The universe is the largest system of all. It consists of elementary particles bound together by gravitational, electromagnetic and nuclear forces. Its structural hierar chy in space (from atomic nuclei to supergalaxies) and its evolutionary sequence (from the fireball to the diversity of present forms) is governed by the properties of elementary particles and their interactions. This book is an attempt to interpret the structure and evolution of the universe in terms of elementary particles and of their interactions. This book is intended to present a background for students in astronomy and related sciences, such as geophysics, meteorology, plasma physics, chemistry, nuc lear physics, space sciences and some others. The universe forms a general framework fo: all the phenomena studied by these sciences. It was possible to squeeze an extensive range of topics from various disciplines into one book of acceptable size only under some severe limitations: (a) no references are given; (b) arguments are shortcut; (c) quantities are often expressed in the order of magnitude; and (d) formulae have been limited to a minimum. Often more hypo theses or theories exist for a phenomenon. We have chosen only one. The preference for a theory or hypothesis may be personal and the theory itself may later prove incorrect. But, many theories about a particular phenomenon would cover many pages and might lead to confusing effects."

This book contains the proceedings of a workshop held in Schloss Ringberg to assess developments in molecular cloud research over the last 25 years, and to discuss trends for future research in the field of molecular line astronomy. The topics include the morphology, formation, and lifetimes of molecular clouds, and their relation to star formation. Also, the chemical and isotopic content of these clouds is reviewed, and comparisons with molecular clouds in external galaxies are made. This rather complete survey of this important field of research addresses researchers in astronomy and students alike."

In this volume seven leading theoreticians and experimenters review the origin of the asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the Big Bang, solar neutrinos, the physics of enormous densities and temperatures in stars and of immense magnetic fields around collapsed stars, strong electric fields in heavy ion collisions, and the extreme conditions in quark-gluon plasmas. The articles address nuclear and particle physicists, especially graduate students, but also astrophysicists and cosmologists, since they have to deal with events under the extreme physical conditions discussed here.

The articles collected in this volume cover topics ranging from Planck-scale physics to galaxy clustering. They deal with various new ideas from cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics that might lead to a better understanding of our physical universe. Among the topics covered are inflationary models, nucleosynthesis, dark matter, large-scale clustering, cosmic microwave background radiations and more. The book addresses researchers but it also gives a good overview of the subject for graduate students in astrophysics and particle physics.

Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit, The sky is, up above the roof, Si bleu, si calme So blue, so calm Un arbre, par-dessus Je toit, A tree there, up above the roof, Berce sa palme. Waves leaves of palm. La cloche, dans le ciel qu'on voit, A church bell, in the sky I see, Doucement tinte. Softly tolls. Un oiseau, sur l'arbre qu'on voit, A bird, upon the tree I see, Chante sa plainte. Sadly calls. PAUL VERLAINE Like Verlaine, we are in prison. The prison is our Earth, "which is so pretty"; our atmosphere and its clouds, its "marvellous clouds." (You would think that Verlaine, Prevert and Baudelaire had been comparing notes ) The sky is up above the roof... A tree there, up above the roof... Stars in the sky, like birds ... their rays, like bells (and here we are with Apollinaire ) What we see opens the way to what we guess at; what we observe Ieads us towards the unobservable. A poem releases images, and the invisible grows big with reality. Astronomcrs are a little like poets (indirectly from the Greek 7tostco, make): they make the universe by interpreting messages, extrapolating spectra, and inventing 'models' of the cosmos or of stars - fictional constructions whose observable part constitutes only a small fraction of the whole, and which only the inductive logic of the theoretician allows us to consider as representing unique physical reality.

Recent advances in observational and theoretical efforts in understanding the nature of cataclysmic variables had reached such maturity that there existed a strong, shared feeling among the workers in this field that an international colloquium sponsored by the International Astronomical Union would be timely. To be more specific, this was due primarily to the accumulation of the new data from satellite observatories, such as the International Ultraviolet Observatory (IUE) and EXOSAT, as well as ground-based optical and radio telescopes, and the advances in modeling the putative accretion disks and the thermo-nuclear run-away phenomena in the vinicity of the white dwarf stars in cataclysmic variables. A series of workshops on this subject held in North America over the past several years and that held in Europe in 1985 had all contributed to the advances in our knowledge that led to IAU Colloguium No. 93, held in Bamberg from the 16th to 19th of June 1986. In all, 157 astronomers from 27 countries participated in this conference. Judging from the papers presented, both invited and contributed, and from the enthusiasm seen in discussions, the meeting was indeed a success.

Space exploration and advanced astronomy have dramatically expanded our knowledge of outer space and made it possible to study the indepth mechanisms underlying various natural phenomena caused by complex interaction of physical-chemical and dynamical processes in the universe. Huge breakthroughs in astrophysics and the planetary s- ences have led to increasingly complicated models of such media as giant molecular clouds giving birth to stars, protoplanetary accretion disks associated with the solar system's formation, planetary atmospheres and circumplanetary space. The creation of these models was promoted by the development of basic approaches in modern - chanics and physics paralleled by the great advancement in the computer sciences. As a result, numerous multidimensional non-stationary problems involving the analysis of evolutionary processes can be investigated using wide-range numerical experiments. Turbulence belongs to the most widespread and, at the same time, the most complicated natural phenomena, related to the origin and development of organized structures (- dies of different scale) at a definite flow regime of fluids in essentially non-linear - drodynamic systems. This is also one of the most complex and intriguing sections of the mechanics of fluids. The direct numerical modeling of turbulent flows encounters large mathematical difficulties, while the development of a general turbulence theory is hardly possible because of the complexity of interacting coherent structures. Three-dimensional non-steady motions arise in such a system under loss of la- nar flow stability defined by the critical value of the Reynolds number.

A detailed study of the science, engineering and applications of terahertz technology, based on room-temperature solid-state devices, which are seen as the key technology for wider applications in this frequency range. The relative merits of electronic and optical devices are discussed and new device principles identified. Issues of terahertz circuit design, implementation and measurement are complemented by chapters on current and future applications in communications, sensing and remote surveillance. Audience: The unique coverage of all aspects of terahertz technology will appeal to both new and established workers in the field, as well as providing a survey for the interested reader.

This book was conceived to commemorate the continuing success of the guest observer program for the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite observatory. It is also hoped that this volume will serve as a useful tutorial for those pursuing research in related fields with future space observatories. As the IUE has been the product of the three-way collaboration between the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA) and the British Engineering and Research Council (SERC), so is this book the fruit of the collaboration of the American and European participants in the IUE. As such, it is a testimony to timely international cooperation and sharing of resources that open up new possibilities. The IUE spacecraft was launched on the 26th of January in 1978 into a geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean. The scientific operations of the IUE are performed for 16 hours a day from Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S.A, and for 8 hours a day from ESA Villafranca Satellite Tracking Station near Madrid, Spain.

IAU Symposium 269 celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's discovery of the Medicean Moons, Jupiter's four largest satellites, exploring the impact his findings have had on science and the humanities. Galileo's instrumental discovery and his belief that the planets and moons in our Solar System could be habitable worlds encouraged a deeper understanding of our place in the Universe. Today, ongoing space missions to Jupiter's moons, our own Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Enceladus, reveal our continued fascination with the possibilities of alien life, but this time with a focus on potential host sites for primitive life forms. These critical reviews examine our present knowledge of the Jupiter system, and consider how future space missions and improvements in telescopes will bolster the contemporary vision of our Solar System, of the many known extrasolar planetary systems, and of life forms beyond the Solar System.

This book guides readers (astronomers, physicists, and university students) through central questions of Practical Cosmology, a term used by the late Allan Sandage to denote the modern scientific endeavor to find the cosmological model best describing the universe of galaxies, its geometry, size, age, and matter composition. The authors draw on their personal experience in astrophysics and cosmology to explain key concepts of cosmology, both observational and theoretical, and to highlight several items which give cosmology its special character. These highlighted items are: Ideosyncratic features of the cosmic laboratory, Malmquist bias in the determination of cosmic distances, Theory of gravitation as a cornerstone of cosmological models, Crucial tests for checking the reality of space expansion, Methods of analyzing the structures of the universe as mapped by galaxies, Usefulness of fractals as a model to describe the large-scale structure and new cosmological physics inherent in the Friedmann world model."

This volume contains the results of research and development connected with the creation oftelescopes intended for the new regions of the spectrum mastered by astronomy: the x-ray, submillimeter (far infrared), and radio regions. The creation of x-ray, submillimeter, and radio telescopes and the receiver apparatus connected with them is a complicated and, in many respects, unusual problem. Therefore, the experience accumulated at the Institute of Physics can prove useful to specialists working in this field, This volume is intended for scientists, engineers, and builders occupied in research and development in the fields of x-ray, submillimeter, and radio astronomy as well as for students of advanced courses in these specialties, V CONTENTS A Reflecting X-Ray Telescope for an Orbital Astrophysical Station. * * * * * * * * * 1 I. L, Beigman. L. A. Vainshtein, Yu. P. Voinov, D. A. Goganov, N. I. Komyak, S. L. Mandel'shtam, I. P, Tindo, N, A, Shatskii, and A. I. Shurygin Mirror Systems for X-Ray Telescopes. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 13 I. L. Beigman, L, A. Vainshtein, Yu. P. Voinov, and V. P, Shevel'ko Extra-Atmospheric studies in the Submillimeter Range Using On-Board Telescopes . . * . . * * * * * . . . * . . . * . * . . . * . . * . * * . . . * * . . . * . . * * . 35 A. E. Salomonovich and A. s.

This book begins with a very readable survey "The Sun Today" by J.-C. Pecker. It is followed by thorough reviews from leading experts covering theory and observations. The focus shifts from the solar core, studied via neutrino emissions and helioseismology, through the interface regions where it is believed the large-scale magnetic fields are generated, to the corona, where most of the high temperature phenomena characteristic of this region may be studied directly. As energetic particles play such a vigorous role in this part of the sun, a separate session was devoted to their transport and storage in the corona.

This collection of articles emerged from the Nobel Symposium 98 that celebrated the centenary of the Nobel Prize as well as the one of the famous Swedish astronomer Bertil Lindblad. Many outstanding scientists contributed to this unique review of the state of the art in barred galaxy research. Theoretical papers describe their evolution, the dynamics as well as fundamental physical effects near their nuclei. Other contributions cover numerical and observational aspects and thus represent a very active area in astrophysics. The centre of our galaxy was also amply dealt with. The collection addresses researchers as well as graduate students.

This book addresses graduate students in astronomy and astrophysics. The first part is devoted to galactic high-energy astrophysics. It treats particle accelerations (including shocks), the interstellar medium and supernovae remnants, high-energy emissions from normal stars and accretion in close binaries. The second part deals with observationslike pulsar timing, and its measurement with radioastronomical tools, and astrometry, as performed in the HIPPARCOS satellite program.

The recent discovery of a type II supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud provides a rare chance to compare models of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis directly with observations. This workshop covers thermonuclear reaction rates in chaos (experimental and theoretical), stellar evolution, nucleosynthesis and isotopic anomalies in meteorites and, in a final section, the supernovae, in particular SN 1987A. It brings the most interesting news in the rapidly developing field of nuclear astrophysics to researchers and also to graduate students. Recent and future developments are discussed. Special emphasis is placed on experimental and theoretical approaches to obtaining nuclear reaction rates, models of stellar evolution and explosions, and theories of nucleosynthesis. Various aspects of stellar evolution, nucleosynthesis, and thermonuclear reactions of astrophysical interest are reviewed. Several contributions deal with supernova explosions of massive stars, and in particular with Supernova 1987A and its impact on current models of the evolution of massive stars, the gravitational collapse of stellar cores, and neutrino physics and astronomy.

The volume consists of up-to-date reviews and a selection of contributed papers on subjects including the structure and physical properties of molecular clouds, their role in the star formation process, their dust and chemical properties, molecular cloud surveys of the Milky Way, cloud evolution, problems in cloud mass determinations (a panel discussion and review), the CO properties of external galaxies, nuclei of galaxies as revealed by molecular observations, and galactic spiral structure as reflected by molecular cloud distributions. The abstracts of poster papers on these topics presented at the conference are also included. This book is both a valuable reference and a compendium of current knowledge in this field. It should be of special interest to all students and researchers who work on the physics of star formation, the interstellar medium, molecular clouds and galactic structure.

Advances in the dynamics of stellar systems have been made recently by applying mathematical methods of ergodic theory and chaotic dynamics, by numerous computer simulations, and by observations with the most powerful telescopes. This has led to a considerable change of our view on stellar systems. These systems appear much more chaotic than was previously thought and subject to various instabilities leading to new paths of evolution than previously thought. The implications are fundamental for our views on the evolution of the galaxies and the universe. Such questions are addressed in this book, especially in the 8 review papers by leading experts on various aspects of the N-body problem, explaining at the graduate/postgraduate level the concepts, methods, techniques and results.

Meant as a review for students of astrophysics and particle physics, this book contains a selection of survey articles and seminar reports on "high energy cosmology." Included are contributions on topics ranging from classical cosmology, large scale structure, and primordial nucleosynthesis to quantum cosmology, covering both the theoretical aspects and the most important observations.

It has always been ESO's aim to operate the VLT in an interferometric mode (VLTI) which allows the coherent combination of stellar light beams col lected by the four 8-m telescopes and by several smaller auxiliary telescopes. In December 1993, in response to financial difficulties, the ESO Council de cided to postpone implement at ion of the VLTI, Coude trains and associated adaptive optics for all the UTs but included provisions for continuing tech nological and development programmes devoted to the aim of reintroducing these capabilities at the earliest possible date. The desirability of carrying out the full VLTI programme as originally envisaged at the earliest possible moment has not, however, diminished, es pecially in view of VLTI's exceptional capabilities and resulting potential for new and exciting discoveries. In recent years, interferometric projects have begun to playa central role in ground-based high-resolution astronomy, and numerous instruments have been completed or are in the process of construc tion. Several large-aperture interferometers will probably co me on-line near the turn of the century. The impending presence of these new instruments represents an important incentive both for clarifying the scientific cases for various VLTI implementation plans and for ensuring VLTI's competitiveness in the international context over the next 1O 20 years."

The book contains the notes of the lectures presented by outstanding experts at the 7th EADN School on plasma astrophysics. It is an up-to-date review of a number of basic topics in the physics of cosmic plasmas. The subject is treated both from a theoretical point of view and from that of the observational and diagnostic tools that provide us with the physically relevant data. The reader will have at hands a comprehensive and rather complete presentation of the subject, thanks also to the parallel development of the theoretical and experimental aspects. The book addresses graduate students and researchers in different areas who want to have a rapid and up-to-date introduction to this subject.