High-energy astrophysics / Fulvio Melia.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Melia, Fulvio, author.

Series:

Princeton series in astrophysics.

Princeton Series in Astrophysics ; v.14

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nuclear astrophysics.

Astrophysics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (376 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2009]

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

High-energy astrophysics involves the study of exceedingly dynamic and energetic phenomena occurring near the most extreme celestial objects known to exist, such as black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, and supernova remnants. High-Energy Astrophysics provides graduate and advanced undergraduate students with the most complete, self-contained introduction to the subject available. This textbook covers all the essentials, weaving together the latest theory with the experimental techniques, instrumentation, and observational methods astronomers use to study high-energy radiation from space. Fulvio Melia introduces topics at the forefront of today's research, including relativistic particles, energetic radiation, and accretion disk theory. No other textbook offers such a thorough yet concise treatment of the key aspects of high-energy astrophysics--both theoretical and observational--or delves as deeply into modern detection techniques, satellite systems, and analytical and numerical modeling used by theoreticians. Amply illustrated, High-Energy Astrophysics is also ideal for researchers interested in the application of fundamental physical laws to understand how matter and radiation behave in regions of the universe where physical conditions are most extreme.Uniquely weaves together the theoretical and experimental aspects of this important branch of astronomy Features stunning images of the high-energy sky Fully describes the principal classes of high-energy sources, with an in-depth study of many archetypal objects within them Provides an excellent, self-contained resource for the classroom, written by a preeminent researcher and teacher in the field

Contents:

Introduction and motivation. The field of high-energy astrophysics

Energies, luminosities, and timescales

Atmospheric absorption

Experimental tools of high energy astrophysics

High-energy telescopes

The high-energy sky. X-ray maps up to 10 keV

The sky between 10 keV and 1 MeV

Surveys up to 30 MeV

The highest energy maps produced in earth orbit

Relativity. Special relativity

Relativistic transformation of physical laws

General relativity

Static spacetimes

Particle acceleration. Gravity

Electromagnetic fields

Fermi acceleration

Radiative processes. The radiation field

Intensity

Thermal Bremsstrahlung

Single particle synchrotron emissivity

Thermal synchrotron

Nonthermal synchrotron

Compton scattering

Accretion of plasma. Hydrodynamics

Bondi-Hoyle accretion

Roche lobe geometry in binaries and accretion from a companion star

Formation of a disk. Accretion disk theory

Viscosity and radial disk structure

Standard thin disk theory

Accretion columns

Two-temperature thin disks

Thick accretion disks. Thick-disk structure

Radiatively inefficient flows

Pulsing sources. Radio pulsars

X-ray pulsars

Cataclysmic variables

Black holes in binaries. Early discovery of black holes

The archetypal HMXB Cygnus X-1

X-ray Novae

QPOs in black-hole binaries

Bursting stars. X-ray burst sources

Gamma-ray burst sources

Supermassive black holes in AGNs. Their discovery and identification

Nearby objects

Supermassive black holes in AGNs

The high-energy background. Cosmic rays

Galaxy clusters

Diffuse emission.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Melia, Fulvio High-Energy Astrophysics

ISBN:

9781400833375

OCLC:

1287132366