Astronomical Soc./Pacific
Astronomical data analysis software and systems; proceedings.
In these proceedings of the October 2006 conference, contributors address challenges and solutions for very large and therefore computer-intensive systems, including those planned for new astronomical facilities such as ALMA, Gaia, LSST and the Square-Kilometer Array. Judicious combinations of invited and contributed papers, demonstrations and "birds of a feather" sessions create a thorough overview of the latest developments in astronomical software applications, data facilities and algorithms. General topics include challenges and solutions for large data volumes, grid computing in astronomy, software architecture, archives, pipelines ands calibration, databases and data. engineering, quality management and quality control, algorithms and analysis, tools and technologies, virtual observatories, visualization of astronomical data, and observatory and instrument control. The editors have thoughtfully provided a subject index for the large number of papers. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The central engine of active galactic nuclei; proceedings.
Papers from an October 2006 workshop held at Xi'an Jiaotong University concentrate on the classical components of the central engine of active galactic nuclei (AGNs): black holes, accretion disks, jets, outflow/wind, absorbers, broad-line regions, tori, and narrow-line regions. They also highlight important processes related to dust grains and star formation in the central regions of galaxies, and look forward to new instrument capabilities on the horizon. Whenever possible, contributors attempt to address the physical properties of the components of the central engine, rather than phenomenology alone. There is no subject index. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
From stars to galaxies; building the pieces to build up the universe; proceedings.
Over a hundred papers, few longer than two pages, report recent thinking and observations concerning the evolution of stellar evolution, which grows up into galactic evolution. They cover the first stars, stellar evolution, and nucleosynthesis; the chemical evolution of galaxies; stars as building blocks in our own Milky Way and beyond; population synthesis; and galaxy formation and cosmology. No subject index is provided. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
New solar physics with solar-B mission; proceedings.
The main goal of the Solar-B mission is to clarify the coronal heating mechanism and basic magnetohydrodynamic processes occurring in the solar atmosphere. Papers from a November 2005 meeting discuss the basic scientific objectives and program of the Solar-B mission. Papers are grouped in sections on instrumentation, convection and sunspots, magnetism of quiet sun and active regions, waves and shocks, chromospheric heating, coronal heating, local helioseismology, emerging flux, reconnection, flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar wind. Some specific topics examined include topological dissipation and the solar corona, 3D numerical experiments of flux emergence into the corona, and low-atmosphere reconnections associated with a filament eruption. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Statistical challenges in modern astronomy; proceedings.
These proceedings reflect current interest in interdisciplinary work, in this case the combination of astronomical and statistical methods and theories that has created the discrete field of astrostatistics. These 37 papers and analyses of papers, along with the full collection of posters, were presented at the conference of June 2006, and concentrate largely on methodological issues peculiar to current research, including cosmology (including statistical challenges of weak gravitational lensing), small-N problems (including Bayesian methods in particle physics), astronomical surveys (including photometric calibration), planetary systems (including Bayesian model selection), periodic variability (including nonparametric estimation of dark matter distributions), developments in statistics and cross-disciplinary perspectives from particle physics, statistics and astronomy. The collection includes tutorials on the relationship among interactive data visualization and pattern discovery and image, and a brief introduction to a public-domain statistical software package for astronomers. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Why galaxies care about AGB stars; their importance as actors and probes; proceedings.
An August 2006 conference demonstrated the relevance of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and stellar astrophysics as a whole for the understanding of galactic structure and evolution. Papers from the conference, collected here, look at applications of current knowledge about AGB stars, the role of AGB stars in galactic models, and the role of AGB star research within the major aims of astrophysics in the coming decades. The book is for researchers and graduate students interested in stellar and extragalactic astrophysics and in physical processes related to nucleosynthesis, radiation hydrodynamics, pulsations, mass loss, and the chemical evolution of stellar systems. Kerschbaum is affiliated with the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Vienna, Austria. There is no subject index. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
