Astrophysical Concepts (eBook)

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 third edition, nearly every part of the text has been reconsidered and rewritten; new sections have been added to cover recent developments, and most of the rest has been revised and brought up to date. The book begins with an outline of the scope of modern astrophysics and the elementary problems concerning the scale of cosmic objects and events. The basic physics needed to answer these questions is developed in the next chapters, using specific astronomical processes as examples. The second half of the book enlarges on the topics introduced at the beginning 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. The emphasis is on astrophysics, so astronomical objects (white dwarfs, supernovae, comets, quasars) are mentioned throughout the text whenever the relevant physics is discussed rather than in individual sections. To compensate, there is an appendix that gives a brief background of astronomical concepts for students unfamiliar with astronomical terminology, as well as a comprehensive index. The extensive bibliography refers to other sources that treat individual topics in detail.

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Thirty-threeyears have passed since the ?rst edition of Astrophysical Concepts - peared. During this time astrophysics has undergone major revolutions. We have gained new perspectives on the Universe with the aid of powerful gamma-ray,- ray, and infrared telescopes, whose sensitivitiescould not have been imagined three decades earlier. We have become expert at snaring neutrinos to gain insight on - clear processes at work in the Sun and supernovae. We have direct evidence for the existence of neutron stars and gravitationalwaves, and persuasive arguments for the detection of black holes on scales of individual stars as well as galactic nuclei. Primordial ?uctuations, remnants from the ?rst moments in the expansion of the Universe have revealed themselves in the faint ripples marking the microwave sky. These ripples also document the ?rst appearance of dark matter now known to have dominatedthe formationand evolutionof all cosmic structure. And dark energy has gradually had to be acknowledged to be the dominant factor driving the expansion of the Universe today.