Neutron stars are the densest observable bodies in our universe. Born during the gravitational collapse of luminous stars - a birth heralded by spectacular supernova explosions - they open a window on a world where the state of the matter and the strengths of the fields are anything but ordinary. This book is a collection of pedagogical lectures on the theory of neutron stars, and especially their interiors, at the forefront of current research. It addresses graduate students and researchers alike, and should be particularly suitable as a text bridging the gap between standard textbook material and the research literature.

This book summarizes the recent progress in the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars and, most importantly, it identifies and develops effective strategies to explore, both theoretically and observationally, the many remaining open questions in the field. Because of its significance in the solution of many fundamental questions in nuclear physics, astrophysics and gravitational physics, the study of neutron stars has seen enormous progress over the last years and has been very successful in improving our understanding in these fascinating compact objects. The book addresses a wide spectrum of readers, from students to senior researchers. Thirteen chapters written by internationally renowned experts offer a thorough overview of the various facets of this interdisciplinary science, from neutron star formation in supernovae, pulsars, equations of state super dense matter, gravitational wave emission, to alternative theories of gravity. The book was initiated by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action MP1304 “Exploring fundamental physics with compact stars” (NewCompStar).

"Stellar Physics" is a an outstanding book in the growing body of literature on star formation and evolution. Not only does the author, a leading expert in the field, very thoroughly present the current state of knowledge on stellar physics, but he handles with equal care the many problems that this field of research still faces. A bibliography with well over 1000 entries makes this book an unparalleled reference source. "Stellar Evolution and Stability" is the second of two volumes and can be read, as can the first volume "Fundamental Concepts and Stellar Equilibrium," as a largely independent work. It traces in great detail the evolution of protostars towards the main sequence and beyond this to the last stage of stellar evolution, with the corresponding vast range from white dwarfs to supernovae explosions, gamma-ray bursts and black hole formation. The book concludes with special chapters on the dynamical, thermal and pulsing stability of stars. This second edition is carefully updated in the areas of pre-supernova models, magnetorotational supernovae, and the theory of accretion disks around black holes. Additional sections have been added on strange quark stars, jet formation and collimation, radiation-driven winds in strong gravitational fields and gamma-ray bursts.

The discovery 25 years ago of the remarkable astronomical objects known as pulsars--and their identification as neutron stars--fulfilled a prediction made more than 30 years earlier. Over 550 pulsars are now known, almost all detected at radio frequencies which capture their distinctive bursts of electromagnetic energy. These pulse periods range from 1.5 milliseconds to several seconds. Most pulsars are single neutron stars but they can also exist in a binary orbit with a companion. Observations have revealed a wealth of detail about the structure and evolution of pulsars and the pulse-emission process, giving new insight into the behavior of matter in the presence of extreme gravitational and electromagnetic fields. In fact, pulsars have unique physical properties which make them nearly ideal as probes for a wide range of physical studies. This volume gathers together up-to-date findings in this area, representing a valuable resource for theoretical and particle physicists as well astrophysicists and astronomers. The contributors are recognized experts in the field, and include such well-known authorities as Joe Taylor who describes his Nobel-Prize winning work (Physics 1993).

Neutron stars are the most compact astronomical objects in the universe which are accessible by direct observation. Studying neutron stars means studying physics in regimes unattainable in any terrestrial laboratory. Understanding their observed complex phenomena requires a wide range of scientific disciplines, including the nuclear and condensed matter physics of very dense matter in neutron star interiors, plasma physics and quantum electrodynamics of magnetospheres, and the relativistic magneto-hydrodynamics of electron-positron pulsar winds interacting with some ambient medium. Not to mention the test bed neutron stars provide for general relativity theories, and their importance as potential sources of gravitational waves. It is this variety of disciplines which, among others, makes neutron star research so fascinating, not only for those who have been working in the field for many years but also for students and young scientists. The aim of this book is to serve as a reference work which not only reviews the progress made since the early days of pulsar astronomy, but especially focuses on questions such as: "What have we learned about the subject and how did we learn it?", "What are the most important open questions in this area?" and "What new tools, telescopes, observations, and calculations are needed to answer these questions?". All authors who have contributed to this book have devoted a significant part of their scientific careers to exploring the nature of neutron stars and understanding pulsars. Everyone has paid special attention to writing educational comprehensive review articles with the needs of beginners, students and young scientists as potential readers in mind. This book will be a valuable source of information for these groups.

Space observations are currently providing a glimpse of various new states of matter possibly present in compact stars, with terrestrial laboratories producing compelling evidence in support. The aim of this book is to facilitate the exchange of ideas ? both established and emergent, both theoretical and experimental ? in the areas of the physics of neutrinos, dense hadronic matter and compact stars.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in: ? Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings? (ISTP? / ISI Proceedings)? Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)? CC Proceedings ? Engineering & Physical Sciences

Space observations are currently providing a glimpse of various new states of matter possibly present in compact stars, with terrestrial laboratories producing compelling evidence in support. The aim of this book is to facilitate the exchange of ideas — both established and emergent, both theoretical and experimental — in the areas of the physics of neutrinos, dense hadronic matter and compact stars.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings® (ISTP® / ISI Proceedings)• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• CC Proceedings — Engineering & Physical Sciences

There are reasons to believe the 21st century will be the best ever for astrophysics: the James Webb Space Telescope will extend nearly twenty times the present observational limit of visible light; neutrino massiveness opens a new window for exploration on dark energy and dark matter physics and is expected to provide insights into the fate of the Universe; the Higgs boson may allow for an understanding of the weakness of gravity; gravitational waves produced at the birth of the Universe and by compact stellar objects (supermassive black holes, black hole/neutron star mergers, gamma-ray bursts, white dwarf inspirals) have unveiled a new area of astronomy. Against this background, compact stars, the theme of this volume, present unique astrophysical laboratories for probing the fabric of space-time and the building blocks of matter and their interactions at physical regimes not attainable in terrestrial laboratories.

This volume contains the proceedings of the IX International Conference on Hypernuclear and Strange Particle Physics (HYP 2006). This conference series is devoted to the progress of our knowledge about strangeness flavor in hadron and nuclear physics. Besides the traditional topics such as hadron structure, hypernuclear spectroscopy and weak decay of hypernuclei, a particular focus of this conference was on the properties of strange mesons and their binding in nuclear systems.

This is the third and fully updated edition of the classic textbook on physics at the subatomic level. An up-to-date and lucid introduction to both particle and nuclear physics, the book is suitable for both experimental and theoretical physics students at the senior undergraduate and beginning graduate levels.Topics are introduced with key experiments and their background, encouraging students to think and empowering them with the capability of doing back-of-the-envelope calculations in a diversity of situations. Earlier important experiments and concepts as well as topics of current interest are covered, with extensive use of photographs and figures to convey principal concepts and show experimental data.The coverage includes new material on:Detectors and acceleratorsNucleon elastic form factor dataNeutrinos, their masses and oscillationsChiral theories and effective field theories, and lattice QCDRelativistic heavy ions (RHIC)Nuclear structure far from the region of stabilityParticle astrophysics and cosmology