High Energy Astrophysics

by Malcolm S. Longair

Overview

Providing students with an in-depth account of the astrophysics of high energy phenomena in the Universe, the third edition of this well-established textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses in high energy astrophysics. Building on the concepts and techniques taught in standard undergraduate courses, this textbook provides the astronomical and astrophysical background for students to explore more advanced topics. Special emphasis is given to the underlying physical principles of high energy astrophysics, helping students understand the essential physics. Now consolidated into a single-volume treatment, the third edition has been completely rewritten. It covers the most recent discoveries in areas such as gamma-ray bursts, ultra-high energy cosmic rays and ultra-high energy gamma rays. The topics have been rearranged and streamlined to make them more applicable to a wide range of different astrophysical problems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521756181
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/03/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	880
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Malcolm S. Longair is Emeritus Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy and Director of Development at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. He has held many senior positions in physics and astronomy, and has served on and chaired many national and international committees, boards and panels, working with both NASA and the European Space Agency. He has received much recognition for his work, including a CBE in the millennium honours list for his services to astronomy and cosmology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Academia Lincei and the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Arte e Literatura.

Table of Contents

Part I. Astronomical Background: 1. High energy astrophysics - an introduction; 2. The stars and stellar evolution; 3. The galaxies; 4. Clusters of galaxies; Part II. Physical Processes: 5. Ionisation losses; 6. Radiation of accelerated charged particles and bremsstrahlung of electrons; 7. The dynamics of charged particles in magnetic fields; 8. Synchrotron radiation; 9. Interactions of high energy photons; 10. Nuclear interactions; 11. Aspects of plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics; Part III. High Energy Astrophysics in our Galaxy: 12. Interstellar gas and magnetic fields; 13. Dead stars; 14. Accretion power in astrophysics; 15. Cosmic rays; 16. The origin of cosmic rays in our galaxy; 17. The acceleration of high energy particles; Part IV. Extragalactic High Energy Astrophysics: 18. Active galaxies; 19. Black holes in the nuclei of galaxies; 20. The vicinity of the black hole; 21. Extragalactic radio sources; 22. Compact extragalactic sources and superluminal motions; 23. Cosmological aspects of high energy astrophysics; Appendix; References; Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The third edition of Malcolm Longair's High Energy Astrophysics is a remarkable gem. It is written in the clear, lucid style that characterizes Professor Longair's monographs and displays an admirable balance between breadth and depth. It is remarkably up to date and covers both high-energy phenomenology and physical processes with authority. It would serve equally well as a textbook for a graduate-level course or a reference work for the practicing astrophysicist: a nicely written and sophisticated appendix on basic astronomy will make it equally useful for readers trained as physicists." - Bradley M. Peterson, Professor and Chair of Astronomy, The Ohio State University

"The remarkable revolution in our understanding of the Universe is covered brilliantly in this authoritative third edition of a classic text by Professor Longair—the prominent Cambridge astrophysicist and one of the subject's most experienced expositors. The text conveys the excitement of the progress being made in both observational and computational astronomy and ably describes the physical processes involved prior to educating the reader on a comprehensive list of frontier research topics ranging from dead stars in our Galaxy, black holes in galactic nuclei to the evolutionary history of galaxies seen at early cosmic times. The new edition is comprehensively illustrated and indexed with up-to-date references and an essential purchase for all physicists and astronomers." - Richard Ellis, Steele Professor of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology

"This is a great book for students and researchers alike. It is up to date and covers the exciting new developments in high energy astrophysics. It will be on my shelf at arm's reach." - Neil Gehrels, Chief, Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC and College Park Professor of Astronomy, University of Maryland

"The book is really a treasure for any student and teacher interested in astrophysics. It is very up to date and synoptically covers the whole field of high-energy astrophysics. I will use the book for my lectures as soon as I can!" - Günther Hasinger, Scientific Director, Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik

Editorial Reviews

"The third edition of Malcolm Longair's High Energy Astrophysics is a remarkable gem. It is written in the clear, lucid style that characterizes Professor Longair's monographs and displays an admirable balance between breadth and depth. It is remarkably up to date and covers both high-energy phenomenology and physical processes with authority. It would serve equally well as a textbook for a graduate-level course or a reference work for the practicing astrophysicist: a nicely written and sophisticated appendix on basic astronomy will make it equally useful for readers trained as physicists."
Bradley M. Peterson, Professor and Chair of Astronomy, The Ohio State University

"The remarkable revolution in our understanding of the Universe is covered brilliantly in this authoritative third edition of a classic text by Professor Longair—the prominent Cambridge astrophysicist and one of the subject's most experienced expositors. The text conveys the excitement of the progress being made in both observational and computational astronomy and ably describes the physical processes involved prior to educating the reader on a comprehensive list of frontier research topics ranging from dead stars in our Galaxy, black holes in galactic nuclei to the evolutionary history of galaxies seen at early cosmic times. The new edition is comprehensively illustrated and indexed with up-to-date references and an essential purchase for all physicists and astronomers."
Richard Ellis, Steele Professor of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology

"This is a great book for students and researchers alike. It is up to date and covers the exciting new developments in high energy astrophysics. It will be on my shelf at arm's reach."
Neil Gehrels, Chief, Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC and College Park Professor of Astronomy, University of Maryland

"The book is really a treasure for any student and teacher interested in astrophysics. It is very up to date and synoptically covers the whole field of high-energy astrophysics. I will use the book for my lectures as soon as I can!"
Günther Hasinger, Scientific Director, Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik

"… a substantial textbook … likely to remain the standard on the subject for many years … comprehensive in its spread of subject matter and methodical in presentation."
Contemporary Physics

From the Publisher