Related papers: Stellar coronal astronomy - a review
The Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray telescopes have led to numerous advances in the study and understanding of astrophysical X-ray sources. Particularly important has been the much increased spectral resolution of modern X-ray instrumentation.…
Throughout an activity cycle, magnetic structures rise to the stellar surface, evolve and decay. Tracing their evolution on a stellar corona allows us to characterize the X-ray cycles. However, directly mapping magnetic structures is…
X-ray emission is ubiquitous among massive stars. In the last decade, X-ray observations revolutionized our perception of stellar winds but opened a Pandora's box of urgent problems. X-rays penetrating stellar winds suffer mainly continuum…
In this review, our present day understanding of the Sun's global photospheric and coronal magnetic fields is discussed from both observational and theoretical viewpoints. Firstly, the large-scale properties of photospheric magnetic fields…
We review the evolution of our understanding of the planetary nebulae phenomenon and their place in the scheme of stellar evolution. The historical steps leading to our current understanding of central star evolution and nebular formation…
High energy gamma-ray astronomy has recently made significant progresss through ground-based instruments like the {\it H.E.S.S.} array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The unprecedented angular resolution and the large field of…
There has never been a more exciting time in the overlapping areas of nuclear physics, particle physics and relativistic astrophysics than today. Orbiting observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE),…
With its excellent spatial resolution, low background, and hard-band response, the Chandra X-ray Observatory is ideal for performing exploratory surveys. These efficient, sensitive observations can place constraints on fundamental…
Direct techniques for cosmic ray observations have reached an unprecedented level of precision, unveiling fine-details of the energy spectra. I will introduce the evidence for new spectral features which has been accumulated by new…
The number of small satellites has grown dramatically in the past decade from tens of satellites per year in the mid-2010s to a projection of tens of thousands in orbit by the mid-2020s. This presents both problems and opportunities for…
We introduce neutrino astronomy starting from the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of 10^{20} and 10^{13} eV, respectively. Although the discovery of cosmic rays dates back a century, we…
X-ray observations of clusters provide key information on the dark matter, on the formation of structures in the Universe, and can be used to constrain the cosmological parameters. I review our current knowledge, with emphasis on recent XMM…
X-ray spectroscopy is a sensitive probe of stellar winds. X-rays originate from optically thin shock-heated plasma deep inside the wind and propagate outwards throughout absorbing cool material. Recent analyses of the line ratios from…
High-contrast observations in optical and infrared astronomy are defined as any observation requiring a technique to reveal a celestial object of interest that is in such close angular proximity to another source brighter by a factor of at…
Supernova remnants are beautiful astronomical objects that are also of high scientific interest, because they provide insights into supernova explosion mechanisms, and because they are the likely sources of Galactic cosmic rays. X-ray…
Context: According to theory, high-energy emission from the coronae of cool stars can severely erode the atmospheres of orbiting planets. No observational tests of the long term effects of erosion have yet been made. Aims: To analyze the…
Stellar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are a growing research field, especially during the past decade. The large number of so far detected exoplanets raises the open question for the CME activity of stars, as CMEs may strongly affect…
Within 40 years of the detection of the first extrasolar X-ray source in 1962,NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has achieved an increase in sensitivity of 10 orders of magnitude, comparable to the gain in going from naked-eye observations to…
Supernova remnants serve as nearby laboratories relevant to many areas in Astrophysics, from stellar and galaxy evolution to extreme astrophysics and the formation of the heavy elements in the Universe. The Chandra X-ray mission has enabled…
The "middle corona" is a critical transition between the highly disparate physical regimes of the lower and outer solar corona. Nonetheless, it remains poorly understood due to the difficulty of observing this faint region (1.5-3 solar…