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
By:
Fulvio Melia
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 23mm
Weight: 652g
ISBN: 9780691140292
ISBN 10: 0691140294
Series: Princeton Series in Astrophysics
Pages: 392
Publication Date: 15 February 2009
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface ix Chapter 1: Introduction and Motivation 1 1.1 The Field of High-Energy Astrophysics 1 1.2 Energies, Luminosities, and Timescales 3 1.3 Atmospheric Absorption 8 1.4 Experimental Tools of High-Energy Astrophysics 12 1.5 High-Energy Telescopes 23 Chapter 2: The High-Energy Sky 31 2.1 X-ray Maps Up to 10 keV 32 2.2 The Sky Between 10 keV and 1MeV 34 2.3 Surveys up to 30MeV 36 2.4 The Highest Energy Maps Produced in Earth Orbit 36 Chapter 3: Relativity 39 3.1 Special Relativity 39 3.2 Relativistic Transformation of Physical Laws 48 3.3 General Relativity 51 3.4 Static Spacetimes 56 Chapter 4: Particle Acceleration 67 4.1 Gravity 67 4.2 Electromagnetic Fields 70 4.3 Fermi Acceleration 76 Chapter 5: Radiative Processes 84 5.1 The Radiation Field 84 5.2 Intensity 89 5.3 Thermal Bremsstrahlung 91 5.4 Single-Particle Synchrotron Emissivity 96 5.5 Thermal Synchrotron 107 5.6 Nonthermal Synchrotron 108 5.7 Compton Scattering 111 Chapter 6: Accretion of Plasma 118 6.1 Hydrodynamics 118 6.2 Bondi-Hoyle Accretion 123 6.3 Roche Lobe Geometry in Binaries and Accretion from a Companion Star 130 6.4 Formation of a Disk 134 Chapter 7: Accretion Disk Theory 137 7.1 Viscosity and Radial Disk Structure 137 7.2 Standard Thin-Disk Theory 139 7.3 Accretion Columns 153 7.4 Two-Temperature Thin Disks 158 Chapter 8: Thick Accretion Disks 164 8.1 Thick-Disk Structure 165 8.2 Radiatively Inefficient Flows 169 Chapter 9: Pulsing Sources 182 9.1 Radio Pulsars 182 9.2 X-ray Pulsars 195 9.3 Cataclysmic Variables 199 Chapter 10: Black Holes in Binaries 210 10.1 Early Discovery of Black Holes 211 10.2 The Archetypal HMXB Cygnus X-1 217 10.3 X-ray Novae 223 10.4 QPOs in Black-Hole Binaries 226 Chapter 11: Bursting Stars 233 11.1 X-ray Burst Sources 233 11.2 Gamma-Ray Burst Sources 240 Chapter 12: Supermassive Black Holes 259 12.1 Their Discovery and Identification 259 12.2 Nearby Objects 270 12.3 Supermassive Black Holes in AGNs 285 Chapter 13: The High-Energy Background 303 13.1 Cosmic Rays 303 13.2 Galaxy Clusters 312 13.3 Diffuse Emission 316 Bibliography 327 Index 351
Fulvio Melia is professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Arizona and associate editor of the Astrophysical Journal Letters . His books include The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole (Princeton).
Reviews for High-Energy Astrophysics
"Winner of the 2009 PROSE Award in Cosmology & Astronomy, Association of American Publishers ""The well-written work provides an excellent balance between relevant graduate physics and observational summaries of key high-energy astrophysical phenomena, such as pulsars, black holes, and active galactic nuclei. The explanations are lucid and concise, and the mathematical detail is well suited to the intended audience, primarily graduate students in astrophysics.""--Choice"
- Winner of Association of American Publishers Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Cosmology & Astronomy 2009 (United States)
- Winner of PROSE Awards: Cosmology & Astronomy 2009
- Winner of PROSE Awards: Cosmology & Astronomy 2009.
