This textbook presents ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, cosmic ray astronomy, neutrino astronomy, and gravitational wave astronomy as distinct research areas, focusing on the astrophysics targets and the requirements with respect to instrumentation and observation methods. The purpose of the book is to bridge the gap between the reference books and the specialized literature. For each type of astronomy, the discussion proceeds from the orders of magnitude for observable quantities. The physical principles of photon and particle detectors are then addressed, and the specific telescopes and combinations of detectors, presented. Finally the instruments and their limits are discussed with a view to assisting readers in the planning and execution of observations. Astronomical observations with high-energy photons and particles represent the newest additions to multimessenger astronomy and this book will be of value to all with an interest in the field.

There are probably few people who do not dream of the good old times, when do ing science often meant fascination, excitement, even adventure. In our time, do ing science involves often technology and, perhaps, even business. But there are still niches where curiosity and fascination have their place. The subject of this book, technological as its title may sound, is one of the fortunate examples. It will report on lasers generating the coldest places in the Universe, and on table top laser microtools which can produce a heat "inferno" as it prevails in the interior of the Sun, or simulate, for specific plant cells, microgravity of the space around our plan et Earth. There will be some real surprises for the reader. The applications range from basic studies of the driving forces of cell division (and thus life) via genetic modification of cells (for example, for plant breeding) to medical applications such as blood cell analysis and finally in vitro fertilization. What are these instruments: laser microbeams and optical tweezers? Both are lasers coupled with a fluorescence microscope. The laser microbeam uses a pulsed ultraviolet laser. Light is focused, as well as possible, in space and time, in order to obtain extremely high light intensities - high enough to generate, for a very short instant, extremely hot spots which can be used to cut, fuse or perforate biological material."

A few years ago, a real break-through happened in observational astronomy: the un derstanding of the effect of atmospheric turbulence on the structure of stellar images, and of ways to overcome this dramatic degradation. This opened a route to diffraction-limited observations with large telescopes in the optical domain. Soon, the first applications of this new technique led to some outstanding astrophysical results, both at visible and infrared wavelengths. Yet, the potential of interferometric observations is not fully foreseeable as the first long-baseline arrays of large optical telescopes are being built or cOIIllnissioned right now. In this respect a comparison with the evolution of radio-astronomy is tempting. From a situation where, in spite of the construction of giant antennas, low angular resolution was prevailing, the introduction of long baseline and very long baseline interferometry and the rapid mastering of sophisticated image reconstruction techniques, have brought on a nearly routine basis high dynamic range images with milliarcseconds resolution. This, of course, has completely changed our views of the radio sky."

The book reviews methods for the numerical and statistical analysis of astronomical datasets with particular emphasis on the very large databases that arise from both existing and forthcoming projects, as well as current large-scale computer simulation studies. Leading experts give overviews of cutting-edge methods applicable in the area of astronomical data mining. Case studies demonstrate the interplay between these techniques and interesting astronomical problems. The book demonstrates specific new methods for storing, accessing, reducing, analysing, describing and visualising astronomical data which are necessary to fully exploit its potential.

The knowledge of the amount and nature of matter present in the Universe is undoubtedly one of the most relevant topics in astrophysics and cosmology. It started with the pioneering work of Zwicky in 1933, who found the need for a large amount of dark matter in the Coma cluster. An important step has been the recent finding through the observation of distant type Ia supernovae of the presence of a significant vacuum energy density causing an accelerating expansion of the Universe. Nevertheless, the nature of most of the matter in the Universe is still unknown. Its solution requires the interplay of several fields of astrophysics and cosmology as well as particle physics, all of which are covered in this volume: Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, large scale structures, galaxy clusters, intergalactic absorption, dark matter components of galaxies, globular clusters, supernovae of type Ia distance measurements, gravitational lensing, X-ray observations, Lyman-alpha observations, dark energy, direct detection of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS), detection of neutrino oscillations, particle candidates for dark matter, and Big Bang nucleosynthesis of baryonic matter.

Therefore, this volume presents a very useful synopsis of all constituents of matter in the Universe.

Starting from Sophus Lie, the invariance of a differential equation under its continuous group of symmetries has become a major tool for solving ordinary and partial differential equations, in particular, nonlinear ones. The proceedings focus on the application of these techniques to nonlinear partial differential equations. The state of the art in this field is presented clearly in a series of comprehensive lectures. Several lectures on applications point out the physical importance of such methods.

Starting from Sophus Lie, the invariance of a differential equation under its continuous group of symmetries has become a major tool for solving ordinary and partial differential equations, in particular, nonlinear ones. The proceedings focus on the application of these techniques to nonlinear partial differential equations. The state of the art in this field is presented clearly in a series of comprehensive lectures. Several lectures on applications point out the physical importance of such methods.

A reissue of a classic book -- corrected, edited, typeset, redrawn, and indexed for the Biological Physics Series. In- tended for undergraduate courses in biophysics, biological physics, physiology, medical physics, and biomedical engineering, this is an introduction to statistical physics with examples and problems from the medical and biological sciences. Topics include the elements of the theory of probability, Poisson statistics, thermal equilibrium, entropy and free energy, and the second law of thermodynamics. It can be used as a supplement to standard introductory physics courses, and as a text for medical schools, medical physics courses, and biology departments. The three volumes combined present all the major topics in physics. These books are being reissued in response to frequent requests to satisfy the growing need among students and practitioners in the medical and biological sciences with a working knowledge of the physical sciences. The books are also in demand in physics departments either as supplements to traditional intro texts or as a main text for those departments offering courses with biological or medical physics orientation.

This book provides a molecular view of membrane transport by means of numerous biochemical and biophysical techniques. The rapidly growing numbers of atomic structures of transporters in different conformations and the constant progress in bioinformatics have recently added deeper insights.The unifying mechanism of energized solute transport across membranes is assumed to consist of the conformational cycling of a carrier protein to provide access to substrate binding sites from either side of a cellular membrane. Due to the central role of active membrane transport there is considerable interest in deciphering the principles of one of the most fundamental processes in nature: the alternating access mechanism.This book brings together particularly significant structure-function studies on a variety of carrier systems from different transporter families: Glutamate symporters, LeuT-like fold transporters, MFS transporters and SMR (RND) exporters, as well as ABC-type importers.The selected examples impressively demonstrate how the combination of functional analysis, crystallography, investigation of dynamics and computational studies has made it possible to create a conclusive picture or more precisely, a molecular movie . Although we are still far from a complete molecular description of the alternating access mechanism, remarkable progress has been made from static snapshots towards membrane transport dynamics."

This monograph, unique in the literature, is the first to develop a mathematical theory of gravitational lensing. The theory applies to any finite number of deflector planes and highlights the distinctions between single and multiple plane lensing. Introductory material in Parts I and II present historical highlights and the astrophysical aspects of the subject. Among the lensing topics discussed are multiple quasars, giant luminous arcs, Einstein rings, the detection of dark matter and planets with lensing, time delays and the age of the universe (Hubble's constant), microlensing of stars and quasars. The main part of the book---Part III---employs the ideas and results of singularity theory to put gravitational lensing on a rigorous mathematical foundation and solve certain key lensing problems. Results are published here for the first time. Mathematical topics discussed: Morse theory, Whitney singularity theory, Thom catastrophe theory, Mather stability theory, Arnold singularity theory, and the Euler characteristic via projectivized rotation numbers. These tools are applied to the study of stable lens systems, local and global geometry of caustics, caustic metamorphoses, multiple lensed images, lensed image magnification, magnification cross sections, and lensing by singular and nonsingular deflectors. Examples, illustrations, bibliography and index make this a suitable text for an undergraduate/graduate course, seminar, or independent thesis project on gravitational lensing. The book is also an excellent reference text for professional mathematicians, mathematical physicists, astrophysicists, and physicists.

Current understanding of different phases as well as the phase transitions between them has only been achieved following recent theoretical advances on the effects of dimensionality in statistical physics. P S Pershan explains the connection between these two separate areas and gives some examples of problems where the understanding is still not complete. The most important example is the second order phase transition between the nematic and smectic-A phase. Others include the relation between the several hexatic phases that have been observed and the first order restacking transitions between phases that were all previously identified as smectic-B, but which should more properly be identified as crystalline-B. Some relatively recent experimental developments on the discotic phase, liquid crystal surfaces and lyotropic phases are also included. The book includes 41 major reprints of some of the recent seminal work on the structure of liquid crystals. They are introduced by a brief review of the symmetries and other properties of liquid crystalline phases. In addition, there is a discussion of the differences between true liquid crystalline phases and others that were described as liquid crystalline in the early literature, but which have since been shown to be true three-dimensional crystals. The progression from the isotropic fluid, through the nematic, smectic, and various crystalline phases can be understood in terms of a systematic decrease in symmetry, together with an accompanying variation in structure is explained. A guide to the selected reprints and a sort of "Rosetta Stone" for these various phases is provided. The goal of this book is to explain the systematics of this progression to students and others that are new to this field, as well as to provide a useful handbook for people already working in the field.

With a length of about 1200 km, the Son-Narmada-Tapti Lineament (NSL) is one of the most prominent geomorphic features in the Indian subcontinent. Anomalous conductive bodies are delineated at mid-lower crustal depths below major earthquake epicentral zones. The region has been interpreted as the collision zone of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate. The NSL zone is therefore also known to be the second most important tectonic feature in the Indian geology, after the Himalayas.
The present thesis describes significant new insight into the seismotectonics of this Central India tectonic zone, based on thorough magnetotelluric studies. The main objectives of the present study are: (i) to delineate subtrappean sediments across the NSL region along four different traverses, (ii) to understand the characterization of geo-electrical structure of the crust and examine the nature of geo-electrical signatures of the known faults, (iii) to integrate the results with other geophysical data such as seismicity, gravity and heat flow, in order to understand the tectonic scenario of the region.
Deep electromagnetic (magnetotelluric) analyses were integrated in this study with gravity, seismic and heat flow studies and distinct, delineated deep crustal features. The resulting high conductivity is justified with the presence of fluids at mid-lower crustal depths. The migration of these fluids from mantle to mid-lower crustal depths through pre-existing brittle fracture/fault zones were obviously caused by the plume related to the Deccan volcanism. Migration of the fluids generated a higher fluid pressure along the faults and resulted in earthquakes.
Based on the geo-electric sections derived along the four traverses of the Narmada-Son Lineament Zone, the present study gives important clues on the subduction/collision history in this important tectonic zone.

This book is an edited version of lectures given by the authors at the 1985 Jilin University Summer School on Laser Physics. The School was held at Jilin University in Changchun, Peoples' Republic of China.

This book provides an exhaustive account of the origin and dynamics of cosmic rays. Divided into three parts, it first gives an up-to-date summary of the observational data, then -- in the following theory section -- deals with the kinetic description of cosmic ray plasma. The underlying diffusion-convection transport equation, which governs the coupling between cosmic rays and the background plasma, is derived and analyzed in detail. In the third part, several applications of the solutions of the transport equation are presented and how key observations in cosmic ray physics can be accounted for is demonstrated. The applications include cosmic ray modulation, acceleration near shock waves and the galactic propagation of cosmic rays. While the book is primarily of interest to scientists working at the forefront of research, the very careful derivations and explanations make it suitable also as an introduction to the field of cosmic rays for graduate students.

Magnetized plasmas in the universe exhibit complex dynamical behavior over a huge range of scales. The fundamental mechanisms of energy transport, redistribution and conversion occur at multiple scales. The driving mechanisms often include energy accumulation, free-energy-excited relaxation processes, dissipation and self-organization. The plasma processes associated with energy conversion, transport and self-organization, such as magnetic reconnection, instabilities, linear and nonlinear waves, wave-particle interactions, dynamo processes, turbulence, heating, diffusion and convection represent fundamental physical effects. They demonstrate similar dynamical behavior in near-Earth space, on the Sun, in the heliosphere and in astrophysical environments. 'Multi-scale Dynamical Processes in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas' presents the proceedings of the International Astrophysics Forum Alpbach 2011. The contributions discuss the latest advances in the exploration of dynamical behavior in space plasmas environments, including comprehensive approaches to theoretical, experimental and numerical aspects. The book will appeal to researchers and students in the fields of physics, space and astrophysics, solar physics, geophysics and planetary science.

Mechanics plays a central role in determining form and function in biology. This holds at the cellular, molecular and tissue scales. At the cellular scale, mechanics in?uences cell adhesion, cytoskeletal dynamics and the traction that the cell can generate on a given substrate. All of these in turn - fect the cellular functions of migration, mitosis, phagocytosis, endocytosis and stem cell differentiation among others. Indeed, if cells do not develop the appropriate stresses, they are unviable and die. These aspects of cell mechanics are frequently used by mainstream biologists, as traditional mechanicians may be surprised to learn. There is a growing view that many functions of the cell are mechanical in nature even though chemical signals play crucial roles in the processes. Free energy barriers control transitions between different conformations of vir- ally every macromolecule including DNA, RNA, the adhesion protein integrin, the motor protein myosin, and the proteins vinculin and talin that link the cytoskeleton to focal adhesions. The strain energy can be a signi?cant component of the total free energy barrier. For binding to take place, the macromolecules need to be in conf- mational states that expose chemical groups without steric hinderance. The kinetics of chemical reactions are therefore strongly in?uenced by the conformational strain energy.

This book addresses the subject of gravity theories in two and three spacetime dimensions. The prevailing philosophy is that lower dimensional models of gravity provide a useful arena for developing new ideas and insights, which are applicable to four dimensional gravity. The first chapter consists of a comprehensive introduction to both two and three dimensional gravity, including a discussion of their basic structures. In the second chapter, the asymptotic structure of three dimensional Einstein gravity with a negative cosmological constant is analyzed. The third chapter contains a treatment of the effects of matter sources in classical two dimensional gravity. The fourth chapter gives a complete analysis of particle pair creation by electric and gravitational fields in two dimensions, and the resulting effect on the cosmological constant. Lower dimensional gravity may have never been reviewed in its entirety anywhere in the literature.

Anyone who has experienced turbulence in flight knows that it is usually not pleasant, and may wonder why this is so difficult to avoid. The book includes papers by various aviation turbulence researchers and provides background into the nature and causes of atmospheric turbulence that affect aircraft motion, and contains surveys of the latest techniques for remote and in situ sensing and forecasting of the turbulence phenomenon. It provides updates on the state-of-the-art research since earlier studies in the 1960s on clear-air turbulence, explains recent new understanding into turbulence generation by thunderstorms, and summarizes future challenges in turbulence prediction and avoidance.

The present 15th volume of the ISSI Space Science Series is devoted to Auroral Plasma Physics. The aurora is arguably the most intriguing phenomenon in space plasma physics. Not only is it the most spectacular manifestation of the Sun-Earth connection chain, but the underlying plasma processes are expected to be ubiqui- tous in the plasma universe. Recognizing the enormous progress made over the last decade in the understanding of the physics of the auroral acceleration processes, it seemed timely to write a comprehensive and integrated book on the subject. Re- cent advances concern the clarification of the nature of the acceleration process of the electrons that are responsible for the visible aurora, the recognition of the fundamental role of the large-scale current systems in organizing the auroral mor- phology, and of the interplay between particles and electromagnetic fields. The project began in March 1999, as a natural follow-up of the project on Magnetospheric Plasma Sources and Losses that resulted in volume 6 of this se- ries, with a planning meeting by a core-group that coordinated the project. The group consisted of J. E. Borovsky, Los Alamos National Laboratory; C. W. Carl- son, University of California, Berkeley; G. Haerendel, Max-Planck-Institut fur ex- traterrestrische Physik, Garching; B. Hultqvist, Swedish Intitute ofSpace Physics, H. E. J. Koskinen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki; W. Lotko, Kiruna; Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; K. A. Lynch, University of New Hampshire, Durham and G. Marklund, Royal Institute ofTechnology, Stockholm. G. Paschmann, ISSI, Bern, was the project leader.

The need for tsunami research and analysis has grown dramatically following the devastating tsunami of December 2004, which affected Southern Asia. This book pursues a detailed theoretical and mathematical analysis of the fundamentals of tsunamis, especially the evolution and dynamics of tsunamis and other great waves. Of course, it includes specific measurement results from the 2004 tsunami, but the emphasis is on the nature of the waves themselves and their links to nonlinear phenomena.

This volume describes the state-of-knowledge in the study of the relationships between mechanical loading states in tissues and common pathophysiologies related to increase in mass of adipose tissues and/or hyperglycemia which eventually lead to obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, metabolic inflammations, certain types of cancer and other related diseases. There appears to be an interaction between the loading states in tissues and cells and these chronic conditions, as well as with factors such as age, gender and genetics of the individual. Bioengineering has made key contributions to this research field in providing technologies for cell biomechanics experimentation, microscopy and image processing, tissue engineering and multi-scale, multi-physics computational modeling. Topics at the frontier of this field of study include: the continuous monitoring of cell growth, proliferation and differentiation in response to mechanical factors such as stiffness of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and mechanical loads transferred through the ECM; mechanically-activated signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms; effects of different loading regimes and mechanical environments on differentiation fates of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into myogenic and osteogenic versus adipogenic lineages; the interactions between nutrition and mechanotransduction; cell morphology, focal adhesion patterns and cytoskeletal remodeling changes in adipogenesis; activation of receptors related to diabetes by mechanical forces; brown and white adipose plasticity and its regulation by mechanical factors.

If standard gravitational theory is correct, then most of the matter in the universe is in an unidentified form which does not emit enough light to have been detected by current instrumentation. This proceedings was devoted to a discussion of the so-called "missing matter" problem in the universe. The goal of the School was to make current research work on unseen matter accessible to students of faculties without prior experience in this area. Due to the pedagogical nature of the School and the strong interactions between students and the lectures, the written lectures included in this volume often contain techniques and explanations not found in more formal journal publications.

If standard gravitational theory is correct, then most of the matter in the universe is in an unidentified form which does not emit enough light to have been detected by current instrumentation. This proceedings was devoted to a discussion of the so-called "missing matter" problem in the universe. The goal of the School was to make current research work on unseen matter accessible to students of faculties without prior experience in this area. Due to the pedagogical nature of the School and the strong interactions between students and the lectures, the written lectures included in this volume often contain techniques and explanations not found in more formal journal publications.

This book is a collection of experimental studies demonstrating structure-function relationships in various biological systems having particular surface specialization to increase/decrease friction and adhesion. Studies on snake skin, adhesive pads, wing-interlocking devices and sticky mouthparts of insects as well as anti-adhesive and adhesive surfaces of plants are included in the volume containing four main subsections: (1) adhesion, (2) friction, (3) attachment-devices, (4) attachment-related behavior. Numerous experimental methods for characterizing tribological properties of biological surfaces at macro-, micro-, and nanoscale levels are demonstrated. This book is an excellent collection of publications on biotribology for both engineers and physicists working with biological systems as well as for biologists studying friction and adhesion. Inspirations from biology reported here may be also potentially interesting for biomimetics.

Back-action of aerodynamics onto structures such as wings cause vibrations and may resonantly couple to them, thus causing instabilities (flutter) and endangering the whole structure. By careful choices of geometry, materials and damping mechanisms, hazardous effects on wind engines, planes, turbines and cars can be avoided. Besides an introduction into the problem of flutter, new formulations of flutter problems are given as well as a treatise of supersonic flutter and of a whole range of mechanical effects. Numerical and analytical methods to study them are developed and applied to the analysis of new classes of flutter problems for plates and shallow shells of arbitrary plane form. Specific problems discussed in the book in the context of numerical simulations are supplemented by Fortran code examples (available on the website).