Related papers: Science with hot astrophysical plasmas
Very hot plasmas with ion temperature exceeding $10^{10}$ K can be formed in certain astrophysical environments. The distinct radiation signature of such plasmas is the $\gamma$-ray emission dominated by the prompt de-excitation nuclear…
Partially ionized plasmas are found across the Universe in many different astrophysical environments. They constitute an essential ingredient of the solar atmosphere, molecular clouds, planetary ionospheres and protoplanetary disks, among…
Much of modern astrophysics is grounded on the observed chemical compositions of stars and the diffuse plasma that pervades the space between stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies. X-ray and EUV spectra of the hot plasma in the outer…
Clusters of galaxies are the largest organized structures in the Universe. They are important cosmological probes, since they are large enough to contain a fair sample of the materials in the Universe, but small enough to have achieved…
In this contribution we present a few selected examples of how the latest generation of space-based instrumentation -- NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) -- are finally answering old…
We briefly examine the properties of dense plasmas characteristic of the atmospheres of neutron stars and of the interior of massive white dwarfs. These astrophysical bodies are natural laboratories to study respectively the problem of…
The properties (temperature, density, chemical composition, velocity) of hot astrophysical plasma and the physical processes affecting them (heating/cooling, turbulence, shocks, acceleration) can be probed by high resolution X-ray…
The Universe has evolved from an initial diffuse, uniform gas to a complex structure that includes both voids and high-density galaxy clusters connected by gaseous filaments, known as the Cosmic Web, and traced by 3D surveys of galaxies.…
This paper presents an introduction to the astrophysics of cosmic rays and diffuse gamma rays and discusses some of the puzzles that have emerged recently due to more precise data and improved propagation models: the excesses in Galactic…
Recent results, the present status and the perspectives of high energy gamma-ray astronomy are described. Since the satellite observations by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and its precursor missions have been reviewed extensively,…
The interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies very often contains a gas component that reaches the temperature of several million degrees, whose physical and chemical properties can be investigated through imaging and spectroscopy in the…
Recent years have seen tremendous progress in our understanding of the extreme universe, which in turn points to even deeper questions to be further addressed. History has shown that the symbiosis between direct observations and laboratory…
Extreme states of matter exist throughout the universe e.g. inside planetary cores, stars or astrophysical jets. Such conditions are generated in the laboratory in the interaction of powerful lasers with solids, and their evolution can be…
Galaxy clusters, the largest clearly defined objects in our Universe, are ideal laboratories to study in detail the cosmic evolution of the intergalactic intracluster medium (ICM) and the cluster galaxy population. For the ICM, which is…
The presence of gaseous X-ray halos around massive galaxies is a basic prediction of all past and modern structure formation simulations. The importance of these X-ray halos is further emphasized by the fact that they retain signatures of…
Detecting the thermal and non-thermal emission from the shocked cosmic gas surrounding large-scale structures represents a challenge for observations, as well as a unique window into the physics of the warm-hot intergalactic medium. In this…
We briefly examine the properties of dense plasmas characteristic of the interior of giant planets and the atmospheres of neutron stars. Special attention is devoted to the equation of state of hydrogen and helium at high density and to the…
I review here some of the physics we are learning and expect to learn in the near future through the observation of cosmic rays. The study of cosmic rays involves a combination of data from accelerators, ground arrays, atmospheric…
We review the physics of the highest energy cosmic rays. The discovery of their sources, still unknown, will reveal the most energetic astrophysical objects in the universe and could unveil new physics beyond the standard model of particle…
The field of high energy particle astronomy is exciting and rapidly developing. In the last few years, we have detected extragalactic sources of intense TeV gamma radiation and individual cosmic ray particles with energies exceeding 25…