This thoroughly updated new edition presents state-of-the-art sparse and multiscale image and signal processing. It covers linear multiscale geometric transforms, such as wavelet, ridgelet, or curvelet transforms, and non-linear multiscale transforms based on the median and mathematical morphology operators. Along with an up-to-the-minute description of required computation, it covers the latest results in inverse problem solving and regularization, sparse signal decomposition, blind source separation, in-painting, and compressed sensing. New chapters and sections cover multiscale geometric transforms for three-dimensional data (data cubes), data on the sphere (geo-located data), dictionary learning, and nonnegative matrix factorization. The authors wed theory and practice in examining applications in areas such as astronomy, including recent results from the European Space Agency's Herschel mission, biology, fusion physics, cold dark matter simulation, medical MRI, digital media, and forensics. MATLAB (R) and IDL code, available online at www.SparseSignalRecipes.info, accompany these methods and all applications.

Choice Highly Recommended Title, January 2020 This special edition of Apollo in Perspective marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969. Updated and revised throughout, it takes a retrospective look at the Apollo space program and the technology that was used to land a man on the Moon. In addition, there is a new chapter looking forward to the future of contemporary spaceflight in returning to the Moon (project Artemis) and going on to Mars. Using simple illustrations and school-level mathematics, it explains the basic physics and technology of spaceflight, from how rockets work to the dynamics of orbits and how to simulate gravity in a rotating spacecraft. A mathematical appendix shows how some of the formulas can be derived. This is an excellent introduction to astronautics for anyone interested in space and spaceflight. Features: Accessible, written in a friendly and informal style Contains real-world examples Updated throughout, with new chapters on the Apollo missions and the immediate future of human spaceflight From the Foreword "I am sure there is a woman or a man alive today who will land on the Moon and on Mars. This book will certainly help them be ready for such a journey. Most importantly, it explains not only what happened 50 years ago, but how the Apollo missions happened, and the science that is required to do it again, or to go further, to Mars. If the reader is younger, still in school and perhaps considering the sciences, this book will introduce ideas that will help you choose the subjects to study which can help you to make your space travel a reality. For others, the book will be an exciting and thought provoking read that gives a vision of the near future in space, which all of us on planet Earth will be able to enjoy as the adventure unfolds."- Michael Foale, CBE, former-NASA astronaut

This proceedings volume focuses on new methods of image and signal analysis in a wide range of energies (from radio to gamma ray astronomy) and advanced methodologies regarding problems and solutions in information fusion and retrieval, statistical pattern recognition, vision and advances in computing technology.A special section is devoted to the BeppoSAX mission (Satellite per Astronomia X) launched on April 30 1996, inside a program of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programs (NIVR).

This book journeys into one of the most fascinating intellectual adventures of recent decades - understanding and exploring the final fate of massive collapsing stars in the universe. The issue is of great interest in fundamental physics and cosmology today, from both the perspective of gravitation theory and of modern astrophysical observations. This is a revolution in the making and may be intimately connected to our search for a unified understanding of the basic forces of nature, namely gravity that governs the cosmological universe, and the microscopic forces that include quantum phenomena. According to the general theory of relativity, a massive star that collapses catastrophically under its own gravity when it runs out of its internal nuclear fuel must give rise to a space-time singularity. Such singularities are regions in the universe where all physical quantities take their extreme values and become arbitrarily large. The singularities may be covered within a black hole, or visible to faraway observers in the universe. Thus, the final fate of a collapsing massive star is either a black hole or a visible naked singularity. We discuss here recent results and developments on the gravitational collapse of massive stars and possible observational implications when naked singularities happen in the universe. Large collapsing massive stars and the resulting space-time singularities may even provide a laboratory in the cosmos where one could test the unification possibilities of basic forces of nature.

Covering both astronomical and geophysical perspectives, this book describes changes in the Earth's orientation, specifically precession and nutation, and how they are observed and computed in terms of tidal forcing and models of the Earth's interior. Following an introduction to key concepts and elementary geodetic theory, the book describes how precise measurements of the Earth's orientation are made using observations of extra-galactic radio-sources by Very Long Baseline Interferometry techniques. It demonstrates how models are used to accurately pinpoint the location and orientation of the Earth with reference to the stars, and how to determine variations in its rotation speed. A theoretical framework is also presented that describes the role played by the structure and properties of the Earth's deep interior. Incorporating suggestions for future developments in nutation theory for the next generation models, this book is ideal for advanced-level students and researchers in solid Earth geophysics, planetary science and astronomy.

IAU Symposium 309 contains contributions on the timely theme of spatially and energetically resolved properties of galaxies. New technologies in 3D spectroscopy in the optical and near-infrared regimes, and radio interferometry, allow for the first time the efficient mapping of stars, gas and dust in galaxies near and far. This volume demonstrates how detailed measurements of individual objects are complemented by surveys aiming at a full census of galaxies across the local Universe. Reaching out to the limits of the Universe, the evolution of spatially resolved properties is traced throughout our whole cosmic history. In parallel with this, new computer technology and highly advanced algorithms are exploited for detailed simulations to probe the underlying physical and cosmological connections. This volume benefits astronomers and graduate students working in areas relating to galaxy formation and evolution, star formation, dust and stellar populations.

IAU Symposium 310 takes a broad look at the complexity of planetary systems, in terms of the formation and dynamical evolution of planets, their satellites, minor bodies and space debris, as well as to the habitability of exoplanets, in order to understand and model their physical processes. The main topics covered are diverse, including: studies of the rotation of planets and satellites, including their internal structures; the long term evolution of space debris and satellites; planetary and satellite migration mechanisms; and the role of the Yarkovsky effect on the evolution of the rotating small bodies. Intended for researchers and advanced students studying complex planetary systems, IAU S310 appeals to non-specialists interested in problems such as the habitability of exoplanets, planetary migration in the early Solar System, or the determination of chaotic orbits. This volume provides a valuable insight into the state-of-the-art research in this exciting interdisciplinary field.

Magnetic fields permeate our vast universe, urging electrically charged particles on their courses, powering solar and stellar flares, and focusing the intense activity of pulsars and neutron stars.

Magnetic fields are found in every corner of the cosmos. For decades, astrophysicists have identified them by their effects on visible light, radio waves, and x-rays. J. B. Zirker summarizes our deep knowledge of magnetism, pointing to what is yet unknown about its astrophysical applications.

In clear, nonmathematical prose, Zirker follows the trail of magnetic exploration from the auroral belts of Earth to the farthest reaches of space. He guides readers on a fascinating journey of discovery to understand how magnetic forces are created and how they shape the universe. He provides the historical background needed to appreciate exciting new research by introducing readers to the great scientists who have studied magnetic fields.

Students and amateur astronomers alike will appreciate the readable prose and comprehensive coverage of "The Magnetic Universe."

This brief brings together the theoretical aspects of star formation and ionized regions with the most up-to-date simulations and observations. Beginning with the basic theory of star formation, the physics of expanding HII regions is reviewed in detail and a discussion on how a massive star can give birth to tens or hundreds of other stars follows. The theoretical description of star formation is shown in simplified and state-of-the-art numerical simulations, describing in a more clear way how feedback from massive stars can trigger star and planet formation. This is also combined with spectacular images of nebulae taken by talented amateur astronomers. The latter is very likely to stimulate the reader to observe the structure of nebulae from a different point of view, and better understand the associated star formation therein.

Subtlety in Relativity is the only book that has been written after the author's discovery of a new way in which wave phenomena occur-the emission origin of waves. This drastically changes most issues of the old debate over the world being either deterministic or probabilistic. The emission origin of waves is not incompatible with the ideas of quantum theory; rather, this new and novel way in which waves can be generated justifies the use of mathematical and probabilistic methods of quantum theory. However, the emission origin of waves shows that quantum theory is statistically incomplete in, precisely, Einstein's sense. There exists, then, a certain, previously unexplored, conceptual framework underlying the ideas of quantum theory. Whether this is the theory that Einstein and others were looking for then, how this way of thinking is related to the ideas of relativity, and whether this is a relativistic theory in the usual sense of this word are questions this book answers. The book demonstrates how the Doppler effect with acceleration is essential to interpreting astronomical observations. It also offers a detailed and self-sufficient technical background of mathematical ideas of category theory. The book is divided into two parts. The first is less mathematical and more conceptual in its orientation. The second focuses on mathematical ideas needed to implement physical concepts. The book is a great reference for advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level students of physics and researchers in physics, astronomy, and cosmology, who will gain a deeper understanding of relativity from it.

These proceedings provide the latest results on dark matter and dark energy research. The UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy hosted its tenth Dark Matter and Dark Energy conference in Marina del Rey and brought together all the leaders in the field. The symposium provided a scientific forum for the latest discussions in the field.  Topics covered at the symposium:  •Status of measurements of the equation of state of dark energy and new experiments •The search for missing energy events at the LHC and implications for dark matter search •Theoretical calculations on all forms of dark matter (SUSY, axions, sterile neutrinos, etc.) •Status of the indirect search for dark matter •Status of the direct search for dark matter in detectors around the world •The low-mass wimp search region •The next generation of very large dark matter detectors •New underground laboratories for dark matter search  

The focus of his prize-winning thesis is on observations and modeling of binary millisecond pulsars. But in addition, John Antoniadis covers a wide range of observational measurements of binary compact stars systems and tests of General Relativity, like indirect measurements of gravitational wave emission and posing the most stringent constraints on Scalar-Tensor gravity theories. Among others, he presents a system that hosts the most massive neutron star known to date, which has important ramifications for strong-field gravity and nuclear physics. This impressive work was awarded the Otto-Hahn Medal of the Max-Planck Society and the Best PhD in Gravity, Particle and Atomic physics award by the German Physics Society (DPG).

This thesis addresses two of the central processes which underpin the formation of galaxies: the formation of stars and the injection of energy into the interstellar medium from supernovae, called feedback. In her work Claudia Lagos has completely overhauled the treatment of these processes in simulations of galaxy formation. Her thesis makes two major breakthroughs, and represents the first major steps forward in these areas in more than a decade. Her work has enabled, for the first time, predictions to be made which can be compared against new observations which probe the neutral gas content of galaxies, opening up a completely novel way to constrain the models. The treatment of feedback from supernovae, and how this removes material from the interstellar medium, is also likely to have a lasting impact on the field. Claudia Lagos Ph.D. thesis was nominated by the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University as an outstanding Ph.D. thesis 2012.

This volume presents the latest research results on solar prominences, including new developments on e.g. chirality, fine structure, magnetism, diagnostic tools and relevant solar plasma physics. In 1875 solar prominences, as seen out of the solar limb, were described by P.A. Secchi in his book Le Soleil as "gigantic pink or peach-flower coloured flames". The development of spectroscopy, coronagraphy and polarimetry brought tremendous observational advances in the twentieth century. The authors present and discuss exciting new challenges (resulting from observations made by space and ground-based telescopes in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century) concerning the diagnostics of prominences, their formation, their life time and their eruption along with their impact in the heliosphere (including the Earth). The book starts with a general introduction of the prominence "object" with some historical background on observations and instrumentation. In the next chapter, the various forms of prominences are described with a thorough attempt of classification. Their thermodynamic (and velocity) properties are then derived with emphasis on the methods (and their limits) used. This goes from the simplest optically thin case to the heavy radiative treatment of plasmas out of local thermodynamic equilibrium. The following chapters are devoted to the magnetic field measurements and indirect derivation. A new branch of diagnostic tools, the seismology, is presented along with some MHD basics. This allows to better understand the propagation of waves, the energy and force equilibria. Both small-scale and large-scale studies and their relationship are presented. The importance of the newly discovered cavities is stressed in the context of prominence destabilization. The issues of prominence formation and eruption, their connection with flares and Coronal Mass Ejections and their impact on the Earth are addressed on the basis of the latest results. Finally, an exciting new area of research is unveiled with the newly discovered evidence of similar manifestations in the Universe and their possible impact on the habitability of exoplanets. References to the basic physics (where necessary) are provided and the proposed web sites addresses will allow the reader to load exciting movies. The book is aimed at advanced students in astrophysics, post-graduates, solar physicists and more generally astrophysicists. Amateurs will enjoy the many new images which go with the text.

This book presents the status of research on very massive stars in the Universe. While it has been claimed that stars with over 100 solar masses existed in the very early Universe, recent studies have also discussed the existence and deaths of stars up to 300 solar masses in the local Universe. This represents a paradigm shift for the stellar upper-mass limit, which may have major implications far beyond the field of stellar physics. The book comprises 7 chapters, which describe this discipline and provide sufficient background and introductory content for graduate (PhD) students and researchers from different branches of astronomy to be able to enter this exciting new field of very massive stars.

All phases of stellar evolution are influenced by the presence of magnetic fields in the star's interior and close environment. IAU Symposium 302 gives an overview of the emerging field of stellar magnetism. The last few years have seen the dawn of a new era in this research domain, with the advent of powerful tools strengthening both observational and modelling approaches, rapidly changing our view of the role stellar magnetism plays throughout stellar evolution. The topics covered span all phases of evolution, from the formation of stars and their early accreting years, through main sequence evolution for both low and high mass stars, and also the final stages of stellar evolution. This volume features the most recent advances achieved by major observatories (ground-based and space-borne) and through massively-parallel 3D numerical simulations, benefiting astronomers interested in the latest observational and theoretical developments in this exciting and growing field.

Based on graduate school lectures in contemporary relativity and gravitational physics, this book gives a complete and unified picture of the present status of theoretical and observational properties of astrophysical black holes. The chapters are written by internationally recognized specialists. They cover general theoretical aspects of black hole astrophysics, the theory of accretion and ejection of gas and jets, stellar-sized black holes observed in the Milky Way, the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers and quasars as well as their influence on the dynamics in galactic nuclei. The final chapter addresses analytical relativity of black holes supporting theoretical understanding of the coalescence of black holes as well as being of great relevance in identifying gravitational wave signals. With its introductory chapters the book is aimed at advanced graduate and post-graduate students, but it will also be useful for specialists.

This three-volume series presents the ideas, models and approaches essential to understanding plasma dynamics and self-organization for researchers and graduate students in plasma physics, controlled fusion and related fields such as plasma astrophysics. Volume I develops the physical kinetics of plasma turbulence through a focus on quasi-particle models and dynamics. It discusses the essential physics concepts and theoretical methods for describing weak and strong fluid and phase space turbulence in plasma systems far from equilibrium. The book connects the traditionally 'plasma' topic of weak or wave turbulence theory to more familiar fluid turbulence theory, and extends both to the realm of collisionless phase space turbulence. This gives readers a deeper understanding of these related fields, and builds a foundation for future applications to multi-scale processes of self-organization in tokamaks and other confined plasmas. This book emphasizes the conceptual foundations and physical intuition underpinnings of plasma turbulence theory.

Space debris and asteroid impacts pose a very real, very near-term threat to Earth. In order to help study and mitigate these risks, the Stardust program was formed in 2013. This training and research network was devoted to developing and mastering techniques such as removal, deflection, exploitation, and tracking. This book is a collection of many of the topics addressed at the Final Stardust Conference, describing the latest in asteroid monitoring and how engineering efforts can help us reduce space debris. It is a selection of studies bringing together specialists from universities, research institutions, and industry, tasked with the mission of pushing the boundaries of space research with innovative ideas and visionary concepts. Topics covered by the Symposium: Orbital and Attitude Dynamics Modeling Long Term Orbit and Attitude Evolution Particle Cloud Modeling and Simulation Collision and Impact Modelling and Simulation, Re-entry Modeling and Simulation Asteroid Origins and Characterization Orbit and Attitude Determination Impact Prediction and Risk Analysis, Mission Analysis-Proximity Operations, Active Removal/Deflection Control Under Uncertainty, Active Removal/Deflection Technologies, and Asteroid Manipulation

Almost all conventional matter in the Universe is fluid, and fluid dynamics plays a crucial role in astrophysics. This graduate textbook, first published in 2007, provides a basic understanding of the fluid dynamical processes relevant to astrophysics. The mathematics used to describe these processes is simplified to bring out the underlying physics. The authors cover many topics, including wave propagation, shocks, spherical flows, stellar oscillations, the instabilities caused by effects such as magnetic fields, thermal driving, gravity, shear flows, and the basic concepts of compressible fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics. The authors are Directors of the UK Astrophysical Fluids Facility (UKAFF) at the University of Leicester, and editors of the Cambridge Astrophysics Series. This book has been developed from a course in astrophysical fluid dynamics taught at the University of Cambridge. It is suitable for graduate students in astrophysics, physics and applied mathematics, and requires only a basic familiarity with fluid dynamics.

Nuclear physics is an exciting, broadly faceted field. It spans a wide range of topics, reaching from nuclear structure physics to high-energy physics, astrophysics and medical physics (heavy ion tumor therapy). New developments are presented in this volume and the status of research is reviewed. A major focus is put on nuclear structure physics, dealing with superheavy elements and with various forms of exotic nuclei: strange nuclei, very neutron rich nuclei, nuclei of antimatter. Also quantum electrodynamics of strong fields is addressed, which is linked to the occurrence of giant nuclear systems in, e.g., U+U collisions. At high energies nuclear physics joins with elementary particle physics. Various chapters address the theory of elementary matter at high densities and temperature, in particular the quark gluon plasma which is predicted by quantum chromodynamics (QCD) to occur in high-energy heavy ion collisions. In the field of nuclear astrophysics, the properties of neutron stars and quark stars are discussed. A topic which transcends nuclear physics is discussed in two chapters: The proposed pseudo-complex extension of Einstein's General Relativity leads to the prediction that there are no black holes and that big bang cosmology has to be revised. Finally, the interdisciplinary nature of this volume is further accentuated by chapters on protein folding and on magnetoreception in birds and many other animals.

Spectroscopy and radiative transfer are rapidly growing fields within atmospheric and planetary science with implications for weather, climate, biogeochemical cycles, air quality on Earth, as well as the physics and evolution of planetary atmospheres in our solar system and beyond. Remote sensing and modeling atmospheric composition of the Earth, of other planets in our solar system, or of planets orbiting other stars require detailed knowledge of how radiation and matter interact in planetary atmospheres. This includes knowledge of how stellar or thermal radiation propagates through atmospheres, how that propagation affects radiative forcing of climate, how atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases produce unique spectroscopic signatures, how the properties of atmospheres may be quantitatively measured, and how those measurements relate to physical properties. This book provides this fundamental knowledge to a depth that will leave a student with the background to become capable of performing quantitative research on atmospheres. The book is intended for graduate students or for advanced undergraduates. It spans across principles through applications, with sufficient background for students without prior experience in either spectroscopy or radiative transfer. Courses based on this book are intended to be accompanied by the development of increasing sophisticated atmospheric and spectroscopic modeling capability (ideally, the student develops a computer model for simulation of atmospheric spectra from microwave through ultraviolet).

Non-Local Astrophysics: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Physical Vacuum highlights the most significant features of non-local theory, a highly effective tool for solving many physical problems in areas where classical local theory runs into difficulties. The book provides the fundamental science behind new non-local astrophysics, discussing non-local kinetic and generalized hydrodynamic equations, non-local parameters in several physical systems, dark matter, dark energy, black holes and gravitational waves.

In this PhD thesis, which was nominated for publication in this series by the Astronomical Institute at Charles University, Prague, the author investigates the orbital evolution of an initially thin stellar disc around a supermassive black hole, considering various perturbative sources of gravity. His findings, obtained by both direct numerical N-body modelling and using standard perturbation methods, offer a viable theoretical explanation for the observed configuration of young stars in the Galactic Centre. This marks a significant contribution to a topic of great interest in contemporary astrophysics. The author also shows in his thesis that a secular instability (m = 1 mode) may occur in the embedding spherical cluster of old stars. This increases the richness of possible evolution scenarios of the embedding cluster and may lead to effective feeding of supermassive black holes through tidal disruption of stars on extremely eccentric orbits.

This monograph presents a systematic treatment of the theory for hyperbolic conservation laws and their applications to vehicular traffics and crowd dynamics. In the first part of the book, the author presents very basic considerations and gradually introduces the mathematical tools necessary to describe and understand the mathematical models developed in the following parts focusing on vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The book is a self-contained valuable resource for advanced courses in mathematical modeling, physics and civil engineering. A number of examples and figures facilitate a better understanding of the underlying concepts and motivations for the students. Important new techniques are presented, in particular the wave front tracking algorithm, the operator splitting approach, the non-classical theory of conservation laws and the constrained problems. This book is the first to present a comprehensive account of these fundamental new mathematical advances.