Stellar Magnetism

ISBN-13: 9780199641741 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 754 str.

Leon Mestel

Opis

Ongoing studies in mathematical depth, and inferences from helioseismological' observations of the internal solar rotation have shown up the limitations in our knowledge of the solar interior and of our understanding of the solar dynamo, manifested in particular by the sunspot cycle, the Maunder minimum, and solar flares. This second edition retains the identical overall structure as the first edition, but is designed so as to be self-contained with the early chapters presenting the basic physics and mathematics underlying cosmical magnetohydrodynamics, followed by studies of the specific applications appropriate for a book devoted to a central area in astrophysics.
New to this edition:
Chapter 6 gives an account of the present state of dynamo theory in general, and Chapter 8 the applications to the Sun and to other Late-Type' stars with differing rotation rates -- the Solar-Stellar Connection'. The minority of the more massive Early-Type' stars that are observably magnetic are well described by theoblique rotator' model, with a quasi-steady, fossil' magnetic structure frozen' into the highly conducting, non-turbulent envelope. Chapter 9 deals with the considerable progress on the associated theoretical problems.
Chapter 7 contains new material, relevant to both Late- and Early-Type Main Sequence stars, to the evolved Red Giants, and also to contracting pre-Main Sequence stars (Chapter 10}, which show the highest degree of magnetic activity (the magneto-rotational instability, and the magneto-centrifugal winds emitted by the surrounding accretion disk'). In the earlier phases of star formation in molecular clouds (Chapters 11-12), magneto-turbulence' is emerging as the appropriate scenario for the prediction of the mass spectrum of proto-stars, and the associated formation of planetary satellites. Chapter 14 describes developments in the study of the magnetosphere of a pulsar' -- a magnetized neutron star -- consisting of spontaneously generated electron-positron pairs.

Recenzje

a spectacularly good job ... an amazing achievement. ... Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is in the clarity of the exposition and the ease of reading. Professor Mestel has an engaging style, which makes the 700 pages seem much less. This means that, in addition to being an invaluable reference book that can be dipped into, the book can easily be read straight-forwardly from start to finish. ... I am sure that this, now up-to-date, treatise will remain the book of choice in this field for a number of years to come.

O autorze

Leon Mestel is Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the University of Sussex. Mestel has also taught at the University of Cambridge, Princeton University, the Weizmann Institute in Rehovoth, Israel, the University of Manchester, and the Racah Institue at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has established himself as one of the leaders in his field.