Massive stars end their lives in fiery explosions and are manifest as core collapse supernovae (CCSNe) or gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In rare cases, a highly stripped massive star explodes and exhibits properties of both CCSNe and GRBs. In contrast, there are clear cases in which no bright supernova is found to be associated with a GRB, and vice versa. The quest in understanding supernovae and GRBs, and the connection between them, has raised many questions. Since the elements synthesized in the explosion of massive stars are the building blocks for much of the visible Universe, it is important to understand the life cycle of these massive stars. IAU Symposium 279 brings together international leaders who study CCSNe and GRBs to discuss their environments and hosts, progenitors, and subsequent explosions, as well as multiwavelength observations of these objects and their implications as cosmological probes, particularly in the very early Universe.

In The Infinite Cosmos Joseph Silk takes the reader on a tour of the universe, past, present, and future, showing how the very latest observations and theories are unlocking clues about its origin and structure: X-ray, radio, and high-energy views of space are revealing fossil radiation left over from the big bang and providing us with unprecedented views of the most distant reaches of the universe. Theories from the frontiers of current research seek to explain its structure from the first moments to the present day, and we are beginning to understand its extraordinary nature and possible fate. This is a story involving the visible and the invisible; subatomic particles and unusual forces; long ages of darkness and spectacular and violent events. It tells of supernovae, dark matter, dark energy, curved spacetime, colliding galaxies, and supermassive black holes. Weaving the ideas of poets and writers as well as scientists into the story, from Kant and Keats to Einstein and Lemaitre, Silk explains our present state of knowledge, and how much more there is to understand about our infinite cosmos.

This book discusses the methods used in helio- and asteroseismology for the collection, analysis and interpretation of data. It is the first comprehensive discussion of helioseismic and asteroseismic methodology, collecting techniques from over 300 research papers spread out over decades, with a critical discussion and inter-comparison. It enables the reader to follow the path of inference from the collection of the data at the telescope through to the understanding gained in terms of the modeling of solar and stellar physics and stellar evolution. By focusing on how results are obtained, rather than on the results themselves, this book provides the essential background needed to understand this field, which is rapidly advancing due to the availability of modern observing facilities both on the ground and in space. The material is accessible for advanced undergraduates and post-graduates, and provides an essential resource for researchers in the field.

Black holes are among the most mysterious objects that the human mind has been capable of imagining. As pure mathematical constructions, they are tools for exploiting the fundamental laws of physics. As astronomical sources, they are part of our cosmic landscape, warping space-time, coupled to the large-scale properties and life cycle of their host galaxy, and perhaps even linked to galaxy formation. This volume, which grew from a recent doctoral school sponsored by the Italian Society of Relativity and Gravitation, brings together contributions from leading authorities to provide a review of recent developments in the study of the astrophysical black holes that inhabit nearby galaxies and distant quasars. These lectures reveal the deep symbiotic relationship between black holes and their cosmic environment and show that black holes are key sources for exploring not only our local universe, but also our cosmic dawn. Topics range from the observational evidence for supermassive black holes and the joint evolution of black holes and galaxies to the cold dark matter paradigm of hierarchical galaxy formation and from the cosmic history of the diffuse intergalactic medium to the ecology of black holes in star clusters.

Efforts to uncover the explosion mechanism of core collapse supernovae and to understand all of their associated phenomena have been ongoing for nearly four decades. Despite this, our theoretical understanding of these cosmic events remains limited; two- and three-dimensional modeling of these events is in its infancy. Most of the modeling efforts over the past four decades have, by necessity, been constrained to spherical symmetry, with the first two-dimensional, albeit simplified, models appearing only during the last decade. Simulations to understand the complex interplay between the turbulent stellar core fluid flow, its magnetic fields, the neutrinos produced in and emanating from the proto-neutron star, the stellar core rotation, and the strong gravitational fields have yet to be performed. Only subsets of these fundamental ingredients have been included in the models thus far, often with approximation.The purpose of this volume is to identify the outstanding issues that remain in order to come to a complete understanding of these important astrophysical events. As the book focuses on open issues rather than the current state of the art in the field - although the latter will certainly be discussed - it will remain relevant for some time.

The study of presolar meteoritic grains is a new inter-disciplinary field that brings together topics from nuclear physics to astronomy and chemistry. Traditionally, most of the information about the cosmos has been gathered by observing light through telescopes. However, with the recent discovery that some dust grains extracted from primitive meteorites were produced in stellar environments, we now have the opportunity to gather information about stars and our Galaxy from the laboratory analysis of tiny pieces of stardust. Stellar grains represent a unique and fascinating subject of study. Their analysis is a breakthrough in research on stellar nucleosynthesis and the origin of the elements.While a number of specialized reviews exist on the topic, this book is the first work that brings together in a unified and accessible manner the background knowledge necessary for the study of presolar grains together with up-to-date discoveries in the field.The book includes exercise questions and answers, an extensive glossary for easy reference, and more than 40 figures and tables - from schematic diagrams to electron microscope images and graphs of results from stellar grain measurements and theoretical stellar models.

Whre do stars come from and how do they form? These are profound questions which link the nature of our Universe to the roots of mankind. Yet, until a recent revolution in understanding, the proposed answers have been raw speculation. Now, accompanying penetrating observations, a new picture has come into prominence. This book presents the latest astounding observations and scientific ideas covering star formation, star birth and early development. It encompasses all aspects, from the dramatic stories of individual objects, to the collective influence of entire stellar systems. The very first stars to come into existence and the nurturing of planets are discussed to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview. Presenting background information with only the essential mathematics, this book will appeal to scientists wishing to expand their horizons, students seeking solid foundations, and general readers with enquiring minds.

If standard gravitational theory is correct, then most of the matter in the universe is in an unidentified form which does not emit enough light to have been detected by current instrumentation. This book is the second editon of the lectures given at the 4th Jerusalem Winter School for Theoretical Physics, with new material added. The lectures are devoted to the "missing matter" problem in the universe, the search to understand dark matter. The goal of this volume is to make current research work on unseen matter accessible to students without prior experience in this area and to provide insights for experts in related research fields. Due to the pedagogical nature of the original lectures and the intense discussions between the lecturers and the students, the written lectures included in this volume often contain techniques and explanations not found in more formal journal publications.

In published papers H A Bethe and G E Brown worked out the collapse of large stars and supernova explosions. They went on to evolve binaries of compact stars, finding that in the standard scenario the first formed neutron star always went into a black hole in common envelope evolution. C-H Lee joined them in the study of black hole binaries and gamma ray bursts. They found the black holes to be the fossils of the gamma ray bursts. From their properties they could reconstruct features of the burst and of the accompanying hypernova explosions.

This invaluable book contains 23 papers on astrophysics, chiefly on compact objects, written over 23 years. The papers are accompanied by illuminating commentary. In addition there is an appendix on kaon condensation which the editors believe to be relevant to the equation of state in neutron stars, and to explain why black holes are formed at relatively low masses.

This book presents a series of delightful interviews in which natural objects such as an electron, a black hole, a galaxy, and even the vacuum itself, reveal their innermost secrets - not only what they are but also how they feel. A hydrogen atom tells us about quantum mechanics and why we live in a non-deterministic world; a black hole explains curved space and naked singularities; and a uranium atom talks of its life on a meteor, its tremendous collision with Earth, and properties of radioactivity - all while grappling with its own mortality. A neutron star gives a personal account of its creation and goes on to discuss quasars and other extraordinary astronomical objects, while an iron atom describes its birth in a remote supernova explosion and its series of adventures on Earth, from its early use in wrought iron processes to its time in a human body, and then to its latest misadventures.The book discusses many fundamental issues in physics and, at times, examines the philosophical and moral issues of society. For example, the interview with the quark reveals the nature of color gauge symmetry, which is interwoven with a discussion on truth and beauty, and shows how these concepts play an integral part in physics and nature, while the uranium atom expresses its horror of the development and use of the atomic bomb.

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are bright, distinctive explosions that are effective tools to study the expansion history of the Universe. Given their importance, it is remarkable that we still do not know the exact nature or natures of the astrophysical systems that generate them. IAU Symposium 281 assesses the state of searches for the progenitor systems and describes progress toward the solution of the so-called Type Ia progenitor puzzle. This long-standing problem has proved difficult to solve, because it involves so many areas at the frontiers of astrophysics. Topics covered include: work on new surveys; studies of white dwarfs, accretion binaries, and related phenomena; binary evolution models and different ways to test them; and SNe Ia explosions, light curves and supernova remnants. This volume presents all sides of the ongoing debates, benefiting researchers and graduate students working on Type Ia supernovae, close binary evolution, and binary populations.

Written by selected astronomers at the forefront of their fields, this timely and novel book compiles the latest results from research on white dwarf stars, complementing existing literature by focusing on fascinating new developments in our understanding of the atmospheric and circumstellar environments of these stellar remnants. Complete with a thorough refresher on the observational characteristics and physical basis for white dwarf classification, this is a must-have resource for researchers interested in the late stages of stellar evolution, circumstellar dust and nebulae, and the future of our own Solar System.

This volume is the documentation of the second Course on 'Neutron Stars, Active Galactic Nuclei and Jets', held at Erice in September 1988. This second Course was devoted to our knowledge about neutron-star sources. The poster spoke of: pulsars, accreting X-ray sources and jet englnes, perhaps also UHE pulsars, X­ ra~' bursters and black-hole candidat.es. Neutron stars have even been proposed as the primary cosmic-ray boosters. Most of theil' properties are stil1 controversial, such as their birth mechanism (neutrino versus magnetic piston), internal structure (neutrons, quarks, strange particles), magnetic, thermal and spin histories, wind generation (hydrogen versus pair plasma, radiation versus centrifugal pressure), magnetospheric structure and accretion modes (along field lines versus quasi-Keplerian). The listed controversies have largely survived through the Course and entered into the proceedings. Several lecturers speak of 'magnetic-field decay' in neutron stars, of the 'recycling' of old pulsars, and of 'accretion-induced collapse' of white dwarfs as though such processes were textbook knowledge. Terms and abbreviations like RPSR (=recycled pulsar), spinup line, AIC, and ADC (=accretion disk corona) help to foster the assumptions. It is not clear to me at this time whether any of these notions has an application to reality.

Recent years have witnessed the expansion and multiplication of the observations of star formation and fragmentation accompanied by a consequent growth in the study of the underlying physical processes, the chemistry, the sites, the times, etc. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the formation of stars is likely to share many features with the formation of other self-gravitating objects. The present volume, therefore, discusses the formation of such objects in a systematic and comparative manner.

Since the 1970s symposia or colloquia devoted to recent research on close binaries have been held around the world almost annually. At meetings of the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union this topic has also been discussed in detail at presentations in various commission meetings and also as invited talks by leading astronomers in the field. In recent years, fundamental changes have taken place in the study of close binaries due to the improvements in observational techniques, extension of observations from X-ray to radio regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and advances in theoretical studies. For more than a decade, a group of astronomers at Ege University Observatory has been concentrating on active close binaries with particular emphasis on the behaviour of the light curves of chromospherically active systems. Thus, we decided to organize an international meeting in Western Anatolia, where this part of Turkey had been the cradle for great developments in science during antiquity. KUljadasi, located only minutes away from Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the world, was selected to be the meeting site. Close binary systems constitute a very rich source of information about the physical properties of the component stars. Some systems are eclipsing variables, where periodic recurrences of eclipses are observed as comparatively brief decreases in the total brightness of the binary system. Precise methods of photometric observations make it possible to obtain the light variations of these systems because of eclipses and other phenomena.

The text takes all of the features that have made Arny Explorations a top-selling textbook and applies them under a stars-first approach.

This new edition continues to offer the most complete technology/new media support package available. That technology/new media package includes: 6 NEW Interactives; PowerWeb (web-based research and interactive quizzing - very current); Online Learning Center (that allows instructors to take their course to the web if they choose); and a new CD-ROM that offers new and different text material/animations/links to even further enhance student comprehension.

Every 5 years since 1967 a meeting has been held to discuss the subject of planetary nebulae and their central stars. Previous meetings have been held in Tatranska Lomnica (Czechoslovakia); Liege (Belgium); Ithaca, New York (U. S. A); and London (Great Britain). IAU Symposium 131 was sponsored by IAU Commision 34, on Interstellar Matter and co-sponsored by IAU Commisions 35 and 36 on Stellar Constitution and Theory of Stellar Atmospheres. The symposium was held at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City, October 5-9, 1987. It took place in one of the old buildings of the University of Mexico in the downtown area. The inner patio of the building provided very pleasant surroundings for the poster sessions and for extensive discussions among the participants. The meeting was attended by 160 scientists from 22 countries. The Scientific Organizing Committee,under the chairmanship of J.B. Kaler, prepared a comprehensive scientific program based on a set of invited presentations. All contributed papers were presented in poster form. The Scientific Organizing Committee would like to thank the staff of the University of Illinois Department of Astronomy: Dr. Ron Allen for granting financial support; Carol Stickrod, Louise Browning, Deana Griffin and Sandie Osterbur for their help with the organization. IAU provided economic assistance to a group of young astronomers.

What is the nature and composition of the dust grains responsible for the visual extinction in our Galaxy and in other galaxies beyond? What are the ranges in temperature of dust grains? Can these be less than 2.7K? Can the distribution of cold grains be studied optically at unprecedented arcsecond resolution? How does the presence of dust affect the morphology of a galaxy? Is this new dust-penetrated view bringing us to the verge of a breakthrough in understanding the connection between galaxy morphology and the underlying physics of galaxies? How large are the amounts of cold molecular hydrogen gas and cold dust in galactic disks? These are some of the key issues addressed in this book, which takes the postgraduate reader and professional researcher to the cutting edge of this rapidly developing field. Unique features of the book include fourteen in-depth invited review papers and twenty-six pages of discussion transcribed from a television tape. The contributions reflect the entire proceedings of an intensive one week International Conference on cold dust and galaxy morphology held in Johannesburg, South Africa, during January 1996.

EDWIN TURNER AND RACHEL WEBSTER Co-Chairs, Scientific Organizing Committee lAU Symposium 173, Astrophysical Applications of Gravitational Lenses, was held in Melbourne, Australia from July 9-14, 1995. The Symposium was sponsored by lAU Commissions 47 and 40. With the discovery by Walsh and collaborators of the first instance of a gravitational lens, the multiply imaged quasar 0957+561, the area of grav­ itational lensing moved from speculative theory to a major astrophysical tool. Since that time, there have been regular, approximately biennial in­ ternational meetings both in Europe and in North America, which have specifically focussed on gravitational lensing. On this occasion, with the blessing of the lA U, the meeting was held at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It was the first international astronomical meeting to be held at the University of Melbourne, and hope­ fully has given the astronomical community some enthusiasm for trekking half-way round the globe to Australia to discuss their latest work.

This volume is composed of four major in-depth yet pedagogic review chapters on the subject of star formation, written by the foremost researchers in the field. Recent infrared and millimeter radio observations are respectively reviewed by Charlie Lada and Phil Myers, both of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The theoretical work is reviewed by Frank Shu of UC-Berkeley on the gravitational collapse of dense cores in a giant molecular cloud to form sunlike stars and Bruce Elmegreen of IBM-Watson on the gravitational instability, leading to large-scale star formation. They have written at a level most suitable for graduate students or young researchers who want to develop their research interest in the field, with the most complete literature survey to date. This volume is not an ordinary conference proceedings, but a textbook to be used in graduate study in astrophysics. The volume also includes other short and interesting contributions from Doug Lin of UC-Santa Cruz, Paul Ho of Harvard-Smithsonian, Masa Hayashi of Tokyo University, Debra Elmegreen of Vassar, Jing-Yao Hu of Beijing Observatory, Guo-Xuan Sung of Shanghai Observatory, Chi Yuan of CCNY and ASIAA, and Wen-Ping Chen of Central University, Taiwan.

Observations of distant supernovae have provided startling evidence that the expansion of the Universe may be accelerating, rather than decelerating. If this result is verified by future studies, it has profound implications for cosmology. The reliability of this finding and its implications for both the study of supernovae and cosmology are the subject of this exciting volume. Based on a conference at the University of Chicago, this timely volume, originally published in 2000, presents articles by leading experts on the theory of Type Ia supernovae, observational astronomy, and cosmology. It examines the observational data, the nature of the likely progenitor binary systems, the outburst mechanisms of Type Ia supernovae events, and the cosmological implications. This is a unique and wide-ranging review of one of the most dramatic and controversial results in astronomy in recent decades. It makes fascinating reading for all researchers and graduate students.