This textbook provides students with a solid introduction to the techniques of approximation commonly used in data analysis across physics and astronomy. The choice of methods included is based on their usefulness and educational value, their applicability to a broad range of problems and their utility in highlighting key mathematical concepts. Modern astronomy reveals an evolving universe rife with transient sources, mostly discovered - few predicted - in multi-wavelength observations. Our window of observations now includes electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves and neutrinos. For the practicing astronomer, these are highly interdisciplinary developments that pose a novel challenge to be well-versed in astroparticle physics and data-analysis. The book is organized to be largely self-contained, starting from basic concepts and techniques in the formulation of problems and methods of approximation commonly used in computation and numerical analysis. This includes root finding, integration, signal detection algorithms involving the Fourier transform and examples of numerical integration of ordinary differential equations and some illustrative aspects of modern computational implementation. Some of the topics highlighted introduce the reader to selected problems with comments on numerical methods and implementation on modern platforms including CPU-GPU computing. Developed from lectures on mathematical physics in astronomy to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, this book will be a valuable guide for students and a useful reference for practicing researchers. To aid understanding, exercises are included at the end of each chapter. Furthermore, some of the exercises are tailored to introduce modern symbolic computation.

Photopolarimetric remote sensing is vital in fields as diverse as medical diagnostics, astrophysics, atmospheric science, environmental monitoring and military intelligence. The areas considered here include: radiative transfer; dynamic systems; backscatter polarization; biological systems; astrophysical phenomena; comets; and instrumentation. Subtopics include observational information including determining morphology and chemistry, light-scattering models, and characterization methodologies. While this introductory text highlights the latest advances in this multi-disciplinary topic, it is also a reference guide for the advanced researcher.

Ground- or space-based telescopes are becoming increasingly more complex and construction budgets are typically in the billion dollar range. Facing costs of this magnitude, availability of engineering tools for prediction of performance and design optimization is imperative. Establishment of simulation models combining different technical disciplines such as Structural Dynamics, Control Engineering, Optics and Thermal Engineering is indispensable. Such models are normally called Integrated Models because they involve many different disciplines. The models will play an increasingly larger role for design of future interdisciplinary optical systems in space or on ground. The book concentrates on integrated modeling of optical and radio telescopes but the techniques presented will be applicable to a large variety of systems. Hence, the book will be of interest to optical and radio telescope designers, designers of spacecrafts that include optical systems, and to designers of various complex defense systems. The book may also find use as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses within the field. "Adaptive Optics" is an exciting and relatively new field, originally dedicated to correction for blurring when imaging through the atmosphere. Although this objective is still of high importance, the concept of Adaptive Optics has recently evolved further. Today, the objective is not only to correct for atmospheric turbulence effects but also for a range of static and dynamical telescope aberrations. The notion of adaptive optics has expanded to the field of "Wavefront Control", correcting for a variety of system aberrations. Wavefront control systems maintain form and position of optical elements with high precision under static and dynamical load. In many ways, such systems replace the steel structures of traditional optical systems, thereby providing much lighter systems with a performance not possible before. Integrated Modeling is the foremost tool for studies of Wavefront Control for telescopes and complex optics and is therefore now of high importance. Springer has recently published two books on telescopes, "Reflecting Telescope Optics" by R. Wilson, and "The Design and Construction of Large Optical Telescopes" by P. Bely. Noting that a new (and expensive) generation of Extremely Large Telescopes with apertures in the 30-100 m range is on the way, the present book on integrated modeling is a good match to the existing books and an appropriate specialization and continuation of some subjects dealt with in those books.

The aim of the inaugural meeting of the Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics was to address, in a global context, the current understanding of and challenges in high-energy emissions from isolated and non-isolated neutron stars, and to confront the theoretical picture with observations of both the Fermi satellite and the currently operating ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. Participants have also discussed the prospects for possible observations with planned instruments across the multi-wavelength spectrum (e.g. SKA, LOFAR, E-VLT, IXO, CTA) and how they will impact our theoretical understanding of these systems.
In keeping with the goals of the Forum, this book not only represents the proceedings of the meeting, but also a reflection on the state-of-the-art in the topic.

Searching for Dark Matter with Cosmic Gamma Rays summarizes the evidence for dark matter and what we can learn about its particle nature using cosmic gamma rays. It has almost been 100 years since Fritz Zwicky first detected hints that most of the matter in the Universe that doesn't directly emit or reflect light. Since then, the observational evidence for dark matter has continued to grow. Dark matter may be a new kind of particle that is governed by physics beyond our Standard Model of particle physics. In many models, dark matter annihilation or decay produces gamma rays. There are a variety of instruments observing the gamma-ray sky from tens of MeV to hundreds of TeV. Some make deep, focused observations of small regions, while others provide coverage of the entire sky. Each experiment offers complementary sensitivity to dark matter searches in a variety of target sizes, locations, and dark matter mass scales. We review results from recent gamma-ray experiments including anomalies some have attributed to dark matter. We also discuss how our gamma-ray observations complement other dark matter searches and the prospects for future experiments.

With a focus on modified gravity this book presents a review of the recent developments in the fields of gravity and cosmology, presenting the state of the art, high-lighting the open problems, and outlining the directions of future research. General Relativity and the CDM framework are currently the standard lore and constitute the concordance paradigm of cosmology. Nevertheless, long-standing open theoretical issues, as well as possible new observational ones arising from the explosive development of cosmology in the last two decades, offer the motivation and lead a large amount of research to be devoted in constructing various extensions and modifications. In this review all extended theories and scenarios are first examined under the light of theoretical consistency, and are then applied in various geometrical backgrounds, such as the cosmological and the spherical symmetric ones. Their predictions at both the background and perturbation levels, and concerning cosmology at early, intermediate and late times, are then confronted with the huge amount of observational data that astrophysics and cosmology has been able to offer in the last two decades. Theories, scenarios and models that successfully and efficiently pass the above steps are classified as viable and are candidates for the description of Nature, allowing readers to get a clear overview of the state of the art and where the field of modified gravity is likely to go. This work was performed in the framework of the COST European Action "Cosmology and Astrophysics Network for Theoretical Advances and Training Actions" - CANTATA.

Emission line stars are attractive to many people because of their spectacular phenomena and their amazing varieties and variability. This book offers general information on emission line stars, starting from a brief introduction to stellar astrophysics and then moving to a broad overview of emission line stars including early and late type stars as well as pre-main sequence stars.

THE DEFINITIVE INTRODUCTION TO ROCKET PROPULSION THEORY AND APPLICATIONS The recent upsurge in global government and private spending and in space flight events has resulted in many novel applications of rocket propulsion technology. Rocket Propulsion Elements remains the definitive guide to the field, providing a comprehensive introduction to essential concepts and applications. Led by industry veteran George P. Sutton and by Professor Oscar Biblarz, this book provides interdisciplinary coverage including thermodynamics, aerodynamics, flight performance, propellant chemistry and more. This thoroughly revised ninth edition includes discussion and analysis of recent advances in the field, representing an authoritative reference for students and working engineers alike. In any engineering field, theory is only as useful as it is practical; this book emphasizes relevant real-world applications of fundamental concepts to link "thinking" and "doing". This book will help readers: * Understand the physics of flight and the chemistry of propulsion * Analyze liquid, solid, gas, and hybrid propellants, and the engines they fuel * Consider high-temperature combustion, stability, and the principles of electric and chemical propulsion * Dissect the workings of systems in common use around the world today * Delve into the latest advances in materials, systems, propellants, and more Broad in scope, rich in detail, and clear in explanation, this seminal work provides an unparalleled foundation in aerospace engineering topics. Learning through the lens of modern applications untangles complex topics and helps students fully grasp the intricacies on a more intuitive level. Rocket Propulsion Elements, Ninth Edition merges information and utility building a solid foundation for innovation.

Effective field theories have been widely used in nuclear physics. This volume is devoted to exploring the intricate structure of compact-star matter inaccessible directly from QCD. It is principally anchored on hidden symmetries and topology presumed to be encoded in QCD. It differs from standard effective field theory and energy density functional approaches in that it exploits renormalization-group flow in the complex 'vacuum' sliding with density inferred from topology change identified as a manifestation of baryon-quark continuity in dense matter. It makes a variety of predictions that drastically differ from the conventional treatments that could be tested by upcoming terrestrial and astrophysical experiments.This monograph recounts how to go, in one unique field theoretic formalism in terms of hadronic degrees of freedom, from finite nuclei to dense compact-star matter that could be explored in RIB-type machines in nuclear physics as well as in LIGO-type gravity waves in astrophysics.

The SECCHI A and B instrument suites (Howard et al. , 2006) onboard the two STEREO mission spacecraft (Kaiser, 2005) are each composed of: one Extreme Ultra-Violet Imager (EUVI), two white-light coronagraphs (COR1 and COR2), and two wide-angle heliospheric imagers (HI1 and HI2). Technical descriptions of EUVI, COR1 and the HIs can be found in Wuelser et al. (2004), Thompson et al. (2003), and De?se et al. (2003), respectively. The images produced by SECCHI represent a data visualization challenge: i) the images are 2048x2048 pixels (except for the HIs, which are usually binned onboard 2x2), thus the vast majority of computer displays are not able to display them at full frame and full r- olution, and ii) more importantly, the ?ve instruments of SECCHI A and B were designed to be able to track Coronal Mass Ejections from their onset (with EUVI) to their pro- gation in the heliosphere (with the HIs), which implies that a set of SECCHI images that covers the propagation of a CME from its initiation site to the Earth is composed of im- ?1 ages with very different spatial resolutions - from 1. 7 arcsecondspixel for EUVI to 2. 15 ?1 arcminutespixel for HI2, i. e. 75 times larger. A similar situation exists with the angular scales of the physical objects, since the size of a CME varies by orders of magnitude as it expands in the heliosphere.

A conference on "Observational Evidence for Black Holes in the Universe" was held in Calcutta during January 10-17, 1998. This was the first time that experts had gathered to debate and discuss topics such as: Should black holes exist?; If so, how to detect them?; And Have we found them? This book is the essence of this gathering. Black holes are enigmatic objects since it is impossible to locate them through direct observations. State-of-the-art theoretical works and numerical simulations have given us enough clues of what to look for. Observations, from both ground and space-based missions, have been able to find these tell-tale signatures. This book is a compendium of our present knowledge about these theories and observations at the end of the 20th century. Combined, they give an idea of whether black holes, galactic as well as extragalactic, have been detected or not.

'The book can be a good introduction to research in the area of black hole physics. Also, it can serve as a source book for the established researcher in the field. The book contains an extensive bibliography the contents of which are amply cited throughout the text. The book well documents the historical development of the theory of Hawking radiation and related topics. The book is a worthwhile addition to the physics literature on a topic of considerable interest.'zbMATH]The aim of this book is to provide the reader with a guide to Hawking radiation through a dual approach to the problem. After an introductory chapter containing some basic knowledge about black holes and quantum field theory in curved spacetime, the first part of the book consists in a survey of methods for deriving and studying Hawking radiation from astrophysical black holes, from the original calculation by S W Hawking to the most recent contributions involving tunneling and gravitational anomalies. In the second part, we introduce analogue gravity, and we focus our attention to dielectric black hole systems, to which the studies of the present authors are devoted. The mutual interchange of knowledge between the aforementioned parts is addressed to render a more comprehensive picture of this very fascinating quantum phenomenon associated with black holes.

The award-winning former editor of Science News shows that one of the most fascinating and controversial ideas in contemporary cosmology-the existence of multiple parallel universes-has a long and divisive history that continues to this day. We often consider the universe to encompass everything that exists, but some scientists have come to believe that the vast, expanding universe we inhabit may be just one of many. The totality of those parallel universes, still for some the stuff of science fiction, has come to be known as the multiverse. The concept of the multiverse, exotic as it may be, isn't actually new. In The Number of the Heavens, veteran science journalist Tom Siegfried traces the history of this controversial idea from antiquity to the present. Ancient Greek philosophers first raised the possibility of multiple universes, but Aristotle insisted on one and only one cosmos. Then in 1277 the bishop of Paris declared it heresy to teach that God could not create as many universes as he pleased, unleashing fervent philosophical debate about whether there might exist a "plurality of worlds." As the Middle Ages gave way to the Renaissance, the philosophical debates became more scientific. Rene Descartes declared "the number of the heavens" to be indefinitely large, and as notions of the known universe expanded from our solar system to our galaxy, the debate about its multiplicity was repeatedly recast. In the 1980s, new theories about the big bang reignited interest in the multiverse. Today the controversy continues, as cosmologists and physicists explore the possibility of many big bangs, extra dimensions of space, and a set of branching, parallel universes. This engrossing story offers deep lessons about the nature of science and the quest to understand the universe.

Features Discusses fluid theory illustrated by the investigation of Langmuir sheaths Explores charged particle motion illustrated by the investigation of charged particle trapping in the earth's magnetosphere Examines the MHD and WKB theories

This textbook treats Celestial Mechanics as well as Stellar Dynamics from the common point of view of orbit theory making use of the concepts and techniques from modern geometric mechanics. It starts with elementary Newtonian Mechanics and ends with the dynamics of chaotic motions. The book is meant for students in astronomy and physics alike. Prerequisite is a physicist's knowledge of calculus and differential geometry. Volume 1 begins with classical mechanics and a thorough treatment of the 2-body problem, including regularization, followed by an introduction to the N-body problem with particular attention given to the virial theorem. Then the authors discuss all important non-perturbative aspects of the 3-body problem. A final chapter deals with integrability of Hamilton-Jacobi systems.

The two years previous to 1997 have produced some of the most exciting results in the history of astronomy: the indirect detection of planets beyond our solar system. The study of the characteristics and physical nature of exo-planets requires an infrared interferometer in space. Such observatory would directly detect the thermal emission from exo-planets and would allow us to see signatures of molecules, such as water, ozone and carbon dioxide, in their atmospheres. The presence of such molecules would be strong evidence for exo-life. In addition, this kind of instrument would help to clarify important questions concerning the birth and death of stars and extragalactic astronomy. In Toledo, scientists and engineers from both sides of the Atlantic met to discuss the technological challenges of an infrared space interferometer and its scientific capabilities, particularly those related to exo-planetary systems and Earth-like planets.

The standard cosmological picture of our Universe emerging from a 'big bang' leaves open many fundamental questions which string theory, a unified theory of all forces of nature, should be able to answer. This 2007 text was the first dedicated to string cosmology, and contains a pedagogical introduction to the basic notions of the subject. It describes the possible scenarios suggested by string theory for the primordial evolution of our Universe. It discusses the main phenomenological consequences of these scenarios, stresses their differences from each other, and compares them to the more conventional models of inflation. The book summarises over 15 years of research in this field and introduces advances. It is self-contained, so it can be read by astrophysicists with no knowledge of string theory, and high-energy physicists with little understanding of cosmology. Detailed and explicit derivations of all the results presented provide a deeper appreciation of the subject.

General relativity and quantum mechanics have become the two central pillars of theoretical physics. Moreover, general relativity has important applications in astrophysics and high-energy particle physics. Covering the fundamentals of the subject, Principles of Cosmology and Gravitation describes the universe as revealed by observations and presents a theoretical framework to enable important cosmological formulae to be derived and numerical calculations performed. Avoiding elaborate formal discussions, the book presents a practical approach that focuses on the general theory of relativity. It examines different evolutionary models and the gravitational effects of massive bodies. The book also includes a large number of worked examples and problems, half with solutions.

Magnetic Fields play a key role in the physics of star formation on all scales: from the formation of the large complexes of molecular clouds to the formation of solar-like planetary systems. The plasma physics involved is non-linear and very complex, which requires the development of large numerical codes. An additional difficulty is that the detection and study of magnetic fields is not easy from an observational point of view, and therefore theoretical models cannot easily be constrained.

In the week from April 21st to 25th in 2003, a meeting was held on the Campus of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) to join theoretical and observational efforts to address these issues. The objective was to define a set of relevant problems for the physics of star formation that can be properly addressed with the current or near-future instruments.

This book summarizes the results of this intensive week of work. The book is written in a comprehensive manner and reviews our current knowledge of the subject. It also represents an updated account of the ideas and thoughts of the scientists working in the field of Star Formation. The contributions are presented in six chapters which correspond to the six fundamental issues (sessions) on which the discussion was focused during the workshop: the physics of turbulence in the Interstellar Medium (ISM), the formation of structure in the ISM, the formation of stars within dense cores of molecular gas, the physics of accretion disks, the physics of outflows and their interaction with the ISM, and the interaction between the stellar magnetosphere and accretion disk.

Each chapter starts with a comprehensive summary written by one of the editors, which includes input from the contributions as well as the editor's own thoughts on the subject. For all these reasons the book is well-suited as a primer to introduce graduate students in the richness of this field of research.

In this fascinating foray into the millennia-long relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist and "the world's best science communicator" (Times Literary Supplement) Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions", say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion and access to space. Tyson and Lang call it a "curiously complicit" alliance. "The universe is both the ultimate frontier and the highest of high grounds", they write. "Shared by both space scientists and space warriors, it's a laboratory for one and a battlefield for the other. The explorer wants to understand it; the soldier wants to dominate it. But without the right technology-which is more or less the same technology for both parties-nobody can get to it, operate in it, scrutinise it, dominate it or use it to their advantage and someone else's disadvantage." Spanning early celestial navigation to satellite-enabled warfare, Accessory to War is a richly researched and provocative examination of the intersection of science, technology, industry and power that will introduce Tyson's millions of fans to yet another dimension of how the universe has shaped our lives and our world.

This introduction to the fascinating subject of black holes fills a significant gap in the literature which exists between popular, non-mathematical expositions and advanced textbooks at the research level. It is designed for advanced undergraduates and first year postgraduates as a useful stepping-stone to the advanced literature.The book provides an accessible introduction to the exact solutions of Einstein's vacuum field equations describing spherical and axisymmetric (rotating) black holes. The geometry and physical properties of these spacetimes are explored through the motion of particles and light. The use of different coordinate systems, maximal extensions and Penrose diagrams is explained. The association of the surface area of a black hole with its entropy is discussed and it is shown that with the introduction of quantum mechanics black holes cease to be black and can radiate. This result allows black holes to satisfy the laws of thermodynamics and thus be consistent with the rest of physics.In this new edition the problems in each chapter have been revised and solutions are provided. The text has been expanded to include new material on wormholes and clarify various other issues.

In June of 1996, at the seaside resort of Guaruja, Brazil, a renowned group of researchers in space and astrophysical plasmas met to provide a forum on advanced topics on astrophysical and space plasmas at a school consisting of some 60 students and teachers, mainly from Brazil and Argentina, but also from all the other parts of the globe. The purpose was to provide an update on the latest theories, observations, and simulations of space-astrophysical plasma phenomena. The topics covered included: space plasma mechanisms for particle acceleration, nonthermal emission in cosmic plasma, magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in solar, interstellar, and other cosmic objects, magnetic field line reconnection and merging, the nonlinear and often chaotic structure of astrophysical plasmas, and the advances in high performance supercomputing resources to replicate the observed phenomena. The lectures were presented by Professor Mark Birkinshaw of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of Bristol; Dr Anthony Peratt, Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientific Advisor to the United States Department of Energy; Dr Dieter Biskamp of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching, Germany; Professor Donald Melrose, Director, Centre for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Sydney, Australia; Professor Abraham Chian of the National Institute for Space Research, Brazil; and Professor Nelson Fiedler-Ferrara of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. As summarized by Professor Reuven Opher, Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, University of Sao Paulo, the advanced or interested student of space and astrophysical plasmas will find reference to nearly all modern aspects in the field of Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology in the presented lectures.

Neutron Scattering: Applications in Chemistry, Materials Science and Biology, Volume 49, provides an in-depth overview of the applications of neutron scattering in the fields of physics, materials science, chemistry, biology, the earth sciences, and engineering. The book describes the tremendous advances in instrumental, experimental, and computational techniques over the past quarter-century. Examples include the coming-of-age of neutron reflectivity and spin-echo spectroscopy, the advent of brighter accelerator-based neutron facilities and associated techniques in the United States and Japan over the past decade, and current efforts in Europe to develop long-pulse, ultra-intense spallation neutron sources. It acts as a complement to two earlier volumes in the Experimental Methods in the Physical Science series, Neutron Scattering: Fundamentals(Elsevier 2013) and Neutron Scattering: Magnetic and Quantum Phenomena (Elsevier 2015). As a whole, the set enables researchers to identify aspects of their work where neutron scattering techniques might contribute, conceive the important experiments to be done, assess what is required, write a successful proposal for one of the major facilities around the globe, and perform the experiments under the guidance of the appropriate instrument scientist.

The enlarged new edition of this textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the basic processes in plasmas and demonstrates that the same fundamental concepts describe cold gas-discharge plasmas, space plasmas, and hot fusion plasmas. Starting from particle drifts in magnetic fields, the principles of magnetic confinement fusion are explained and compared with laser fusion. Collective processes are discussed in terms of plasma waves and instabilities. The concepts of plasma description by magnetohydrodynamics, kinetic theory, and particle simulation are stepwise introduced. Space charge effects in sheath regions, double layers and plasma diodes are given the necessary attention. The novel fundamental mechanisms of dusty plasmas are explored and integrated into the framework of conventional plasmas. The book concludes with a concise description of modern plasma discharges. Written by an internationally renowned researcher in experimental plasma physics, the text keeps the mathematical apparatus simple and emphasizes the underlying concepts. The guidelines of plasma physics are illustrated by a host of practical examples, preferentially from plasma diagnostics. There, Langmuir probe methods, laser interferometry, ionospheric sounding, Faraday rotation, and diagnostics of dusty plasmas are discussed. Though primarily addressing students in plasma physics, the book is easily accessible for researchers in neighboring disciplines, such as space science, astrophysics, material science, applied physics, and electrical engineering. This second edition has been thoroughly revised and contains substantially enlarged chapters on plasma diagnostics, dusty plasmas and plasma discharges. Probe techniques have been rearranged into basic theory and a host of practical examples for probe techniques in dc, rf, and space plasmas. New topics in dusty plasmas, such as plasma crystals, Yukawa balls, phase transitions and attractive forces have been adopted. The chapter on plasma discharges now contains a new section on conventional and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering. The recently discovered electrical asymmetry effect in capacitive rf-discharges is described. The text is based on an introductory course to plasma physics and advanced courses in plasma diagnostics, dusty plasmas, and plasma waves, which the author has taught at Kiel University for three decades. The pedagogical approach combines detailed explanations, a large number of illustrative figures, short summaries of the basics at the end of each chapter, and a selection of problems with detailed solutions.

First published in 1996, Science as a Questioning Process evaluates scientific theories through from Darwinian evolution to relativity, and from quantum theory to cosmology. It offers an examination of these theories, in terms of a compromise between resolvable empirical questions, and theoretical questions left unresolved. The book asks questions that deal with both intellectual and public concern about what science tells us, and how reliable it is. Through this novel perspective, the book examines science in the context of everyday culture and the role it plays in everyday life. This book will be of interest to anyone working in the fields of philosophy, sociology and science.