Designed for teaching astrophysics to physics students at advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level, this textbook also provides an overview of astrophysics for astrophysics graduate students, before they delve into more specialized volumes. Assuming background knowledge at the level of a physics major, the textbook develops astrophysics from the basics without requiring any previous study in astronomy or astrophysics. Physical concepts, mathematical derivations and observational data are combined in a balanced way to provide a unified treatment. Topics such as general relativity and plasma physics, which are not usually covered in physics courses but used extensively in astrophysics, are developed from first principles. While the emphasis is on developing the fundamentals thoroughly, recent important discoveries are highlighted at every stage.
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Illustrationen
126 b/w illus. 88 exercises
ISBN-13
978-0-511-80221-8 (9780511802218)
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Autor*in
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Arnab Rai Choudhuri is a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science. One of the world's leading scientists in the field of solar magnetohydrodynamics, he is author of The Physics of Fluids and Plasmas (Cambridge University Press, 1998).
1. Introduction; 2. Interaction of radiation with matter; 3. Stellar astrophysics I: basic theoretical ideas and observational data; 4. Stellar astrophysics II: nucleosynthesis and other advanced topics; 5. End states of stellar collapse; 6. Our galaxy and its interstellar matter; 7. Elements of stellar dynamics; 8. Elements of plasma astrophysics; 9. Extragalactic astronomy; 10. The spacetime dynamics of the Universe; 11. The thermal history of the Universe; 12. Elements of tensors and general relativity; 13. Some applications of general relativity; 14. Relativistic cosmology; Appendixes; References; Index.
