الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
High Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy in Astronomy ; Proceedings of an ESO Workshop Held at Garching, Germany, 18-21 November 2003
Two specialized new instruments for ESO's VLT, VISIR and CRIRES, spawned the idea for this workshop. CRIRES is a dedicated very high resolution infrared spectrograph; VISIR features a high resolution spectroscopic mode. Together, the instruments combine the sensitivity of an 8m-telescope with the now well-established reliability of VLT-facility instruments. High resolution here means that lines in cool stellar atmospheres and HII-regions can be resolved. The astrophysical topics discussed in this rather specialized workshop range from the inner solar system to active galactic nuclei. There are many possibilities for new discoveries with these instruments, but the unique capability, which becomes available through high-resolution infrared spectroscopy, is the observation of molecular rotational-vibrational transitions in many astrophysical environments. Particularly interesting and surprising in this context, many papers on modeling and laboratory spectroscopy at the workshop appear to indicate that astronomical observations are lagging a bit behind in this field. The papers are an interesting mix of reports from existing high resolution facilities, reports on modeling efforts of synthetic spectra and reports on laboratory spectra. In this sense, a fruitful exchange between molecular physics and astronomy was again accomplished and is documented in this volume.
Growing Black Holes: Accretion in a Cosmological Context ; Proceedings of the MPA/ESO/MPE/USM Joint Astronomy Conference Held at Garching, Germany, 21-25 June 2004
Supermassive black holes are now believed to play an important role in the evolution of the Universe. Every respectable galaxy hosts in its center a black hole that appears to regulate the growth of the galaxy itself. In this book, leading experts in the field review the most recent theoretical and observational results on the following topics: * formation and growth of the first black holes in the Universe and their role in the formation and evolution of galaxies * the physics of black-hole accretion and the production of relativistic jets * binary black-hole mergers and gravitational radiation. Theoretical work is supplemented by the most recent exciting results from space and ground based observatories. This volume is useful research and reference tool for the entire astrophysical community.
Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology : An Introduction
This textbook introduces the astronomy of galaxies, their structure, their active galactic nuclei, their evolution and their large scale distribution. Starting with a detailed description of our Milky Way, the book examines the formation of structures and astronomical objects in the early universe.
