phantasy (Routledge, 2009)"Paul Williams' new book is an inspirational tour de force into the subtleties and complexities of human nature. The links and connections that Williams makes between the symbolic and the nonsymbolic, the psychotic and the ordinary, and the individual and the collective are his main contributions. Clinicians and social researchers alike, who are seriously interested in grasping and comprehending the humanity of people and the elusiveness of psychopathology, will find the book a must to investigate and a pleasure to read." - Leon Kleimberg, B.A., Training Analyst, British Psychoanalytical Society"Not since Herbert Rosenfeld's pioneering application of psychoanalytic understanding to regressed psychotic states 50 years ago has such a comprehensive and convincing effort as Invasive Objects been made, applying present-day object relations theory to the apparently chaotic, confusing, and devastating regressive transferences of schizophrenic patients. Williams illustrates in great detail his psychoanalytic work with borderline and psychotic patients, and the open, candid communication of the painful, unavoidably complex countertransference developments that this work entails provides additional depth to the clinical chapters. The second part of the book further enriches the clinical contributions with a broad theoretical frame, and a call for action to improve the treatment within institutional settings of the most severly ill psychiatric patients. This book is warmly recommended to all professionals dedicated to the psychotherapeutic care of severe personality disorders and the psychotic spectrum of psychiatric illness." - Otto F. Kernberg, M.D., University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell"A profound humanity comes through in Williams’s work and is characteristic of his relationship with his patients." - The Journal of Analytical Psychology, 56, 2011"I anticipate that readers of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy will find much in this book that will leave them enriched and that it will have made them reflect on their own ideas and practice and be useful in their daily work even if this is not full analysis." - Brian Martindale, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Vol 25, No 2, June 2011"Paul Williams, in this beautifully written set of essays, manages to achieve something extraordinary: He succeeds in conveying the essential core of the psychoanalytic treatment of severe emotional disturbances. He shows the reader how he goes about the difficult task of locating psychologically the embers of the almost extinguished humanity of the patient, and of finding a way to enter into conversation with the patient on subjects that include the desolation resulting from the patient's severed human connection with himself and others. No one writing today brings to life as well as Williams the process of forging a genuine human connection with psychotic patients (and the psychotic aspect of healthier patients), and in doing so, helping to restore the patient's connection with his own humanity - a connection that is the foundation of sanity." - Thomas H. Ogden, M.D., author, Rediscovering Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2008) "In this remarkable book, Paul Williams assembles a wide-ranging array of essays that derive from his experience as a psychoanalyst, anthropologist, and writer. He has long experience in helping psychiatrists to understand the severely psychotic patient, and as such his clinical skill simply leaps off the page. The breadth and depth of Williams' writing will ensure a wide readership of this unusual and important work." - Murray Jackson, M.D., Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist/Psychoanalyst, Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry, London"Drawing on his background as an anthropologist and his training as a psychoanalyst, Paul Williams describes how the search for meaning in human experience is the central quest of his work with his patients. The suffering individual, especially those suffering crippling psychotic anxieties, are at the core of his preoccupations, and his endeavor is to reach and treat them. This requires a continuous search for self-knowledge and a capacity to engage deeply in human relationships. In the compelling accounts of his clinical examples, one can see Williams at work, facilitating the transformation of his patients' disturbances into ordinary humanity. The book also develops his thoughts on potential space and the use of the analyst as a third in the process of enabling symbolization of the object. This is a profound and deeply moving book that I highly recommend." - Rosine Perelberg, Ph.D., author, Time, Space, and Phantasy (Routledge, 2009)"Paul Williams' new book is an inspirational tour de force into the subtleties and complexities of human nature. The links and connections that Williams makes between the symbolic and the nonsymbolic, the psychotic and the ordinary, and the individual and the collective are his main contributions. Clinicians and social researchers alike, who are seriously interested in grasping and comprehending the humanity of people and the elusiveness of psychopathology, will find the book a must to investigate and a pleasure to read." - Leon Kleimberg, B.A., Training Analyst, British Psychoanalytical Society"Not since Herbert Rosenfeld's pioneering application of psychoanalytic understanding to regressed psychotic states 50 years ago has such a comprehensive and convincing effort as Invasive Objects been made, applying present-day object relations theory to the apparently chaotic, confusing, and devastating regressive transferences of schizophrenic patients. Williams illustrates in great detail his psychoanalytic work with borderline and psychotic patients, and the open, candid communication of the painful, unavoidably complex countertransference developments that this work entails provides additional depth to the clinical chapters. The second part of the book further enriches the clinical contributions with a broad theoretical frame, and a call for action to improve the treatment within institutional settings of the most severly ill psychiatric patients. This book is warmly recommended to all professionals dedicated to the psychotherapeutic care of severe personality disorders and the psychotic spectrum of psychiatric illness." - Otto F. Kernberg, M.D., University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell"A profound humanity comes through in Williams’s work and is characteristic of his relationship with his patients." - The Journal of Analytical Psychology "...each chapter can be enjoyed in its own right...There were a number of chapters that I found myself particularly enthralled by... I anticipate that readers will find much in this book that will leave them enriched and that it will have made them reflect on their own ideas and practice and be useful in their daily work." - Brian Martindale, Psychoanalytic PsychotherapyTable of ContentsGabbard, Foreword. Part I: Clinical Papers. Incorporation of an Invasive Object. Some Difficulties in the Analysis of a Withdrawn Patient. Psychotic Developments in a Sexually Abused Borderline Patient. Making Time, Killing Time. The Psychoanalytic Therapy of "Cluster A" Personality Disorders: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal. The Beautiful Mind of John Nash: Notes Toward a Psychoanalytic Reading. Part II: Applied Papers. Madness in Society. The Worm that Flies in the Night. "The Central Phobic Position": Notes on Andre Green's "New Formulation of the Free Association Method" and the Analysis of Borderline States. Freud-baiting. Notes on "Notes Upon a Case of Obsessional Neurosis" (Freud, 1909). Unimaginable Storms: Introduction and Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn his work, Reinhold Ziegler (born in 1965) explores the meaning of jewelry. Through the reduction of visual forms of expression, his works go beyond the purely decorative. His jewelry is not intended to reflect the individual personality of the wearer, but to link the individual with the universal. Gravity was the theme of an earlier series of works, the universal and all-embracing natural force that exists independently of the will of an individual. His current works are inspired by meteorites; originating in deep space, beyond the realm of human experience, they hold a fascination, capture the imagination and lend themselves to reflections about nearness and distance. Ziegler uses these heavenly bodies to express ideas about jewelry worn on the body, as a means to reflect light and distance. In Cosmic Debris, Halvor Nordby analyzes the meaning behind Ziegler's meteorite works, focusing on creative influences and interpretation. In an interesting dialogue with the artist, Andre Gali touches on the artistic journey towards finding meaning and expression and the forces that inspire these.

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Book SynopsisGlobalization and climate weirding are two of the leading phenomena that challenge and change the way we need to think and act within the planetary community. Modern Western understandings of human beings, animals, and the rest of the natural world and the subsequent technologies built on those understandings have thrown us into an array of social and ecological crises with planetary implications. Earthly Things: Immanence, New Materialisms, and Planetary Thinking, argues that more immanent or planetary ways of thinking and acting have great potential for re-thinking human-technology-animal-Earth relationships and for addressing problems of global climate weirding and other forms of ecological degradation. Older and often-marginalized forms of thought from animisms, shamanisms, and other religious traditions are joined by more recent forms of thinking with immanence such as the universe story, process thought, emergence theory, the new materialisms (NM’s), object-oriented ontologies (OOO’s), affect theory, and queer theory. This book maps out some of the connections and differences between immanent frameworks to provide some eco-intellectual commons for thinking within the planetary community, with a particular emphasis on making connections between more recent theories and older ideas of immanence found in many of the world’s religious traditions. The authors in this volume met and worked together over five years, so the resulting volume reveals sustained and multifaceted perspectives on “thinking and acting with the planet.”Table of ContentsIntroduction Karen Bray, Heather Eaton, and Whitney Bauman | 1 Confucianism as a Form of Immanental Naturalism Mary Evelyn Tucker | 15 Immanence in Hinduism and Jainism: New Planetary Thinking? Christopher Key Chapple | 31 Mountains Preach the Dharma: Immanence in Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism Christopher Ives | 49 Africana Sacred Matters: Religious Materialities in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas Elana Jefferson-Tatum | 60 We have always been animists . . . Graham Harvey | 74 Indigenous Cosmovisions and a Humanist Perspective on Materialism John Grim | 88 Amorous Entanglements: The Matter of Christian Panentheism Catherine Keller | 99 On the Matter of Hope: Weaving Threads of Jewish Wisdom for the Sake of the Planetary O’neil Van Horn | 111 Oily Animations: On Protestantism and Petroleum Terra Schwerin Rowe | 123 Interreligious Approaches to Sustainability Without a Future: Two New Materialist Proposals for Religion and Ecology Kevin Minister | 136 Which Materialism, Whose Planetary Thinking? Joerg Rieger | 148 Rewilding Religion for a Primeval Future Sarah M. Pike | 161 Planetary Thinking, Agency, and Relationality: Religious Naturalism’s Plea Carol Wayne White | 173 Dancing Immanence: A Philosophy of Bodily Becoming Kimerer L. LaMothe | 186 The Animist, Almost Feminist, Quite Nearly Pantheist Old Materialism of Giordano Bruno Mary-Jane Rubenstein | 198 Emergence Theory and the New Materialisms Kevin Schilbrack | 210 New Materialisms and Planetary Persistence, Purpose, and Politics Heather Eaton | 222 Gut Theology: The Peril and Promise of Political Affect Karen Bray | 234 The Entangled Relations of Our Ecological Crisis: Religion, Capitalism’s Logics, and New Forms of Planetary Thinking Matthew R. Hartman | 248 Solidarity with Nonhumans: Being Ecological with Object-Oriented Ontology Sam Mickey | 260 Developing a Critical Romantic Religiosity for a Planetary Community Whitney A. Bauman | 274 Matter Values: Ethics and Politics for a Planet in Crisis Philip Clayton | 289 Acknowledgments | 303 Bibliography | 305 List of Contributors | 335 Index | 341

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Book SynopsisImpossible objects are those about which the philosopher, narrowly conceived, can hardly speak: poetry, film, music, humor. Such objects do not rely on philosophy for interpretation and understanding; they are already independent practices and sites of sensuous meaning production. As Elvis Costello has said, writing about music is like dancing about architecture. We don't need literary theory in order to be riveted by the poem, nor a critic's analysis to enjoy a film. How then can philosophy speak about anything outside of itself, namely all of those things which actually matter to us in this world? In Impossible Objects, Simon Critchley - one of the most influential and insightful philosophers writing today - extends his philosophical investigation into non-philosophical territories, including discussions on tragedy, poetry, humor, and music. In a series of engaging and enlightening conversations, Critchley reflects on his early work on the ethics of deconstruction; the recurring themes of mortality and nihilism; his defense of neo-anarchism; and his recent investigation into secular faith, or a faith of the faithless. Essential reading for artists, academics, and general readers alike, this book explores the relationship between the philosophical world and those complex and fascinating impossible objects which give life meaning.Trade Review"It's hard not to be swept up in the sense of hope and possibility that he brings to his discipline as he turns his eyes outward upon the world, refusing to wallow in the stultifying confines of academic discourse ... at his best, Critchley is a truly inspiring voice."PopMatters "Critchley makes for a generous and fluent interlocutor."Steve Poole, The Guardian "A frank encounter with the philosophical mind; an encounter which, although brief, gives us a beautiful sense of how things work at the sharp end of the intellectual spectrum."Kelvingrove Review"Critchley is remarkably adept at clearly explaining quite difficult ideas."Nina Power, Philosophers' Magazine "An inspiring and thought-provoking collection of interviews with one of the finest minds of my generation, which serves to genuinely illuminate his impressive body of work. Critchley educates and unsettles the reader with his sharp wit and tremendous intelligence, offering fresh and arresting insights into a dazzling array of vital topics from the death of God to contemporary politics and the origins of tragedy."Keith Ansell-Pearson, University of WarwickTable of Contents1. EARLY BEDFELLOWS. Levinas, Derrida, and the Ethics of Deconstruction. 2. KEEP YOUR MIND IN HELL AND DESPAIR NOT. Nietzsche and the Question of Nihilism. 3. THE STATE IS A LIMITATION ON HUMAN EXISTENCE. Gramsci and Hegemony. 4. INFINITELY DEMANDING ANARCHISM. Marxism and the Political. 5. ACTION IN A WORLD OF RECUPERATION. Cynicism and the Slovenian Hamlet. 6. LANGUAGE AND MURDER. Blanchot, Stevens, and the Literary. 7. CONFESSIONS OF A PUNK ROCKER. Can, Rhythm, and Transient Joy. 8. ART AND ETHICS. Transgression, Visibility, and Collective Resistance. 9. TRAGEDY AND MODERNITY. The Logic of Affect.

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface iii Special Features xviii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Computer Programs 2 1.2 The Anatomy of a Computer 3 CS1 Computers Are Everywhere 5 1.3 The Python Programming Language 5 1.4 Becoming Familiar with Your Programming Environment 6 PT1 Interactive Mode 8 PT2 Backup Copies 9 ST1 The Python Interpreter 10 1.5 Analyzing Your First Program 11 1.6 Errors 13 CE1 Misspelling Words 14 1.7 PROBLEM SOLVING: Algorithm Design 15 CS2 Data Is Everywhere 17 HT1 Describing an Algorithm with Pseudocode 18 WE1 Writing an Algorithm for Tiling a Floor 20 2 Programming with Numbers and Strings 23 2.1 Variables 24 Defining Variables 24 Number Types 26 Variable Names 27 Constants 28 Comments 29 CE1 Using Undefined Variables 30 Pt1 Choose Descriptive Variable Names 30 PT2 Do Not Use Magic Numbers 30 2.2 Arithmetic 31 Basic Arithmetic Operations 31 Powers 32 Floor Division and Remainder 32 Calling Functions 33 Mathematical Functions 35 CE2 Roundoff Errors 36 CE3 Unbalanced Parentheses 37 PT3 Use Spaces in Expressions 37 ST1 Other Ways to Import Modules 38 ST2 Combining Assignment and Arithmetic 38 ST3 Line Joining 38 2.3 PROBLEM SOLVING: First Do It By Hand 39 WE1 Computing Travel Time 40 2.4 Strings 41 The String Type 41 Concatenation and Repetition 42 Converting Between Numbers and Strings 43 Strings and Characters 44 String Methods 45 ST4 Character Values 46 ST5 Escape Sequences 47 CS1 International Alphabets and Unicode 47 2.5 Input and Output 48 User Input 48 Numerical Input 49 Formatted Output 50 PT4 Don’t Wait to Convert 53 HT1 Writing Simple Programs 53 WE2 Computing the Cost of Stamps 56 CS2 Bugs in Silicon 58 2.6 GRAPHICS: Simple Drawings 58 Creating a Window 59 Lines and Polygons 60 Filled Shapes and Color 62 Ovals, Circles, and Text 64 HT2 GRAPHICS: Drawing Graphical Shapes 65 TOOLBOX 1 Symbolic Processing with SymPy 68 3 Decisions 73 3.1 The if Statement 74 CE1 Tabs 77 PT1 Avoid Duplication in Branches 78 ST1 Conditional Expressions 78 3.2 Relational Operators 79 CE2 Exact Comparison of Floating-Point Numbers 82 ST2 Lexicographic Ordering of Strings 82 HT1 Implementing an if Statement 83 WE1 Extracting the Middle 85 3.3 Nested Branches 87 PT2 Hand-Tracing 89 CS1 Dysfunctional Computerized Systems 90 3.4 Multiple Alternatives 91 TOOLBOX 1 Sending E-mail 93 3.5 PROBLEM SOLVING: Flowcharts 96 3.6 PROBLEM SOLVING: Test Cases 99 PT3 Make a Schedule and Make Time for Unexpected Problems 100 3.7 Boolean Variables and Operators 101 CE3 Confusing and and or Conditions 104 PT4 Readability 104 ST3 Chaining Relational Operators 105 ST4 Short-Circuit Evaluation of Boolean Operators 105 ST5 De Morgan’s Law 106 3.8 Analyzing Strings 106 3.9 APPLICATION: Input Validation 110 ST6 Terminating a Program 112 ST7 Interactive Graphical Programs 112 CS2 Artificial Intelligence 113 WE2 GRAPHICS: Intersecting Circles 113 TOOLBOX 2 Plotting Simple Graphs 117 4 Loops 125 4.1 The while Loop 126 CE1 Don’t Think “Are We There Yet?” 130 CE2 Infinite Loops 130 CE3 Off-by-One Errors 131 ST1 Special Form of the print Function 132 CS1 The First Bug 132 4.2 PROBLEM SOLVING: Hand-Tracing 133 4.3 APPLICATION: Processing Sentinel Values 135 ST2 Processing Sentinel Values with a Boolean Variable 138 ST3 Redirection of Input and Output 138 4.4 PROBLEM SOLVING: Storyboards 139 4.5 Common Loop Algorithms 141 Sum and Average Value 141 Counting Matches 142 Prompting Until a Match is Found 142 Maximum and Minimum 142 Comparing Adjacent Values 143 4.6 The for Loop 145 PT1 Count Iterations 148 HT1 Writing a Loop 149 4.7 Nested Loops 152 WE1 Average Exam Grades 155 WE2 A Grade Distribution Histogram 157 4.8 Processing Strings 159 Counting Matches 159 Finding All Matches 160 Finding the First or Last Match 160 Validating a String 161 Building a New String 162 4.9 APPLICATION: Random Numbers and Simulations 164 Generating Random Numbers 164 Simulating Die Tosses 165 The Monte Carlo Method 165 WE3 GRAPHICS: Bull’s Eye 167 4.10 GRAPHICS: Digital Image Processing 169 Filtering Images 170 Reconfiguring Images 172 4.11 PROBLEM SOLVING: Solve a Simpler Problem First 174 CS2 Digital Piracy 180 5 Functions 183 5.1 Functions as Black Boxes 184 5.2 Implementing and Testing Functions 185 Implementing a Function 186 Testing a Function 186 Programs that Contain Functions 187 PT1 Function Comments 189 PT2 Naming Functions 190 5.3 Parameter Passing 190 PT3 Do Not Modify Parameter Variables 191 CE1 Trying to Modify Arguments 192 5.4 Return Values 192 ST1 Using Single-Line Compound Statements 193 HT1 Implementing a Function 194 WE1 Generating Random Passwords 196 5.5 Functions Without Return Values 201 CS1 Personal Computing 202 5.6 PROBLEM SOLVING: Reusable Functions 203 5.7 PROBLEM SOLVING: Stepwise Refinement 205 PT4 Keep Functions Short 209 PT5 Tracing Functions 210 PT6 Stubs 211 WE2 Calculating a Course Grade 211 WE3 Using a Debugger 214 5.8 Variable Scope 219 PT7 Avoid Global Variables 221 WE4 GRAPHICS: Rolling Dice 221 5.9 GRAPHICS: Building an Image Processing Toolkit 224 Getting Started 224 Comparing Images 225 Adjusting Image Brightness 226 Rotating an Image 227 Using the Toolkit 228 WE5 Plotting Growth or Decay 230 5.10 Recursive Functions (Optional) 232 HT2 Thinking Recursively 234 TOOLBOX 1 Turtle Graphics 236 6 Lists 245 6.1 Basic Properties of Lists 246 Creating Lists 246 Accessing List Elements 247 Traversing Lists 248 List References 249 CE1 Out-of-Range Errors 250 PT1 Use Lists for Sequences of Related Items 250 ST1 Negative Subscripts 250 ST2 Common Container Functions 251 CS1 Computer Viruses 251 6.2 List Operations 252 Appending Elements 252 Inserting an Element 253 Finding an Element 254 Removing an Element 254 Concatenation and Replication 255 Equality Testing 256 Sum, Maximum, Minimum, and Sorting 256 Copying Lists 256 ST3 Slices 258 6.3 Common List Algorithms 259 Filling 259 Combining List Elements 259 Element Separators 260 Maximum and Minimum 260 Linear Search 261 Collecting and Counting Matches 261 Removing Matches 262 Swapping Elements 263 Reading Input 264 WE1 Plotting Trigonometric Functions 265 6.4 Using Lists with Functions 268 ST4 Call by Value and Call by Reference 271 ST5 Tuples 271 ST6 Functions with a Variable Number of Arguments 272 ST7 Tuple Assignment 272 ST8 Returning Multiple Values with Tuples 273 TOOLBOX 1 Editing Sound Files 273 6.5 PROBLEM SOLVING: Adapting Algorithms 275 HT1 Working with Lists 276 WE2 Rolling the Dice 278 6.6 PROBLEM SOLVING: Discovering Algorithms by Manipulating Physical Objects 282 6.7 Tables 285 Creating Tables 286 Accessing Elements 287 Locating Neighboring Elements 287 Computing Row and Column Totals 288 Using Tables with Functions 289 WE3 A World Population Table 290 ST9 Tables with Variable Row Lengths 292 WE4 GRAPHICS: Drawing Regular Polygons 293 7 Files and Exceptions 299 7.1 Reading and Writing Text Files 300 Opening a File 300 Reading from a File 301 Writing from a File 302 A File Processing Example 302 CE1 Backslashes in File Names 303 7.2 Text Input and Output 304 Iterating over the Lines of a File 304 Reading Words 306 Reading Characters 308 Reading Records 309 ST1 Reading the Entire File 312 ST2 Regular Expressions 312 ST3 Character Encodings 313 TOOLBOX 1 Working with CSV Files 314 7.3 Command Line Arguments 316 HT1 Processing Text Files 319 WE1 Analyzing Baby Names 322 TOOLBOX 2 Working with Files and Directories 325 CS1 Encryption Algorithms 327 7.4 Binary Files and Random Access (Optional) 328 Reading and Writing Binary Files 328 Random Access 329 Image Files 330 Processing BMP Files 331 WE2 GRAPHICS: Displaying a Scene File 334 7.5 Exception Handling 337 Raising Exceptions 338 Handling Exceptions 339 The finally Clause 341 PT1 Raise Early, Handle Late 342 PT2 Do Not Use except and finally in the Same try Statement 342 ST4 The with Statement 343 TOOLBOX 3 Reading Web Pages 343 7.6 APPLICATION: Handling Input Errors 344 TOOLBOX 4 Statistical Analysis 348 WE3 Creating a Bubble Chart 352 CS2 The Ariane Rocket Incident 355 8 Sets and Dictionaries 357 8.1 Sets 358 Creating and Using Sets 358 Adding and Removing Elements 359 Subsets 360 Set Union, Intersection, and Difference 361 WE1 Counting Unique Words 364 PT1 Use Python Sets, Not Lists, for Efficient Set Operations 366 ST1 Hashing 367 CS1 Standardization 368 8.2 Dictionaries 368 Creating Dictionaries 369 Accessing Dictionary Values 370 Adding and Modifying Items 370 Removing Items 371 Traversing a Dictionary 372 ST2 Iterating over Dictionary Items 374 ST3 Storing Data Records 375 WE2 Translating Text Messages 375 8.3 Complex Structures 378 A Dictionary of Sets 378 A Dictionary of Lists 381 ST4 User Modules 383 WE3 GRAPHICS: Pie Charts 384 TOOLBOX 1 Harvesting JSON Data from the Web 388 9 Objects and Classes 393 9.1 Object-Oriented Programming 394 9.2 Implementing a Simple Class 396 9.3 Specifying the Public Interface of a Class 399 9.4 Designing the Data Representation 401 PT1 Make All Instance Variables Private, Most Methods Public 402 9.5 Constructors 402 CE1 Trying to Call a Constructor 404 ST1 Default and Named Arguments 404 9.6 Implementing Methods 405 PT2 Define Instance Variables Only in the Constructor 407 ST2 Class Variables 408 9.7 Testing a Class 409 HT1 Implementing a Class 410 WE1 Implementing a Bank Account Class 414 9.8 PROBLEM SOLVING: Tracing Objects 416 9.9 PROBLEM SOLVING: Patterns for Object Data 419 Keeping a Total 419 Counting Events 420 Collecting Values 420 Managing Properties of an Object 421 Modeling Objects with Distinct States 421 Describing the Position of an Object 422 9.10 Object References 423 Shared References 424 The None Reference 425 The self Reference 426 The Lifetime of Objects 426 CS1 Electronic Voting 427 9.11 APPLICATION: Writing a Fraction Class 428 Fraction Class Design 428 The Constructor 429 Special Methods 430 Arithmetic Operations 432 Logical Operations 433 ST3 Object Types and Instances 435 WE2 GRAPHICS: A Die Class 436 CS2 Open Source and Free Software 439 10 Inheritance 443 10.1 Inheritance Hierarchies 444 PT1 Use a Single Class for Variation in Values, Inheritance for Variation in Behavior 447 ST1 The Cosmic Superclass: object 447 10.2 Implementing Subclasses 449 CE1 Confusing Super- and Subclasses 451 10.3 Calling the Superclass Constructor 452 10.4 Overriding Methods 455 CE2 Forgetting to Use the super Function When Invoking a Superclass Method 458 10.5 Polymorphism 458 ST2 Subclasses and Instances 461 ST3 Dynamic Method Lookup 461 ST4 Abstract Classes 462 CE3 Don’t Use Type Tests 463 HT1 Developing an Inheritance Hierarchy 463 WE1 Implementing an Employee Hierarchy for Payroll Processing 468 10.6 APPLICATION: A Geometric Shape Class Hierarchy 472 The Base Class 472 Basic Shapes 474 Groups of Shapes 477 TOOLBOX 1 Game Programming 480 11 Recursion 489 11.1 Triangle Numbers Revisited 490 CE1 Infinite Recursion 493 ST1 Recursion with Objects 493 11.2 PROBLEM SOLVING: Thinking Recursively 494 WE1 Finding Files 497 11.3 Recursive Helper Functions 498 11.4 The Efficiency of Recursion 499 11.5 Permutations 504 CS1 The Limits of Computation 506 11.6 Backtracking 508 WE2 Towers of Hanoi 512 11.7 Mutual Recursion 515 TOOLBOX 1 Analyzing Web Pages with Beautiful Soup 519 12 Sorting and Searching 525 12.1 Selection Sort 526 12.2 Profiling the Selection Sort Algorithm 528 12.3 Analyzing the Performance of the Selection Sort Algorithm 530 ST1 Oh, Omega, and Theta 531 ST2 Insertion Sort 532 12.4 Merge Sort 534 12.5 Analyzing the Merge Sort Algorithm 536 ST3 The Quicksort Algorithm 538 CS1 The First Programmer 540 12.6 Searching 541 Linear Search 541 Binary Search 542 12.7 PROBLEM SOLVING: Estimating the Running Time of an Algorithm 544 Linear Time 545 Quadratic Time 546 The Triangle Pattern 547 Logarithmic Time 548 PT1 Searching and Sorting 549 ST4 Comparing Objects 549 WE1 Enhancing the Insertion Sort Algorithm 549 Appendix A Python Operator Summary A-1 Appendix B Python Reserved Word Summary A-3 Appendix C The Python Standard Library A-5 Appendix D The Basic Latin and Latin-1 Subsets of Unicode A-22 Appendix E Binary Numbers and Bit Operations* Appendix F HTML Summary* Glossary R-1 Index R-6 Credits R-22 Quick Reference R-23

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Book SynopsisHylomorphism is a metaphysical theory that explains the unity of material objects through a special immaterial part, a form'. While contemporary accounts of hylomorphism appeal to structure, and advocate that material substances can have other substances as parts, James Dominic Rooney highlights the flaws in this Neo-Aristotelian way of thinking. Instead, he draws on medieval European and Chinese traditions to put forward that the classical approach to the unity of material objects in terms of form' remains theoretically superior. Rooney shows how Thomas Aquinas' account of form gives a more coherent version of hylomorphism, eliminating the need for substance parts. He also studies the Song dynasty Confucian thinker Zhu Xi's hylomorphic intuition that whatever accounts for the composition of some parts into a material whole is a metaphysical part of that object. By appealing to the same non-Aristotelian considerations as Zhu Xi, Rooney explains why all those who believe in the unity Trade ReviewMaterial Objects in Confucian and Aristotelian Metaphysics encompasses a fascinating, historically astute journey through the metaphysics of hylomorphism – the view that objects are compounds of form and matter. Rooney artfully weaves together medieval and contemporary Western approaches to the topic with their Confucian counterparts in a manner that illuminates both traditions. * John Heil, Professor of Philosophy, Washington University, Durham University and Monash University *In an epoch tempted by metaphysical skepticism and philosophical tribalism, this book presents us with a nuanced but confident defense of the prerogatives of universal human reason. James Dominic Rooney investigates the notion of hylomorphic composition in the Thomistic and Aristotelian traditions. Material realities have natures, and ontological unity, as material parts, such that we can understand physical realities in universal terms, and make consistent scientific progress in understanding their causes. Not only does Rooney engage both Aristotelian and contemporary analytic literature on the subject, he also studies in depth the parallel traditions one finds in ancient Confucian thought. What emerges is a decisive argument in favor of all human beings as explanation seeking beings, able to access truths about the structure of material reality across time, place and culture. An important contribution to the revival of metaphysics in contemporary philosophy! * Fr. Thomas Joseph White, OP, Rector, Pontifical University of St. Thomas, Angelicum, Italy *In this book Rooney offers a robust defence of hylemorphic composition whilst at the same time showing that the metaphysical views of two thinkers as divergent in geography and culture as St Thomas Aquinas and Zhu Xi converge on this important issue. Rooney’s work advances both the historical and systematic scholarship in this area and is a welcome addition to the field. * Gaven Kerr, Lecturer in Philosophy, St Patrick’s Pontifical University, Maynooth, Ireland *Father Rooney is one of very few contemporary scholars who are capable of bringing the metaphysics of Aristotle and Zhu Xi into a productive dialogue. This book makes a substantial contribution, not only to metaphysics, but also to our understandings of Aristotle, of Zhu Xi, and of comparative philosophy. * Bryan W. Van Norden, James Monroe Taylor Chair in Philosophy, Vassar College, USA *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Structural Hylomorphism 2. Structural Deterioration 3. From Structure to Substantial Forms 4. Zhu Xi’s Metaphysics of Material Objects 5. Forms Matter Conclusion: The Significance of Hylomorphism Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis second edition has been updated and substantially expanded. Starting with the description of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, this cogently written textbook introduces the reader to the astronomy of galaxies, their structure, active galactic nuclei, evolution and large scale distribution in the Universe. After an extensive and thorough introduction to modern observational and theoretical cosmology, the focus turns to the formation of structures and astronomical objects in the early Universe. The basics of classical astronomy and stellar astrophysics needed for extragalactic astronomy are provided in the appendix.While this book has grown out of introductory university courses on astronomy and astrophysics and includes a set of problems and solutions, it will not only benefit undergraduate students and lecturers; thanks to the comprehensive coverage of the field, even graduate students and researchers specializing in related fields will appreciate it as a valuable reference work.Trade Review“Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology is a textbook about what and how we know or hypothesise about the Universe and our Galaxy. The book starts out with a short overview of all the strange and wonderful astronomical objects and cosmological ideas that we face in modern science. I enjoyed most the depth and abundance of details provided in the book.” (AstroMadness.com, May, 2017)“An obvious difference from many other roughly similar books is the large number of illustrations, many in colour. … I recommend the book both to students and to those who work in fields other than those covered by the book … . It is up to date, quite detailed for an introduction, and the numerous figures with references are particularly useful as jumping-off points to the original literature.” (Phillip Helbig, The Observatory, April, 2016)Table of ContentsIntroduction and overview.- The Milky Way as a galaxy.- The World of Galaxies.- Cosmology I: Homogeneous isotropic world models.- Active galactic nuclei.- Clusters and groups of galaxies.- Cosmology II: Inhomogeneities in the Universe.- Cosmology III: The cosmological parameters.- The Universe at high redshift.- Galaxy evolution.- Outlook.- A: The electromagnetic radiation field.- B: Properties of stars.- C: Units and constants.- D: Recommended literature.- Index.

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