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Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Applied physics & special topics
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.
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.
Neutron stars hold a central place in astrophysics, not only because they are made up of the most extreme states of the condensed matter, but also because they are, along with white dwarfs and black holes, one of the stable configurations that stars reach at the end of stellar evolution. Neutron stars posses the highest rotation rates and strongest magnetic fields among all stars. They radiate prolifically, in high energy electromagnetic radiation and in the radio band. This book is devoted to the selected lectures presented in the 6th NATO-ASI series entitled "The Electromagnetic Spectrum of Neutron Stars" in Marmaris, Turkey, on 7-18 June 2004. This ASI is devoted to the spectral properties of neutron stars. Spectral observations of neutron stars help us to understand the magnetospheric emission processes of isolated radio pulsars and the emission processes of accreting neutron stars. This volume includes spectral information from the neutron stars in broadest sense, namely neutrino and gravitational radiation along with the electromagnetic spectrum. We believe that this volume can serve as graduate level of text including the broad range of properties of neutron stars.
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.
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.
There is a growing need in both industrial and academic research to obtain accurate quantitative results from continuous wave (CW) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments. This book describes various sample-related, instrument-related and software-related aspects of obtaining quantitative results from EPR expe- ments. Some speci?c items to be discussed include: selection of a reference standard, resonator considerations (Q, B, B ), power saturation, sample position- 1 m ing, and ?nally, the blending of all the factors together to provide a calculation model for obtaining an accurate spin concentration of a sample. This book might, at ?rst glance, appear to be a step back from some of the more advanced pulsed methods discussed in recent EPR texts, but actually quantitative "routine CW EPR" is a challenging technique, and requires a thorough understa- ing of the spectrometer and the spin system. Quantitation of CW EPR can be subdivided into two main categories: (1) intensity and (2) magnetic ?eld/mic- wave frequency measurement. Intensity is important for spin counting. Both re- tive intensity quantitation of EPR samples and their absolute spin concentration of samples are often of interest. This information is important for kinetics, mechanism elucidation, and commercial applications where EPR serves as a detection system for free radicals produced in an industrial process. It is also important for the study of magnetic properties. Magnetic ?eld/microwave frequency is important for g and nuclear hyper?ne coupling measurements that re?ect the electronic structure of the radicals or metal ions.
The continuing success of helio- and asteroseismology in studying the internal structure and dynamics of the Sun, and of other single stars, has been highlighted in recent years by many topical meetings. The present Proceedings document the first Seismology symposium ever held in conjunction with an IAU General Assembly. This substantially influenced the layout of the scientific programme and demonstrates the vitality of this field of astronomy. The invited reviews are intended to address an audience that includes many non-specialists. Therefore, this volume is particularly valuable as an introduction to the general concepts of the field, and for conveying the excitement that comes with discussions of the most recent observational and theoretical results. There are two chapters on the many facets of asteroseismology, which also compare solar and stellar achievements. A major focus of the symposium was the new developments resulting from the observations of unprecedented quality obtained from global multi-site networks, and especially from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory SoHO, currently continuing its observations from the Lagrangian point L1. From the center of the Sun to its outer layers, the reader will learn how modern diagnostic techniques reveal the inextricable links between the complex structure of the interior and atmosphere of our nearest star. The book is recommended for undergraduates, postgraduates, and professionals with a strong interest in modern developments in astrophysics.
The subject of geomathematics focuses on the interpretation and classification of data from geoscientific and satellite sources, reducing information to a comprehensible form and allowing the testing of concepts. Sphere oriented mathematics plays an important part in this study and this book provides the necessary foundation for graduate students and researchers interested in any of the diverse topics of constructive approximation in this area. This book bridges the existing gap between monographs on special functions of mathematical physics and constructive approximation in Euclidean spaces. The primary objective is to provide readers with an understanding of aspects of approximation by spherical harmonics, such as spherical splines and wavelets, as well as indicating future directions of research. Scalar, vectorial, and tensorial methods are each considered in turn. The concentration on spherical splines and wavelets allows a double simplification; not only is the number of independent variables reduced resulting in a lower dimensional problem, but also radial basis function techniques become applicable. When applied to geomathematics this leads to new structures and methods by which sophisticated measurements and observations can be handled more efficiently, thus reducing time and costs.
Astronomical photographs contain an enormous amount of information. This presents extremely interesting problems when one wishes to produce digitized sky atlases, to archive the digitized material, to develop sophisticated devices to do the digitizing, and to create software to process the vast amounts of data. All these activities are necessary to be able to carry out astronomy work. One such activity is the important, large-scale optical identification of objects which also emit radiation at other wavelengths. Other activities of the past decade include a multiplicity of surveys that have been made on galaxies and clusters of galaxies. This book treats, in five sections, the existing and future surveys, their digitization and their impact on astronomy. It is designed to serve as a reference for people in the field and for those who wish to engage in using or producing sky surveys.
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.
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 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.
Chaos theory plays an important role in modern physics and related sciences, but -, the most important results so far have been obtained in the study of gravitational systems applied to celestial mechanics. The present set of lectures introduces the mathematical methods used in the theory of singularities in gravitational systems, reviews modeling techniques for the simulation of close encounters and presents the state of the art about the study of diffusion of comets, wandering asteroids, meteors and planetary ring particles. The book will be of use to researchers and graduate students alike.
Numerical relativity has emerged as the key tool to model gravitational waves - recently detected for the first time - that are emitted when black holes or neutron stars collide. This book provides a pedagogical, accessible, and concise introduction to the subject. Relying heavily on analogies with Newtonian gravity, scalar fields and electromagnetic fields, it introduces key concepts of numerical relativity in a context familiar to readers without prior expertise in general relativity. Readers can explore these concepts by working through numerous exercises, and can see them 'in action' by experimenting with the accompanying Python sample codes, and so develop familiarity with many techniques commonly employed by publicly available numerical relativity codes. This is an attractive, student-friendly resource for short courses on numerical relativity, as well as providing supplementary reading for courses on general relativity and computational physics.
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."
This manual describes all aspects of a field seismic crew, on land, in terms of their relevance to the activities of the birddog, who is the company's representative on that field crew. In particular, it descibes the essential functions of the birddog which are data quality control (all forms) and testing to ensure optimum data quality. Some fundamental concepts of the seismic methods are described. Written in a way that is not specific to any particular equipment or technology, it concentrates on the principles and methods of supervision which are common to all procedures and equipment.
This keenly awaited first overview of the field represents a
complete guide to the structure and function of the most important
mammalian cell membrane organelles. Filling a huge gap in the
primary literature, this book is the first to cover the subject in
detail.
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.
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.
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." |
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