IAU Symposium 259 presents the first interdisciplinary, comprehensive review of the role of cosmic magnetic fields, involving astronomers and physicists from across the community. Offering both theoretical and observational topics ranging from Earth's habitability to the origin of the universe, this is an invaluable summary for researchers and graduate students.
The Transactions XXVIIA Reports on Astronomy 2006-2009 provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of what has been achieved in astronomy during the years 2006 to 2009. These insightful and up-to-date reviews have been written by the presidents and chairpersons of the IAU scientific bodies: the Divisions, the Commissions, and the Working Groups. Topics covered in this wide-ranging volume include: fundamental astronomy; the Sun and heliosphere; planetary sciences; stars; variable stars; interstellar matter; the Galactic system; galaxies and the Universe; optical and infrared techniques; radio astronomy; space and high-energy astrophysics; and other IAU activities. The reviews have been written at a level suitable for colleagues in the same fields, but will also be useful for students and researchers wishing to gain an overview of astronomical fields beyond their own research area.
Recent observational results from space- and ground-based telescopes have demonstrated that a unified approach to the relationships between solar and stellar magnetism is necessary to advance our understanding of magnetic fields. The Proceedings of IAU Symposium 354 present recent results and discussions of emerging topics, including: magnetic field diagnostics using high-resolution observation; initial data from ALMA, Chinese Radio Spectroheliograph and other instruments; the detection of stellar magnetospheres; and the detailed mapping of magnetic fields on the surface of stars using new unique instrumentation. These observations stimulate comparisons of solar and stellar results, and improve our understanding of how surface magnetic structures and their evolution are related to the generation of magnetic fields by dynamos in solar and stellar interiors. This volume benefits graduate students and researchers interested in the recent advances and key problems of solar and stellar magnetic fields, and their impacts on planetary atmospheres.
Magnetic fields are responsible for much of the variability and structuring in the universe, but only on the Sun can the basic magnetic field related processes be explored in detail. While several excellent textbooks have established a diagnostic foundation for exploring the physics of unmagnetized stellar atmospheres through spectral analysis, no corresponding treatise for magnetized stellar atmospheres has been available. The present monograph fills this gap. The theoretical foundation for the diagnostics of stellar magnetism is developed from first principles in a comprehensive way, both within the frameworks of classical physics and quantum field theory, together with a presentation of the various solar applications. This textbook can serve as an introduction to solar and stellar magnetism for astronomers and physicists at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level and will also become a resource book for more senior scientists with a general interest in cosmic magnetic fields.
This self-contained introduction to astrophysical magnetic fields provides a comprehensive review of the current state of the field and a critical discussion of the latest research. Its emphasis on results that are likely to form the basis for future progress benefits a broad audience of advanced students and active researchers.
Stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB stars) play an important role due to their high luminosity and production of heavy elements and cosmic dust. They are prime laboratories for studying situations where different physical and chemical processes work simultaneously, on different time scales. IAU Symposium 343 builds a bridge between research on AGB stars themselves and their applications to the modelling of stellar populations and the chemical evolution of galaxies. Our understanding of these complex stars is given using insights into many aspects of physics and chemistry, while very high-angular resolution observations of AGB stars and their surroundings provide strong constraints on stellar theory and how they lose matter through strong stellar winds. This volume also highlights the difficulties in estimating the importance of AGB stars for various aspects of galaxies. Current developments and challenges of these complex objects are discussed for a broad, interdisciplinary audience of astronomers.
