Wolf-Rayet Phenomena in Massive Stars and Starburst Galaxies


Book Description

The nonprofit Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) publishes the Conference Series Proceedings as part of its century-old mission to provide resources for astronomers and advance the science of astronomy. Since 1988, the ASP has published the proceedings of astronomical workshops, meetings, colloquia, and symposia to meet the community's demand for affordable, high-quality volumes on current topics in the rapidly expanding fields of astronomy and astrophysics. Since 1998, the Society has also served as publisher for the International Astronomical Union (IAU), adding their Symposia, Highlights, and Transactions to our growing list of publications. For most rapid delivery of each volume, we encourage libraries and astronomy departments to place a Standing Order for the ASP Conference Series and/or the IAU Publications. Standing Orders are shipped directly from the printer and customers receive volumes at the same discounted rates as ASP members (approximately 25-35 ASP volumes each year and/or 5 IAU Symposia). Please refer to the order form to take advantage of this time-saving offer. We encourage all professionals who are sponsoring conferences, workshops, or colloquia to inquire about publishing these proceedings with the ASP. We provide quality volumes at less than half the price of comparable titles from other major publishers, ensuring that the publication will be available to a wider audience of budget-conscious scientists. Held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 3-7 November 1998.




Massive Stars as Cosmic Engines (IAU S250)


Book Description

Reviews our current understanding of the life, evolution and death of massive stars; for researchers and graduate students.




Starburst Galaxies: Near and Far


Book Description

A major fraction of star formation in the universe occurs in starbursts. These regions of particularly rapid star formation are often located towards the centers of host galaxies. Studies of this kind of star formation at high redshift have produced astonishing results over recent years that were only possible with the latest generation of large ground-based and space telescopes. The papers collected in this volume present these results in the context of the much firmer foundation of star formation in the local universe, and they emphasize all the important topics, from star formation in different environments to the cosmic star formation history.




The Astrophysics of Galactic Cosmic Rays


Book Description

R. DIEHL, R. KALLENBACH, E. PARIZOT and R. VON STEIGER / The Astrophysics of Galactic Cosmic Rays 3 I: KEY OBSERVATIONS ON GALACTIC COSMIC RAYS M. E. WIEDENBECK, N. E. YANASAK, A. c. CUMMINGS, AJ. DAVIS, I. S. GEORGE, R. A. LESKE, R. A. MEWALDT, E. C. STONE, P. L. HINK, M. H. ISRAEL, M. LIJOWSKI, E. R. CHRISTIAN and TT VON ROSENVINGE / The Origin of Primary Cosmic Rays: Constraints from ACE Elemental and Isotopic Composition Observations 15 R. A. MEWALDT, N. E. YANASAK, M. E. WIEDENBECK, AJ. DAVIS, w. R. BINNS, E. R. CHRISTIAN, A. C. CUMMINGS, P. L. HINK, R. A. LESKE, S. M. NIEBUR, E. C. STONE and TT VON ROSENVINGE / Radioactive Clocks and Cosmic-Ray Transport in the Galaxy 27 J. J. CONNELL / Cosmic-Ray Composition as Observed by Ulysses 41 R. RAMATY, R. E. LINGENFELTER and B. KOZLOVSKY / Spallogenic Light Elements and Cosmic-Ray Origin 51 E. PARIZOT / Galactic Cosmic Rays and the Light Elements 61 G. MEYNET, M. ARNOULD, G. PAULUS and A. MAEDER / Wolf-Rayet Star Nucleosynthesis and the Isotopic Composition of the Galactic Cosmic Rays 73 S. P. SWORDY / The Energy Spectra and Anisotropies of Cosmic Rays 85 G. TARLE and M. SCHUBNELL / Antiparticles 95 D. MULLER / Cosmic Rays Beyond the Knee 105 II: LESSONS FROM THE HELIOSPHERE G. M. MASON / Heliospheric Lessons for Galactic Cosmic-Ray Acceleration 119 R. A.




Massive Stars in Starbursts


Book Description

This book reviews the importance of massive stars in several areas of astrophysics. Massive stars are objects that are 10-100 times the mass of our Sun. Above ten solar masses, loss through stellar winds begins to have a major impact on the evolution of a star. The upper limit of 100 solar masses is derived from observations. Significant progress has now been achieved in massive star research. New models, along with high quality observations, have improved our understanding of the formation, structure, atmosphere, and evolution of these massive objects. They are formed in violent bursts of star formation and are probably related to the phenomena observed in active galactic nuclei. The workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute examined the interplay between the astrophysics of massive stars and their location in extragalactic starburst regions. There are eighteen chapters by leading researchers. Each has been carefully edited to ensure that the book is a comprehensive introduction to the theory and observation of massive stars in starburst regions.




Stellar Astrophysics


Book Description

The Pacific Rim Conference originally started with one research concentration only - binary star research. The first Conference was held in Beijing, China, 1985, the second one in Seoul and Taejon, South Korea, 1990 and the third one in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1995. In recent years, the conference series evolved into a much broader area of stellar astrophysics. The first such conference was held in Hong Kong in 1997. Kwong-Sang Cheng, a. k. a. one of the three Musketeers, documented the "accidental" development in writing in the Proceedings of the 1997 Pacific Rim Conference on Stellar Astrophysics (Volume 138 of the ASP Conference Series)! The meeting at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology covered three major topics: binary stars, compact stars and solar type stars. The conference was extremely successful. There was a general feeling among the participants that the conference on stellar astrophysics provided a good means to share ideas between such closely related disciplines. Unfortunately after the very successful meeting at HKST, Kwing L. Chan (another Musketeer) thought that he had already served and would not like to chair for another LOC for at least five years! After a few drinks at one of the watering holes in Wan Chai district of Hong Kong, Kwong-Sang Cheng was in very hiRh spirit and volunteered to taking on the responsibility of hosting the 51 Pacific Rim Conference at Hong Kong University in 1999.




New Quests in Stellar Astrophysics: The Link Between Stars and Cosmology


Book Description

Stellar astrophysics still provides the basic framework for deciphering the imprints left over by the evolving universe on all scales. Advances or shortcomings in the former field have direct consequences in our ability to understand the global properties of the latter. This volume contains the most recent updates on a variety of topics that, though independent by themselves, are inevitably connected on a cosmological scale. These include comprehensive articles by leaders in fields extending from stellar atmospheres through properties of the stellar component in the Milky Way up to the stellar environment in high redshift galaxies. The wide coverage of astrophysical themes makes this volume very valuable for researchers and Ph.D. students in astrophysics.




From Luminous Hot Stars to Starburst Galaxies


Book Description

Luminous hot stars represent the extreme upper mass end of normal stellar evolution. Before exploding as supernovae, they live out their lives of a few million years with prodigious outputs of radiation and stellar winds, dramatically affecting both their evolution and environments. A detailed introduction to the topic, this book connects the astrophysics of massive stars with the extremes of galaxy evolution represented by starburst phenomena. A thorough discussion of the physical and wind parameters of massive stars is presented. HII galaxies, their connection to starburst galaxies, and the contribution of starburst phenomena to galaxy evolution through superwinds, are explored. The book concludes with the wider cosmological implications, including Population III stars, Lyman break galaxies and gamma-ray bursts, for each of which massive stars are believed to play a crucial role. This book is ideal for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics interested in luminous hot stars and galaxy evolution.




Advanced Lectures on the Starburst-AGN Connection


Book Description

A group of leading experts in the field of starbursts and active galactic nuclei have joined hands to produce this review volume which covers the starburst-AGN connection, and the tests to be carried out with the upcoming new astronomical facilities to ascertain the relevance of both components to the formation and evolution of galaxies.The book is addressed to advanced graduate students and researchers in the fields of active galactic nuclei and young galaxies.




Black Holes in Binaries and Galactic Nuclei: Diagnostics, Demography and Formation


Book Description

The observational evidence for the existence of black holes has grown significantly over recent decades. Stellar-mass black holes are detected as X-ray sources in binary systems, while supermassive black holes, with masses more than a million times the mass of the Sun, lurk in the nuclei of galaxies. These proceedings provide a useful and up-to-date overview of the observations of black holes in binaries, in the center of the Milky Way, and in the nuclei of galaxies, presented by leading expert astronomers. Special attention is given to the formation (including the recent evidence from gamma-ray bursts), physical properties, and demographics of black holes.