Ebook: Solar Magnetic Fields: Polarized Radiation Diagnostics

Magnetic fields are responsible for much of the variability and structuring in the universe, but only on the Sun can the basic magnetic field related processes be explored in detail. While several excellent textbooks have established a diagnostic foundation for exploring the physics of unmagnetized stellar atmospheres through spectral analysis, no corresponding treatise for magnetized stellar atmospheres has been available. The present monograph fills this gap. The theoretical foundation for the diagnostics of stellar magnetism is developed from first principles in a comprehensive way, both within the frameworks of classical physics and quantum field theory, together with a presentation of the various solar applications. This textbook can serve as an introduction to solar and stellar magnetism for astronomers and physicists at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level and will also become a resource book for more senior scientists with a general interest in cosmic magnetic fields.

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Magnetic fields are responsible for much of the variability and structuring in the universe, but only on the Sun can the basic magnetic field related processes be explored in detail. While several excellent textbooks have established a diagnostic foundation for exploring the physics of unmagnetized stellar atmospheres through spectral analysis, no corresponding treatise for magnetized stellar atmospheres has been available. The present monograph fills this gap. The theoretical foundation for the diagnostics of stellar magnetism is developed from first principles in a comprehensive way, both within the frameworks of classical physics and quantum field theory, together with a presentation of the various solar applications. This textbook can serve as an introduction to solar and stellar magnetism for astronomers and physicists at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level and will also become a resource book for more senior scientists with a general interest in cosmic magnetic fields.

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Magnetic fields are responsible for much of the variability and structuring in the universe, but only on the Sun can the basic magnetic field related processes be explored in detail. While several excellent textbooks have established a diagnostic foundation for exploring the physics of unmagnetized stellar atmospheres through spectral analysis, no corresponding treatise for magnetized stellar atmospheres has been available. The present monograph fills this gap. The theoretical foundation for the diagnostics of stellar magnetism is developed from first principles in a comprehensive way, both within the frameworks of classical physics and quantum field theory, together with a presentation of the various solar applications. This textbook can serve as an introduction to solar and stellar magnetism for astronomers and physicists at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level and will also become a resource book for more senior scientists with a general interest in cosmic magnetic fields.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Solar Magnetism — An Overview....Pages 1-30
Theory of Polarized Radiation....Pages 31-41
Interaction of Matter with Radiation....Pages 42-60
Radiative Transfer Without Scattering....Pages 61-72
Classical Scattering and the Hanle Effect....Pages 73-100
Non-LTE Radiative Transfer: Phenomenological Treatment....Pages 101-126
Introduction to Quantum Field Theory of Polarized Radiative Transfer....Pages 127-148
Multi-Level Radiative Transfer with Coherence Effects....Pages 149-177
Rayleigh and Raman Scattering....Pages 178-209
Collisions, Partial Redistribution, and Turbulent Magnetic Fields....Pages 210-238
Solutions of the Polarized Transfer Equation....Pages 239-272
Diagnostics of Small-Scale Magnetic Fields....Pages 273-311
Instrumentation for Solar Polarimetry....Pages 312-350
Back Matter....Pages 351-385