The book focuses on the study of the temporal behavior of complex many-particle systems. The phenomenon of time and its role in the temporal evolution of complex systems is a remaining mystery. The book presents the necessity of the interdisciplinary point of view regarding on the phenomenon of time.The aim of the present study is to summarize and formulate in a concise but clear form the trends and approaches to the concept of time from a broad interdisciplinary perspective exposing tersely the complementary approaches and theories of time in the context of thermodynamics, statistical physics, cosmology, theory of information, biology and biophysics, including the problem of time and aging. Various approaches to the problem show that time is an extraordinarily interdisciplinary and multifaceted underlying notion which plays an extremely important role in various natural complex processes.

What does it take to consider a planet potentially habitable? If a planet is suitable for life, could life be present? Is life on other planets inevitable? Searching for Habitable Worlds answers these questions and provides both the general public and astronomy enthusiasts with a richly illustrated discussion of the most current knowledge regarding the search for extrasolar planets. Nearly everyone wants to know if we are alone in the universe. This book might not have the answers, but shows where we should look. This book is a fun and accessible book for everyone from middle schoolers to amateur astronomers of all ages. The use of non-technical language and abundant illustrations make this a quick read to inform everyone about the latest movement in the search for other planets that we might be able to inhabit. After a brief discussion on why humans are hard-wired to be curious, and to explore the unknown, the book describes what extrasolar planets are, how to detect them, and how to pin down potential targets. In addition, a data-driven list of the best candidates for habitability is profiled and the next generation of exoplanet-hunting scientific instruments and probes are identified.

On Earth, lakes provide favorable environments for the development of life and its preservation as fossils. They are extremely sensitive to climate fluctuations and to conditions within their watersheds. As such, lakes are unique markers of the impact of environmental changes. Past and current missions have now demonstrated that water once flowed at the surface of Mars early in its history. Evidence of ancient ponding has been uncovered at scales ranging from a few kilometers to possibly that of the Arctic ocean. Whether life existed on Mars is still unknown; upcoming missions may find critical evidence to address this question in ancient lakebeds as clues about Mars' climate evolution and its habitability potential are still preserved in their sedimentary record. Lakes on Mars is the first review on this subject. It is written by leading planetary scientists who have dedicated their careers to searching and exploring the questions of water, lakes, and oceans on Mars through their involvement in planetary exploration, and the analysis of orbital and ground data beginning with Viking up to the most recent missions. In thirteen chapters, Lakes on Mars critically discusses new data and explores the role that water played in the evolution of the surface of Mars, the past hydrological provinces of the planet, the possibility of heated lake habitats through enhanced geothermal flux associated with volcanic activity and impact cratering. The book also explores alternate hypotheses to explain the geological record. Topographic, morphologic, stratigraphic, and mineralogic evidence are presented that suggest successions of ancient lake environments in Valles Marineris and Hellas. The existence of large lakes and/or small oceans in Elysium and the Northern Plains is supported both by the global distribution of deltaic deposits and by equipotential surfaces that may reflect their past margins. Whether those environments were conducive to life has yet to be demonstrated but from comparison with our planet, their sedimentary deposits may provide the best opportunity to find its record, if any. The final chapters explore the impact of climate variability on declining lake habitats in one of the closest terrestrial analogs to Mars at the Noachian/Hesperian transition, identify the geologic, morphologic and mineralogic signatures of ancient lakes to be searched for on Mars, and present the case for landing the Mars Science Laboratory mission in such an environment.

The study of dark matter, in both astrophysics and particle physics, has emerged as one of the most active and exciting topics of research in recent years. This book reviews the history behind the discovery of missing mass (or unseen mass) in the Universe, and ties this into the proposed extensions to the Standard Model of Particle Physics (such as Supersymmetry), which were being proposed within the same time frame. This book is written as an introduction to these problems at the forefront of astrophysics and particle physics, with the goal of conveying the physics of dark matter to beginning undergraduate majors in scientific fields. The book goes onto describe existing and upcoming experiments and techniques, which will be used to detect dark matter either directly on indirectly.

The universe is pervaded by particles with extreme energies, millions of times greater than we can produce on Earth. They have been a mystery for over a century. Now, current and future experiments in particle astrophysics are leading us to answers to the most fundamental questions about them. How does nature accelerate the highest energy particles in the universe? Do new interactions between them occur at such extreme energies? Are there unknown aspects of spacetime that can be uncovered by studying these particles?This book brings together three fields within 'extreme astronomy': ultra-high-energy cosmic ray physics, neutrino astronomy, and gamma-ray astronomy, and discusses how each can help answer these questions. Each field is presented with a theoretical introduction that clearly elucidates the key questions scientists face. This is followed by chapters that discuss the current set of experiments - how they work and their discoveries. Finally, new techniques and approaches are discussed to solve the mysteries uncovered by the current experiments.

Does science deny God? Did the Universe and life appear by chance or is there evidence of a bigger scheme of thing behind them? In this context, I am concerned with answering these questions. This problem is addressed using knowledge in cosmology, physics and biology. The initial part describes the stages of the 'Genesis' according to physical cosmology from the Big Bang to the appearance of life on Earth. It will touch on problems of why the universe is dominated by matter, the theory of inflation, the limits of our knowledge on the early Universe, the lack of a theory that can allow us to study the phases immediately after the Big Bang, the relation between the concepts of quantum mechanics and the existence of God. It shows how the Universe is finely regulated, that is, the physical constants have been chosen so that life appears in the Universe. The regulation is so strong that we are forced to think the existence of a great designer who has created a particular Universe like the one we are observing. This conclusion can be avoided only if there is an infinity of universes, a multiverse. We ask ourselves if science can create the Universe from nothing and using the same arguments of cosmologists such as Krauss (author of The Universe from Nothing). It is now known that the current science does not allow the creation of a Universe from absolutely nothing. Physics and cosmology do not deny God. Indeed, the argument of the fine adjustment of constants is strongly indicative of the existence of a great designer. Other evidence confirming this comes from biology. Thousands of experiments in recent decades highlight the impossibility of generating life in the laboratory. There is an intrinsic order in life encoded in DNA that is not present in experiments. Simple calculations show that the 'blind and aimless' evolution described by neo-Darwinists such as Dawkins does not allow the generation of life.

Does science deny God? Did the Universe and life appear by chance or is there evidence of a bigger scheme of thing behind them? In this context, I am concerned with answering these questions. This problem is addressed using knowledge in cosmology, physics and biology. The initial part describes the stages of the 'Genesis' according to physical cosmology from the Big Bang to the appearance of life on Earth. It will touch on problems of why the universe is dominated by matter, the theory of inflation, the limits of our knowledge on the early Universe, the lack of a theory that can allow us to study the phases immediately after the Big Bang, the relation between the concepts of quantum mechanics and the existence of God. It shows how the Universe is finely regulated, that is, the physical constants have been chosen so that life appears in the Universe. The regulation is so strong that we are forced to think the existence of a great designer who has created a particular Universe like the one we are observing. This conclusion can be avoided only if there is an infinity of universes, a multiverse. We ask ourselves if science can create the Universe from nothing and using the same arguments of cosmologists such as Krauss (author of The Universe from Nothing). It is now known that the current science does not allow the creation of a Universe from absolutely nothing. Physics and cosmology do not deny God. Indeed, the argument of the fine adjustment of constants is strongly indicative of the existence of a great designer. Other evidence confirming this comes from biology. Thousands of experiments in recent decades highlight the impossibility of generating life in the laboratory. There is an intrinsic order in life encoded in DNA that is not present in experiments. Simple calculations show that the 'blind and aimless' evolution described by neo-Darwinists such as Dawkins does not allow the generation of life.

This book is the fruit of the first ever interdisciplinary international scientific conference on Matthew's story of the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi, held in 2014 at the University of Groningen, and attended by world-leading specialists in all relevant fields: modern astronomy, the ancient near-eastern and Greco-Roman worlds, the history of science, and religion. The scholarly discussions and the exchange of the interdisciplinary views proved to be immensely fruitful and resulted in the present book. Its twenty chapters describe the various aspects of The Star: the history of its interpretation, ancient near-eastern astronomy and astrology and the Magi, astrology in the Greco-Roman and the Jewish worlds, and the early Christian world - at a generally accessible level. An epilogue summarizes the fact-fiction balance of the most famous star which has ever shone.

This book discusses analogies between relativistic cosmology and various physical systems or phenomena, mostly in the earth sciences, that are described formally by the same equations. Of the two independent equations describing the universe as a whole, one (the Friedmann equation) has the form of an energy conservation equation for one-dimensional motion. The second equation is fairly easy to satisfy (although not automatic): as a result, cosmology lends itself to analogies with several systems. Given that a variety of universes are mathematically possible, several analogies exist. Analogies discussed in this book include equilibrium beach profiles, glacial valleys, the shapes of glaciers, heating/cooling models, freezing bodies of water, capillary fluids, Omori's law for earthquake aftershocks, lava flows, and a few mathematical analogies (Fibonacci's sequence, logistic equation, geodesics of various spaces, and classic variational problems). A century of research in cosmology can solve problems on the other side of an analogy, which in turn can suggest ideas in gravity. Finding a cosmic analogy solves the inverse variational problem of finding a Lagrangian and a Hamiltonian for that system, when nobody thought one exists. Often, the symmetries of the cosmological equations translate in new symmetries of the analogous system. The book surprises the reader with analogies between natural systems and exotic systems such as possible universes.

Beat the boredom and take time out from screens with this pocket-sized book packed with facts, photos and fantastic spots for hours of fun! Kids will have fun collecting points in the night sky with more than 140 things to find. From stars and constellations to the moon and eclipses, they'll learn all about our galaxy and the sky at night. And once they've scored 1000 points, super-spotters can claim their official i-SPY certificate and badge. With more than 30 i-SPY books to collect, there's something for everyone! For even more fun outdoors check out i-SPY Nature (ISBN 9780008386467).