Ebook: The Sun: A Laboratory for Astrophysics

As in the days following Skylab, solar physics came to the end of an era when the So­ lar Maximum Mission re-entered the earth's atmosphere in December 1989. The 1980s had been a pioneering decade not only in space- and ground-based studies of the solar atmosphere (Solar Maximum Mission, Hinotori, VLA, Big Bear, Nanc;ay, etc.) but also in solar-terrestrial relations (ISEE, AMPTE), and solar interior neutrino and helioseismol­ ogy studies. The pace of development in related areas of theory (nuclear, atomic, MHD, beam-plasma) has been equally impressive. All of these raised tantalizing further questions about the structure and dynamics of the Sun as the prototypical and best observed star. This Advanced Study Institute was timed at a pivotal point between that decade and the realisation of Yohkoh, Ulysses, SOHO, GRANAT, Coronas, and new ground-based optical facilities such as LEST and GONG, so as to teach and inspire the up and coming young solar researchers of the 1990s. The topics, lecturers, and students were all chosen with this goal in mind, and the result seems to have been highly successful by all reports.

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The Sun: A Laboratory for Astrophysics presents an educational overview of many aspects of solar physics, in an astrophysical context, following two decades of major strides in solar studies from spacecraft and pioneering studies of the Sun as a star. The authors were chosen for the breadth of their interests, most having experience in both theory and observation, and many in instrumentation.
The first third of the book addresses the global physics of the Sun and its relation to other stars, covering energy generation, interior structure models, convection, magnetic field generation, as well as constraints obtained from surface observations, both seismic and magnetic. The second portion comprises a mixture of theory and diagnostics of the solar atmosphere and of instrumentation for observations from radio wavelengths to high energies. The final third concerns solar activity and flares, their relation to stellar activity, and their importance for the activities of humankind.

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The Sun: A Laboratory for Astrophysics presents an educational overview of many aspects of solar physics, in an astrophysical context, following two decades of major strides in solar studies from spacecraft and pioneering studies of the Sun as a star. The authors were chosen for the breadth of their interests, most having experience in both theory and observation, and many in instrumentation.
The first third of the book addresses the global physics of the Sun and its relation to other stars, covering energy generation, interior structure models, convection, magnetic field generation, as well as constraints obtained from surface observations, both seismic and magnetic. The second portion comprises a mixture of theory and diagnostics of the solar atmosphere and of instrumentation for observations from radio wavelengths to high energies. The final third concerns solar activity and flares, their relation to stellar activity, and their importance for the activities of humankind.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiii
Opening Address....Pages 1-7
Front Matter....Pages 9-9
The Structure and Evolution of the Sun....Pages 11-28
Seismic Investigation of the Solar Interior....Pages 29-80
Convection....Pages 81-98
Mean Field Dynamo Theory....Pages 99-138
The MHD Description of Cosmic Plasmas....Pages 139-154
Symmetric and Nonsymmetric MHD Equilibria....Pages 155-172
Front Matter....Pages 173-173
The Photosphere....Pages 175-190
Small-Scale Photospheric Magnetic Fields....Pages 191-220
Sunspots: A Laboratory for Solar Physics....Pages 221-243
Chromospheric Structure....Pages 245-259
Spectroscopic Diagnostics....Pages 261-276
The Solar Corona....Pages 277-296
Solar Radio Observations....Pages 297-312
Stellar Chromospheres, Coronae, and Winds....Pages 313-348
Exact 2-D MHD Solutions for Astrophysical Outflows....Pages 349-376
Front Matter....Pages 377-377
Solar Optical Instrumentation....Pages 379-393
Solar Ultraviolet Instrumentation....Pages 395-410
Solar Radio Instrumentation....Pages 411-422
Soft X-ray Instrumentation....Pages 423-434
Front Matter....Pages 377-377
X-ray Instrumentation....Pages 435-445
Front Matter....Pages 447-447
Solar Activity....Pages 449-463
Overview of Solar Flares....Pages 465-474
High-Energy Flare Emissions....Pages 475-488
Energy Release and Transport in Flare Plasmas....Pages 489-508
Stellar Flares: Observations and Modelling....Pages 509-533
Physics of Flares in Stars and Accretion Disks....Pages 535-597
Back Matter....Pages 599-617

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The Sun: A Laboratory for Astrophysics presents an educational overview of many aspects of solar physics, in an astrophysical context, following two decades of major strides in solar studies from spacecraft and pioneering studies of the Sun as a star. The authors were chosen for the breadth of their interests, most having experience in both theory and observation, and many in instrumentation.
The first third of the book addresses the global physics of the Sun and its relation to other stars, covering energy generation, interior structure models, convection, magnetic field generation, as well as constraints obtained from surface observations, both seismic and magnetic. The second portion comprises a mixture of theory and diagnostics of the solar atmosphere and of instrumentation for observations from radio wavelengths to high energies. The final third concerns solar activity and flares, their relation to stellar activity, and their importance for the activities of humankind.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiii
Opening Address....Pages 1-7
Front Matter....Pages 9-9
The Structure and Evolution of the Sun....Pages 11-28
Seismic Investigation of the Solar Interior....Pages 29-80
Convection....Pages 81-98
Mean Field Dynamo Theory....Pages 99-138
The MHD Description of Cosmic Plasmas....Pages 139-154
Symmetric and Nonsymmetric MHD Equilibria....Pages 155-172
Front Matter....Pages 173-173
The Photosphere....Pages 175-190
Small-Scale Photospheric Magnetic Fields....Pages 191-220
Sunspots: A Laboratory for Solar Physics....Pages 221-243
Chromospheric Structure....Pages 245-259
Spectroscopic Diagnostics....Pages 261-276
The Solar Corona....Pages 277-296
Solar Radio Observations....Pages 297-312
Stellar Chromospheres, Coronae, and Winds....Pages 313-348
Exact 2-D MHD Solutions for Astrophysical Outflows....Pages 349-376
Front Matter....Pages 377-377
Solar Optical Instrumentation....Pages 379-393
Solar Ultraviolet Instrumentation....Pages 395-410
Solar Radio Instrumentation....Pages 411-422
Soft X-ray Instrumentation....Pages 423-434
Front Matter....Pages 377-377
X-ray Instrumentation....Pages 435-445
Front Matter....Pages 447-447
Solar Activity....Pages 449-463
Overview of Solar Flares....Pages 465-474
High-Energy Flare Emissions....Pages 475-488
Energy Release and Transport in Flare Plasmas....Pages 489-508
Stellar Flares: Observations and Modelling....Pages 509-533
Physics of Flares in Stars and Accretion Disks....Pages 535-597
Back Matter....Pages 599-617
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