Since the year 2000 the ESA Cluster mission has been investigating the small-scale structures and processes of the Earth's plasma environment, such as those involved in the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetospheric plasma, in global magnetotail dynamics, in cross-tail currents, and in the formation and dynamics of the neutral line and of plasmoids.

This book contains presentations made at the 15th Cluster workshop held in March 2008. It also presents several articles about the Cluster Active Archive and its datasets, a few overview papers on the Cluster mission, and articles reporting on scientific findings on the solar wind, the magnetosheath, the magnetopause and the magnetotail.

Right now, you are orbiting a black hole. The Earth orbits the Sun, and the Sun orbits the centre of the Milky Way: a supermassive black hole, the strangest and most misunderstood phenomenon in the galaxy. In A Brief History of Black Holes, the award-winning University of Oxford researcher Dr Becky Smethurst charts five hundred years of scientific breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics. She takes us from the earliest observations of the universe and the collapse of massive stars, to the iconic first photographs of a black hole and her own published findings. A cosmic tale of discovery, Becky explains why black holes aren't really 'black', that you never ever want to be 'spaghettified', how black holes are more like sofa cushions than hoovers and why, beyond the event horizon, the future is a direction in space rather than in time. Told with humour and wisdom, this captivating book describes the secrets behind the most profound questions about our universe, all hidden inside black holes. 'A jaunt through space history . . . with charming wit and many pop-culture references' - BBC Sky At Night Magazine

This book presents recent developments in our systematic studies of hydrodynamics and heat and mass transfer in laminar free convection, accelerating film boiling and condensation of Newtonian fluids, as well as accelerating film flow of non-Newtonian power-law fluids (FFNF). These new developments provided in this book are (i) novel system of analysis models based on the developed New Similarity Analysis Method; (ii) a system of advanced methods for treatment of gas temperature- dependent physical properties, and liquid temperature- dependent physical properties; (iii) the organically combined models of the governing mathematical models with those on treatment model of variable physical properties; (iv) rigorous approach of overcoming a challenge on accurate solution of three-point boundary value problem related to two-phase film boiling and condensation; and (v) A pseudo-similarity method of dealing with thermal boundary layer of FFNF for greatly simplifies the heat-transfer analysis and numerical calculation. A system of practical application equations on heat and mass transfer are provided in each chapter, which are formulated based on the rigorous numerical solutions with consideration of variable physical properties. In addition, in the second edition, other new research developments are further included on resolving an even big challenge associated with investigations of laminar free film condensation of vapour-gas mixture. They involve the novel methods for treatment of concentration- and temperature- dependent physical properties of vapour-gas mixture, and for rigorous solution of interfacial vapour saturation temperature, which have lead to rigorous analysis and calculation results on two-phase film flow velocity, temperature, and concentration fields, as well as condensate heat and mass transfer.

This monograph presents the latest results related to bio-mechanical systems and materials. The bio-mechanical systems with which his book is concerned are prostheses, implants, medical operation robots and muscular re-training systems. To characterize and design such systems, a multi-disciplinary approach is required which involves the classical disciplines of mechanical/materials engineering and biology and medicine. The challenge in such an approach is that views, concepts or even language are sometimes different from discipline to discipline and the interaction and communication of the scientists must be first developed and adjusted. Within the context of materials' science, the book covers the interaction of materials with mechanical systems, their description as a mechanical system or their mechanical properties.

This thesis presents an impressive summary of the potential to use passive seismic methods to monitor the sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 in geologic reservoirs. It brings together innovative research in two distinct areas - seismology and geomechanics - and involves both data analysis and numerical modelling. The data come from the Weyburn-Midale project, which is currently the largest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in the world. James Verdon's results show how passive seismic monitoring can be used as an early warning system for fault reactivation and top seal failure, which may lead to the escape of CO2 at the surface.

The invention of the semiconductor laser along with silica glass fiber has enabled an incredible revolution in global communication infrastructure of direct benefit to all. Development of devices and system concepts that exploit the same fundamental light-matter interaction continues. Researchers and technologists are pursuing a broad range of emerging applications, everything from automobile collision avoidance to secure quantum key distribution. This book sets out to summarize key aspects of semiconductor laser device physics and principles of laser operation. It provides a convenient reference and essential knowledge to be understood before exploring more sophisticated device concepts. The contents serve as a foundation for scientists and engineers, without the need to invest in specialized detailed study. Supplementary material in the form of MATLAB is available for numerically generated figures.

In this thesis, real-time evolution of the nanopore channel growth and self-ordering process in anodic nanoporous alumina are simulated on the basis of an established kinetics model. The simulation results were in accordance with the experiments on the (i) growth sustainability of pore channels guided by pre-patterns; and (ii) substrate grain orientation dependence on self-ordering. In addition, a new fabrication method for the rapid synthesis of highly self-ordered nanoporous alumina is established, based on a systematic search for the self-ordering conditions in experiments. Lastly, it reports on a novel surface-charge induced strain in nanoporous alumina-aluminium foils, which indicates that nanoporous alumina can be used as a new type of actuating material in micro-actuator applications.

This thesis describes the experimental work that finally led to a successful measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering-a process proposed forty-three years ago. The experiment was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source facility, sited at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee. Of all known particles, neutrinos distinguish themselves for being the hardest to detect, typically requiring large multi-ton devices for the job. The process measured here involves the difficult detection of very weak signals arising from nuclear recoils (tiny neutrino-induced "kicks" to atomic nuclei), but leads to a much larger probability of neutrino interaction when compared to all other known mechanisms. As a result of this, "neutrino technologies" using miniaturized detectors (the author's was handheld and weighed only 14 kg) become a possibility. A large community of researchers plans to continue studying this process, facilitating an exploration of fundamental neutrino properties that is presently beyond the sensitivity of other methods.

"Morphology Genetic Materials Templated from Nature Species" provides a comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of research on bio-inspired functional materials including materials science and engineering aspects of the fabrication, properties, and applications. The book discusses bio-inspired strategies integrating biotemplate, biomineralization, and biomimesis in nature, which are adopted to fabricate functional materials with hierarchical bio-architectures and interrelated outstanding performances, as well as valuable applications in photoelectricity, photonics, photocatalysis, chemical detection, bio-imaging, and photoelectron transfer components/devices.

The book is intended for researchers and graduate students in the fields of materials science, chemistry, nanotechnology, semiconductor, biotechnology, environmental engineering, etc.

Prof. Dr. Di Zhang is currently a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the director of the State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, China.

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This book presents the fundamental physics of optical interferometry as applied to biophysical, biological and medical research. Interference is at the core of many types of optical detection and is a powerful probe of cellular and tissue structure in interfererence microscopy and in optical coherence tomography. It is also the root cause of speckle and other imaging artefacts that limit range and resolution. For biosensor applications, the inherent sensitivity of interferometry enables ultrasensitive detection of molecules in biological samples for medical diagnostics. In this book, emphasis is placed on the physics of light scattering, beginning with the molecular origins of refraction as light propagates through matter, and then treating the stochastic nature of random fields that ultimately dominate optical imaging in cells and tissue. The physics of partial coherence plays a central role in the text, with a focus on coherence detection techniques that allow information to be selectively detected out of incoherent and heterogeneous backgrounds. Optical Interferometry for Biology and Medicine is divided into four sections. The first covers fundamental principles, and the next three move up successive scales, beginning with molecular interferometry (biosensors), moving to cellular interferometry (microscopy), and ending with tissue interferometry (biomedical). An outstanding feature of the book is the clear presentation of the physics, with easy derivations of the appropriate equations, while emphasizing "rules of thumb" that can be applied by experimental researchers to give semi-quantitative predictions.

This thesis addresses fundamental scientific questions such as: How are complex natural products synthesized in vivo? Can we replicate these conditions in a laboratory environment? What is the biological function of such secondary metabolites? What are the biological origins of chirality? These issues are explored in an accessible manner using a multidisciplinary approach spanning chemistry, biology and physics to investigate an interesting family of complex natural products isolated from marine molluscs - the tridachiahydropyrones. The work has achieved: Elegant biomimetic syntheses of a number of the tridachiahydropyrone compounds in vitro using organic synthesis techniques The characterization of the interactions between these compounds and a range of model membrane systems using a series of fluorescence spectroscopic studies The investigation of the antioxidant and photoprotective properties of the compounds by means of biophysical assay techniques The synthesis of tridachiahydropyrone utilizing the model membrane systems as biomimetic reaction media.

This exhaustive survey is the result of a four year effort by many leading researchers in the field to produce both a readable introduction and a yardstick for the many upcoming experiments using heavy ion collisions to examine the properties of nuclear matter. The books falls naturally into five large parts, first examining the bulk properties of strongly interacting matter, including its equation of state and phase structure. Part II discusses elementary hadronic excitations of nuclear matter, Part III addresses the concepts and models regarding the space-time dynamics of nuclear collision experiments, Part IV collects the observables from past and current high-energy heavy-ion facilities in the context of the theoretical predictions specific to compressed baryonic matter. Part V finally gives a brief description of the experimental concepts. The book explicitly addresses everyone working or planning to enter the field of high-energy nuclear physics.

Astronomers learn much of what they know about the mass, brightness, and size of stars by observing binary systems, in which two stars orbit each other, periodically cutting off the others light. This book provides astronomers with a guide to specifying an astrophysical model for a set of observations, selecting an algorithm to determine the parameters of the model, and estimating the errors of the parameters.

The first part of the book provides a pedagogical introduction to the physics of complex systems driven far from equilibrium. In this part we discuss the basic concepts and theoretical techniques which are commonly used to study classical stochastic transport in systems of interacting driven particles. The analytical techniques include mean-field theories, matrix product ansatz, renormalization group, etc. and the numerical methods are mostly based on computer simulations. In the second part of the book these concepts and techniques are applied not only to vehicular traffic but also to transport and traffic-like phenomena in living systems ranging from collective movements of social insects (for example, ants) on trails to intracellular molecular motor transport. These demonstrate the conceptual unity of the fundamental principles underlying the apparent diversity of the systems and the utility of the theoretical toolbox of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics in interdisciplinary research far beyond the traditional disciplinary boundaries of physics.

This two-part book is devoted to classic fundamentals and current practices and perspectives of modern plasma astrophysics. This first part uniquely covers all the basic principles and practical tools required for understanding and work in plasma astrophysics. More than 25% of the text is updated from the first edition, including new figures, equations and entire sections on topics such as magnetic reconnection and the Grad-Shafranov equation. The book is aimed at professional researchers in astrophysics, but it will also be useful to graduate students in space sciences, geophysics, applied physics and mathematics, especially those seeking a unified view of plasma physics and fluid mechanics.

The book is based on lectures presented on the International Summer School on Biophysics held in Croatia in September 2009. The advantage of the School is that it provides advanced training in very broad scope of areas related to biophysics contrary to other similar schools or workshops that are centered mainly on one topic or technique. In this volume, tenth in the row, the papers in the field of biophysics are presented. The topics are biological phenomena from single protein to macromolecular aggregations structure by using variant physical methods (NMR, EPR, FTIR, Mass Spectrometry, etc.). The interrelationship of supramolecular structures and their functions is enlightened by applications of principals of these physical methods in the biophysical and molecular biology context.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), this book presents more than 50 chapters highlighting results of the institute s research.

The book provides an up-to-date, in-depth survey across the entire field of atmospheric science, including atmospheric dynamics, radiation, cloud physics, chemistry, climate, numerical simulation, remote sensing, instruments and measurements, as well as atmospheric acoustics.

The authors have provided a readily comprehensible and self-contained presentation of the complex field of atmospheric science. The topics are of direct relevance for aerospace science and technology. Future research challenges are identified."

In the past decade, there has been a burst of new and fascinating physics associated to the unique properties of two-dimensional exciton polaritons, their recent demonstration of condensation under non-equilibrium conditions and all the related quantum phenomena, which have stimulated extensive research work. This monograph summarizes the current state of the art of research on exciton polaritons in microcavities: their interactions, fast dynamics, spin-dependent phenomena, temporal and spatial coherence, condensation under non-equilibrium conditions, related collective quantum phenomena and most advanced applications. The monograph is written by the most active authors who have strongly contributed to the advances in this area. It is of great interests to both physicists approaching this subject for the first time, as well as a wide audience of experts in other disciplines who want to be updated on this fast moving field.

This book provides the mathematical foundations of the theory of hyperhamiltonian dynamics, together with a discussion of physical applications. In addition, some open problems are discussed. Hyperhamiltonian mechanics represents a generalization of Hamiltonian mechanics, in which the role of the symplectic structure is taken by a hyperkahler one (thus there are three Kahler/symplectic forms satisfying quaternionic relations). This has proved to be of use in the description of physical systems with spin, including those which do not admit a Hamiltonian formulation. The book is the first monograph on the subject, which has previously been treated only in research papers.

This thesis develops and establishes several methods to determine the detailed geometric architecture of transiting exoplanetary systems (planets orbiting around, and periodically passing in front of, stars other than the sun) using high-precision photometric data collected by the Kepler space telescope. It highlights the measurement of stellar obliquity - the tilt of the stellar equator with respect to the planetary orbital plane(s) - and presents methods for more precise obliquity measurements in individual systems of particular interest, as well as for measurements in systems that have been out of reach of previous methods. Such information is useful for investigating the dynamical evolution of the planetary orbit, which is the key to understanding the diverse architecture of exoplanetary systems. The thesis also demonstrates a wide range of unique applications of high-precision photometric data, which expand the capability of future space-based photometry.

The ongoing thread in this volume of Physics of Lakes is the presentation of different methods of investigation for processes taking place in real lakes with a view to understanding lakes as components of the geophysical environment. It is divided into three parts. Part I is devoted to numerical modeling techniques and demonstrates that (i) wind-induced currents in depth-integrated models can only adequately predict current fields for extremely shallow lakes, and (ii) that classical multi-layered simulation models can only adequately reproduce current and temperature distributions when the lake is directly subjected to wind, but not the post-wind oscillating response. This makes shock capturing discretization techniques and Mellor-Yamada turbulence closure schemes necessary, as well as extremely high grid resolution to reduce the excessive numerical diffusion. Part II is devoted to the presentation of principles of observation and laboratory experimental procedures. It details the principles of operation for current, temperature, conductivity and other sensors applied in the field. It also discusses the advantages and limitations of common measuring methods like registration from stationary or drifting buoys, sounding and profiling from a boat, etc. Questions of data accuracy, quality, and reliability are also addressed. The use of laboratory experiments on a rotating platform is based on an exposition of dimensional analysis and model theory and illustrated using Lake Constance as an example. Part III gives an account of the dynamics of lake water as a particle-laden fluid, which, coupled with the transport of the bottom sediments, leads to morphodynamic changes of the bathymetry in estuarine and possibly whole lake regions. An elegant spatially one-dimensional theory makes it possible to derive analytic solutions of deltaic formations which are corroborated by laboratory experiments. A full three-dimensional description of the evolution of the alluvial bathymetry under prescribed tributary sediment input indicates a potential subject for future research.

This monograph describes metabolic and transport reactions of muscle cells using the laws of chemical thermodynamics. In particular, the thermodynamics of irreversible processes are used to formulate coupled reactions and their outcome on steady state cycling. The effects of ATP cycling on energy metabolism and heat production is described. The results of mathematical simulations of metabolism are used to underline theoretical approaches.

Improved geospatial instrumentation and technology such as in laser scanning has now resulted in millions of data being collected, e.g., point clouds. It is in realization that such huge amount of data requires efficient and robust mathematical solutions that this third edition of the book extends the second edition by introducing three new chapters: Robust parameter estimation, Multiobjective optimization and Symbolic regression. Furthermore, the linear homotopy chapter is expanded to include nonlinear homotopy. These disciplines are discussed first in the theoretical part of the book before illustrating their geospatial applications in the applications chapters where numerous numerical examples are presented. The renewed electronic supplement contains these new theoretical and practical topics, with the corresponding Mathematica statements and functions supporting their computations introduced and applied. This third edition is renamed in light of these technological advancements.

Neutrinos continue to be the most mysterious and, arguably, the most fascinating particles of the Standard Model as their intrinsic properties such as absolute mass scale and CP properties are unknown. The open question of the absolute neutrino mass scale will be addressed with unprecedented accuracy by the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment, currently under construction. This thesis focusses on the spectrometer part of KATRIN and background processes therein. Various background sources such as small Penning traps, as well as nuclear decays from single radon atoms are fully characterized here for the first time. Most importantly, however, it was possible to reduce the background in the spectrometer by more than five orders of magnitude by eliminating Penning traps and by developing a completely new background reduction method by stochastically heating trapped electrons using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR). The work beautifully demonstrates that the obstacles and challenges in measuring the absolute mass scale of neutrinos can be met successfully if novel experimental tools (ECR) and novel computing methods (KASSIOPEIA) are combined to allow almost background-free tritium ss-spectroscopy.