Theory of Black Hole Accretion Discs

Theory of Black Hole Accretion Discs
Author: Marek A. Abramowicz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 310
Release: 1998
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521623629

The first comprehensive and up-to-date review of our new understanding of accretion disks around black holes - with chapters from experts from around the world.

Astrophysical Masers and Their Environments (IAU S242)

Astrophysical Masers and Their Environments (IAU S242)
Author: International Astronomical Union. Symposium
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2008-02-14
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780521874649

Astrophysical masers, naturally occurring microwave and radio-wave emissions, provide an important tool to investigate astrophysical environments. Several thousand maser sources have been observed in the interstellar medium and star formation regions, in the expanding winds from evolved stars, in the compressed shells of supernovae remnants, in comets and in the centers of galaxies. Masers are also useful for studying the structure and dynamics of our own galaxy, while masers in other galaxies are now used for cosmological studies and studies of galactic nuclei. This volume contains the latest research on the topic as presented at IAU Symposium 242, only the third international symposium on astrophysical masers. Over 125 astronomers from 18 different countries gathered in Alice Spring, Australia, for discussions on maser research.

Astrophysical Masers (IAU S336)

Astrophysical Masers (IAU S336)
Author: International Astronomical Union. Symposium
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2018-09-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1107192455

Summarizes state of the art observations and theories pertaining to astrophysical masers and their environments, for graduate students and researchers.

Globular Cluster Systems

Globular Cluster Systems
Author: Keith M. Ashman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2008-12-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521087834

Globular clusters are roughly spherical, densely packed groups of stars found around galaxies. Most globular clusters probably formed at the same time as their host galaxies. Therefore they provide a unique fossil record of the conditions during the formation and early evolution of galaxies. This volume presents a comprehensive review of globular cluster systems. It summarizes their observed properties and shows how these constrain models of the structure of stars, the formation and evolution of galaxies and globular clusters, and the age of the Universe. For graduate students and researchers, this timely volume provides the definitive reference on globular cluster systems.

Superradiance

Superradiance
Author: Richard Brito
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2020-08-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030466221

This book focuses on one mechanism in black hole physics which has proven to be universal, multifaceted and with a rich phenomenology: rotational superradiance. This is an energy extraction process, whereby black holes can deposit their rotational energy in their surroundings, leading to Penrose processes, black-hole bombs, and even Hawking radiation. Black holes are key players in star formation mechanisms and as engines to some of the most violent events in our universe. Their simplicity and compactness make them perfect laboratories, ideally suited to probe new fields or modifications to the theory of gravity. Thus, black holes can also be used to probe some of the most important open problems in physics, including the nature of dark matter or the strong CP problem in particle physics. This monograph is directed to researchers and graduate students and provides a unified view of the subject, covering the theoretical machinery, experimental efforts in the laboratory, and astrophysics searches. It is focused on recent developments and works out a number of novel examples and applications, ranging from fundamental physics to astrophysics. Non-specialists with a scientific background should also find this text a valuable resource for understanding the critical issues of contemporary research in black-hole physics. This second edition stresses the role of ergoregions in superradiance, and completes its catalogue of energy-extraction processes. It presents a unified description of instabilities of spinning black holes in the presence of massive fields. Finally, it covers the first experimental observation of superradiance, and reviews the state-of-the-art in the searches for new light fields in the universe using superradiance as a mechanism.

Supernova Environmental Impacts (IAU S296)

Supernova Environmental Impacts (IAU S296)
Author: Alak Ray
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-02-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781107044777

New telescopes spanning the full electromagnetic spectrum have enabled the study of supernovae (SNe) and supernova remnants (SNRs) to advance at a breathtaking pace. Automated synoptic surveys have increased the detection rate of supernovae by more than an order of magnitude and have led to the discovery of highly unusual supernovae. Observations of gamma-ray emission from SNRs with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes and the Fermi telescope have spawned new insights into particle acceleration in supernova shocks. Far-infrared observations from the Spitzer and Herschel observatories have told us much about the properties and fate of dust grains in SNe and SNRs. Work with satellite-borne Chandra and XMM-Newton telescopes and ground-based radio and optical telescopes reveal signatures of supernova interaction with their surrounding medium, their progenitor life history and of the ecosystems of their host galaxies. IAU Symposium 296 covers all these advances, focusing on the interactions of supernovae with their environments.

Astronomy in Focus XXX

Astronomy in Focus XXX
Author: Maria Teresa Lago
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-04-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781108488730

Astronomy in Focus presents the most relevant contributions from the Focus Meetings included during the XXX IAU General Assembly held in Vienna, Austria, from 20-31 August 2018. Focus meetings are proposed by groups of scientists with aims to promote cross-disciplinary interactions while maintaining a well-defined focus on a particular topic. They usually address a new scientific area or an emerging field that is not well, or in some cases not at all, represented under the IAU's existing Commission structure. The XXX IAU General Assembly included six scientific symposia, a special symposium focused on the IAU's centenary and fifteen Focus Meetings. The latter comprised twelve scientific Focus Meetings plus two on the mission and activities of the IAU Offices of Astronomy Outreach and Astronomy for Development and the final one promoted by the Working Group on Global Coordination of Ground and Space Astrophysics.

Extreme Environment Astrophysics

Extreme Environment Astrophysics
Author: Ulrich Kolb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2010-05-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521193443

Covering host systems of accreting, relativistic bodies, and the associated high-energy phenomena, this astrophysics textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduates.

Physics of Black Holes

Physics of Black Holes
Author: I. Novikov
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401726515

One of the most exciting predictions of Einstein's theory of gravitationisthat there may exist 'black holes': putative objects whose gravitational fields are so strong that no physical bodies and signals can break free of their pull and escape. Even though a completely reliable discovery of a black hole has not yet been made, several objects among those scrutinized by astrophysicists will very likely be conformed as black holes. The proof that they do exist, and an analysis of their properties, would have a significance going far beyond astrophysics. Indeed, what is involved is not just the discovery of yet another, even if extremely remarkable, astrophysical object, but a test of the correctness of our understanding the properties of space and time in extremely strong gravitational fields. Theoretical research into the properties of black holes and into the possible corollaries of the hypothesis that they exist, has been carried out with special vigor since the beginning of the 1970s. In addition to those specific features of black holes that are important for the interpretation of their possible astrophysical manifestations, the theory has revealed a nurober of unexpected characteristics of physical interactions involving black holes. By now, a fairly detailed understanding has been achieved of the properties of the black holes, their possible astrophysical manifestations, and the specifics of the various physical processes involved. Furthermore, profound links were found between black-hole theory and such seemingly very distant fields as thermodynamics, information theory, and quantum theory.

Binaries as Tracers of Stellar Formation

Binaries as Tracers of Stellar Formation
Author: Antoine Duquennoy
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 1992-11-26
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780521433587

More than two-thirds of stars belong to multiple stellar systems. Binary stars are considered now as one of the best constraints on stellar formation models. Not only do binaries keep memory of their birth conditions but their orbit will also be subjected to changes by tidal effects, wind accretion and encounters in clusters. Certainly the correlation between orbital eccentricity and period is a clue to our understanding of double star history. These proceedings aim to disentangle evidence of stellar formation from later physical evolution. Each article in this 1992 volume is a paper that was read at a meeting organized to honour Dr Roger Griffin of the University of Cambridge for his pioneer work in galactic astronomy, dynamics of clusters and study on binary stars due to his cross-correlation technique to determine stellar radial velocities.