Maurizio Falanga - Böcker

Provides a comprehensive summary on the physical models and current theory of black hole accretion, growth and mergers, in both the supermassive and stellar-mass cases.This title reviews in-depth research on accretion on all scales, from galactic binaries to intermediate mass and supermassive black holes. Possible future directions of accretion are also discussed. The following main themes are covered: a historical perspective; physical models of accretion onto black holes of all masses; black hole fundamental parameters; and accretion, jets and outflows. An overview and outlook on the topic is also presented. This volume summarizes the status of the study of astrophysical black hole research and is aimed at astrophysicists and graduate students working in this field. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Vol 183/1-4, 2014.

This volume extends the ISSI series on magnetic fields in the Universe into the domain of what are by far the strongest fields in the Universe, and stronger than any field that could be produced on Earth. The chapters describe the magnetic fields in non-degenerate strongly magnetized stars, in degenerate stars (such as white dwarfs and neutron stars), exotic members called magnetars, and in their environments, as well as magnetic fields in the environments of black holes. These strong fields have a profound effect on the behavior of matter, visible in particular in highly variable processes like radiation in all known wavelengths, including Gamma-Ray bursts. The generation and structure of such strong magnetic fields and effects on the environment are also described.

Provides a comprehensive summary on the physical models and current theory of black hole accretion, growth and mergers, in both the supermassive and stellar-mass cases.This title reviews in-depth research on accretion on all scales, from galactic binaries to intermediate mass and supermassive black holes. Possible future directions of accretion are also discussed. The following main themes are covered: a historical perspective; physical models of accretion onto black holes of all masses; black hole fundamental parameters; and accretion, jets and outflows. An overview and outlook on the topic is also presented. This volume summarizes the status of the study of astrophysical black hole research and is aimed at astrophysicists and graduate students working in this field. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Vol 183/1-4, 2014.

This volume extends the ISSI series on magnetic fields in the Universe into the domain of what are by far the strongest fields in the Universe, and stronger than any field that could be produced on Earth.

This topical volume reviews a comprehensive set of problems raised by the use of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) as cosmological probes, as they were addressed and debated during the ISSI-Beijing workshop “Gamma Ray Bursts: A Tool to Explore the Young Universe," which took place from April 13 to 17, 2015, in Beijing.The invited authors represent both the GRB community stricto sensu and the community studying high-redshift galaxies and star formation history. The chapters of the book elucidate the connection between GRBs and the deep universe, stimulating thoughts on how to develop worldwide synergies between high-redshift GRB studies and surveys of the deep universe.Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 202, Issue 1-4, December 2016

Relativistic objects in astrophysics present a diverse set of phenomena and cover vast ranges of time scales and spatial scales, but their descriptions rely on a similar backbone: production of a relativistic outflow in a central compact object and dissipation of the outflow at large radii, accompanied by acceleration of particles up to very high energies and production of secondary non-thermal electromagnetic radiation. This book provides a timely and comprehensive review of the main physical processes involved in the formation and dissipation of relativistic outflows. It will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science​. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 207, Issue 1-4, July 2017

This volume discusses the evolutionary paths linking planets and their atmospheres to their origin within circumstellar disks. It reviews the main phases of this evolution, summarizes what we understand and what are the important open questions, and suggests ways towards solutions. Dust accretion within disks generates planet cores, while gas accretion on these cores leads to the diversity of their fluid envelopes. The formation of planetary proto-atmospheres and oceans is an essential product of planet formation. A fraction of the planets retain their primary proto-atmosphere, while others lose it and may form a “secondary” atmosphere. When the disk finally dissipates, it leaves us with the combination of a planetary system and a debris disk. Using the next generation of observing facilities, we will be able to reconstruct more accurately the evolutionary paths linking stellar genesis to the possible emergence of habitable worlds.Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 205, Issue 1-4, December 2016

From early Chinese astronomy to the most recent high precision, multi-wavelength observations, supernovae have been actively examined for centuries. In recent years, this intense study has yielded great insight into the physics of supernovae and their impact on a wide variety of subjects, from cosmology to astrobiology. The unprecedented growth of observational information, the ever increasing computational power for modeling, and the deep multidisciplinary connections of supernovae to stellar physics, galactic evolution, astrochemistry, and cosmic ray origin motivated the publication of this contributed volume. The book provides insights on current progress in the field and presents open-ended questions for future supernova studies.Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Supernovae"

Knowing the distance of an astrophysical object is key to understanding its formation and evolution. Without an accurate distance, we do not know how bright it is, how large it is, or even when it existed. This volume highlights the tremendous amount of recent and continuing research into a myriad of exciting and promising aspects of accurately pinning down the cosmic distance scale, where possible focused on space-based contributions. These papers go one step further, putting the many recent results and new developments into the broader context of the physics driving cosmic distance determination. Thus, the volume will benefit researchers spanning a wide range of expertise, including theorists, observers, and modelers working on a large variety of spatial scales.Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age"

This topical volume reviews a comprehensive set of problems raised by the use of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) as cosmological probes, as they were addressed and debated during the ISSI-Beijing workshop “Gamma Ray Bursts: A Tool to Explore the Young Universe," which took place from April 13 to 17, 2015, in Beijing.The invited authors represent both the GRB community stricto sensu and the community studying high-redshift galaxies and star formation history. The chapters of the book elucidate the connection between GRBs and the deep universe, stimulating thoughts on how to develop worldwide synergies between high-redshift GRB studies and surveys of the deep universe.Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 202, Issue 1-4, December 2016

Relativistic objects in astrophysics present a diverse set of phenomena and cover vast ranges of time scales and spatial scales, but their descriptions rely on a similar backbone: production of a relativistic outflow in a central compact object and dissipation of the outflow at large radii, accompanied by acceleration of particles up to very high energies and production of secondary non-thermal electromagnetic radiation. This book provides a timely and comprehensive review of the main physical processes involved in the formation and dissipation of relativistic outflows. It will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science​. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 207, Issue 1-4, July 2017

This volume discusses the evolutionary paths linking planets and their atmospheres to their origin within circumstellar disks. Dust accretion within disks generates planet cores, while gas accretion on these cores leads to the diversity of their fluid envelopes.

Clusters of galaxies are large assemblies of galaxies, hot gas and dark matter bound together by gravity. Galaxy clusters are now one of the most important cosmological probes to test the standard cosmological models. Constraints on the Dark Energy equation of state from the cluster number density measurements, deviations from the Gaussian perturbation models, the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect as well as the dark matter proles are among the issues to be studied with clusters. The baryonic composition of clusters is dominated by hot gas that is in quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium within the dark matter-dominated gravitational potential well of the cluster. The hot gas is visible through spatially extended thermal X-ray emission, and it has been studied extensively both for assessing its physical properties and as a tracer of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Magnetic fields as well as a number of non-thermal plasma processes play a role in clusters of galaxies as we observe from radioastronomical observations.The goal of this volume is to review these processes and to investigate how they are interlinked. Overall, these papers provide a timely and comprehensive review of the multi-wavelength observations and theoretical understanding of clusters of galaxies in the cosmological context. Thus, the volume will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science. Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Clusters of Galaxies: Physics and Cosmology"

Clusters of galaxies are large assemblies of galaxies, hot gas and dark matter bound together by gravity.

The review papers in this volume provide an in-depth examination of complex astrophysical phenomena of star formation via multi-wavelength observations and modeling. Among the fundamental issues discussed in the book are: The role of gravity and magnetized turbulence in the formation and evolution of molecular cloudsThe stellar feedback (supernovae, HII regions, winds, cosmic rays) in regulating star formation The origin of the stellar initial mass function and its universality across various environments Jets, magnetic fields and high energy particles in stellar clustersThe origin of the first stars and black holesThe goal of these papers is to review the major processes governing star formation and to investigate how they are interlinked. In doing so, they provide an in-depth look at the tremendous theoretical and observational progress that has been made in the recent past and also outline future perspectives.Previously published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Star Formation”

The review papers in this volume provide an in-depth examination of complex astrophysical phenomena of star formation via multi-wavelength observations and modeling. Among the fundamental issues discussed in the book are: The role of gravity and magnetized turbulence in the formation and evolution of molecular cloudsThe stellar feedback (supernovae, HII regions, winds, cosmic rays) in regulating star formation The origin of the stellar initial mass function and its universality across various environments Jets, magnetic fields and high energy particles in stellar clustersThe origin of the first stars and black holesThe goal of these papers is to review the major processes governing star formation and to investigate how they are interlinked. In doing so, they provide an in-depth look at the tremendous theoretical and observational progress that has been made in the recent past and also outline future perspectives.Previously published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Star Formation”

Individual chapters cover recent cutting-edge results obtained on the analysis and theoretical modelling of several most intensively studied coronal MHD wave phenomena, namely, kink and sausage oscillations of coronal loops and other field-aligned plasma structures, plus running and standing slow magnetoacoustic waves.