Astrophysical Concepts

This classic text - aimed at senior undergraduates and beginning graduate students in physics and astronomy - presents a wide range of concepts in sufficient depth to give the reader a quantitative understanding of the subject. Emphasising physical concepts, it provides the student with a series of astrophysical sketches, concluding with a synthesis of all the subjects discussed in the book, sketching the history of the universe from its beginning to the formation of the sun and the planets.

Now in its 4th edition, this classic text for senior undergraduates and beginning graduate students in physics and astronomy presents a wide range of astrophysical concepts in sufficient depth to give the reader a quantitative understanding of the subject. The book outlines cosmic events, emphasizing physical concepts, but does not portray them in detail. Rather, it provides a series of astrophysical sketches exploring the scope of modern astrophysics and elementary problems concerning the scale of cosmic objects and events, and develops the basic physics needed to answer these questions, using specific astronomical processes as examples. The second half of the book enlarges on these topics and shows how we can obtain quantitative insights into the structure and evolution of stars, the dynamics of cosmic gases, the large-scale behavior of the universe, and the origins of life.

Teaches students to think physically Updated and revised and attempts to emphasize for students how astrophysical equations can best be read in terms of the physical processes they describe, while also recognizing the mathematical basis they reflect

Klappentext

This classic text, aimed at senior undergraduates and beginning graduate students in physics and astronomy, presents a wide range of astrophysical concepts in sufficient depth to give the reader a quantitative understanding of the subject. Emphasizing physical concepts, the book outlines cosmic events but does not portray them in detail: it provides a series of astrophysical sketches. For this fourth edition, nearly every part of the text has been reconsidered and rewritten, new sections have been added to cover recent developments, and others have been extensively revised and brought up to date.

The book begins with an outline of the scope of modern astrophysics and enumerates some of the outstanding problems faced in the field today. The basic physics needed to tackle these questions are developed in the next few chapters using specific astronomical processes as examples. The second half of the book enlarges on these topics and shows how we can obtain quantitative insight into the structure and evolution of stars, the dynamics of cosmic gases, the large-scale behavior of the Universe, and the origins of life.

A major aim of Astrophysical Concepts, 4E is to help the reader gain physical insight. While mathematics provides an essential basis for any quantitative treatment of astrophysics, the book consistently emphasizes the physical meaning of equations and mathematical terms. With this approach, individual astronomical objects (white dwarfs, supernovae, comets, quasars) are mentioned wherever physical processes relevant to them are discussed, rather than in specifically dedicated sections. To balance this approach, an appendix presents a coherent outline of astronomy for students unfamiliar with astronomical terminology, and a comprehensive index provides the means for selectively concentrating on specific phenomena of interest. The extensive bibliography refers interested readers to additional sources that treat individual topics in greater detail.

Inhalt
An Approach to Astrophysics.- The Cosmic Distance Scale.- Dynamics and Masses of Astronomical Bodies.- Random Processes.- Photons and Fast Particles.- Electromagnetic Processes in Space.- Quantum Processes in Astrophysics.- Stars.- Cosmic Gas and Dust.- Formation of Stars and Planetary Systems.- The Universe We Inhabit.- An Astrophysical History of the Universe.- The Formation of Cosmic Structures.- Life in the Universe.