An alien scientist asks to join Captain Kathryn Janeway and her crew in the investigation of an unprecedented scientific find. Soon U.S.S. Voyager® is embroiled in a battle of wills among several alien races -- each intent on manipulating the discovery toward its own end and decimating whole worlds in the process. Janeway must stop a quest for knowledge from turning into a plot for destruction!
Neutron stars, the ultra-dense remnants of exploded stellar giants, are among the most fascinating objects in the cosmos. Katia Moskvitch introduces readers to their astonishing qualities and follows the scientists who are discovering what neutron stars can tell us about the mysteries of dark matter, black holes, and general relativity.
Every atom of our bodies has been part of a star. Our very own star, the Sun, is crucial to the development and sustainability of life on Earth. This Very Short Introduction presents a modern, authoritative examination of how stars live, producing all the chemical elements beyond helium, and how they die, sometimes spectacularly, to end as remnants such as black holes. Andrew King shows how understanding the stars is key to understanding the galaxies they inhabit, and thus the history of our entire Universe, as well as the existence of planets like our own. King presents a fascinating exploration of the science of stars, from the mechanisms that allow stars to form and the processes that allow them to shine, as well as the results of their inevitable death. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
This self-contained textbook brings together many different branches of physics--e.g. nuclear physics, solid state physics, particle physics, hydrodynamics, relativity--to analyze compact objects. The latest astronomical data is assessed. Over 250 exercises.
When an alien scientist points Captain Janeway in the direction of an unprecedented discovery that may hold the key to Voyager's journey home, Janeway agrees to let him accompany her crew on their investigation. Soon Voyager is embroiled in a dispute between several alien races - each intent on manipulating this scientific phenomenon towards their own ends and possibly destroying whole worlds in the process. Janeway must prevent what began as a quest for knowledge from turning into a plan for destruction.
In published papers H A Bethe and G E Brown worked out the collapse of large stars and supernova explosions. They went on to evolve binaries of compact stars, finding that in the standard scenario the first formed neutron star always went into a black hole in common envelope evolution. C-H Lee joined them in the study of black hole binaries and gamma ray bursts. They found the black holes to be the fossils of the gamma ray bursts. From their properties they could reconstruct features of the burst and of the accompanying hypernova explosions. This invaluable book contains 23 papers on astrophysics, chiefly on compact objects, written over 23 years. The papers are accompanied by illuminating commentary. In addition there is an appendix on kaon condensation which the editors believe to be relevant to the equation of state in neutron stars, and to explain why black holes are formed at relatively low masses.
The masses of neutron stars are limited by an instability to gravitational collapse and an instability driven by gravitational waves limits their spin. Their oscillations are relevant to x-ray observations of accreting binaries and to gravitational wave observations of neutron stars formed during the coalescence of double neutron-star systems. This volume includes more than forty years of research to provide graduate students and researchers in astrophysics, gravitational physics and astronomy with the first self-contained treatment of the structure, stability and oscillations of rotating neutron stars. This monograph treats the equations of stellar equilibrium; key approximations, including slow rotation and perturbations of spherical and rotating stars; stability theory and its applications, from convective stability to the r-mode instability; and numerical methods for computing equilibrium configurations and the nonlinear evolution of their oscillations. The presentation of fundamental equations, results and applications is accessible to readers who do not need the detailed derivations.
Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. Based on a broad and comprehensive survey of scientific opportunities, infrastructure, and organization in a national and international context, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics outlines a plan for ground- and space- based astronomy and astrophysics for the decade of the 2010's. Realizing these scientific opportunities is contingent upon maintaining and strengthening the foundations of the research enterprise including technological development, theory, computation and data handling, laboratory experiments, and human resources. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics proposes enhancing innovative but moderate-cost programs in space and on the ground that will enable the community to respond rapidly and flexibly to new scientific discoveries. The book recommends beginning construction on survey telescopes in space and on the ground to investigate the nature of dark energy, as well as the next generation of large ground-based giant optical telescopes and a new class of space-based gravitational observatory to observe the merging of distant black holes and precisely test theories of gravity. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics recommends a balanced and executable program that will support research surrounding the most profound questions about the cosmos. The discoveries ahead will facilitate the search for habitable planets, shed light on dark energy and dark matter, and aid our understanding of the history of the universe and how the earliest stars and galaxies formed. The book is a useful resource for agencies supporting the field of astronomy and astrophysics, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over those agencies, the scientific community, and the public.
