Related papers: Astrophysics in 2005
Looking ahead to the next decade and imagining the landscape of astronomy in 2020, it is clear that astronomical surveys, large and small, plus extensive follow-up projects, will be a great engine of progress in our profession. Surveys have…
Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the Universe, and their origin as well as mechanism are the focus of intense research and debate. More than three decades since their serendipitous discovery, followed by several…
I give a concise introduction into high energy cosmic ray physics, including also few related aspects of high energy gamma-ray and neutrino astrophysics. The main emphasis is placed on astrophysical questions, and the level of the…
In the century since Einstein's anno mirabilis of 1905, our concept of the Universe has expanded from Kapteyn's flattened disk of stars only 10 kpc across to an observed horizon about 30 Gpc across that is only a tiny fraction of an…
As 2005, the International Year of Physics, comes to an end, two physicists working primarily in geophysical research reflect on how geophysics is not an applied physics. Although geophysics has certainly benefited from progress in physics…
This is the written version of an invited review talk for the 13 Feb 2004 AAAS Meeting in Seattle. The talk's goal is to present a philosophical view of extragalactic astronomy as it applies to the sub-field of galaxy evolution. The talk is…
Astrophysical explosions result from the release of magnetic, gravitational, or thermonuclear energy on dynamical timescales, typically the sound-crossing time for the system. These explosions include solar and stellar flares, eruptive…
This article gives an overview of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their relation to astroparticle physics and cosmology. GRBs are the most powerful explosions in the universe that occur roughly once per day and are characterized by flashes of…
The unrivalled, extreme luminosities of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) make them the favored beacons for sampling the high redshift Universe. To employ GRBs to study the cosmic terrain -- e.g., star and galaxy formation history -- GRB luminosities…
Massive stars are at the core of our observations of the Universe up to the reionization epoch, both through their intense ionizing fluxes and through the energetic end products that release fresh elements into the interstellar medium. Our…
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the effective beginning of large, systematic redshift surveys of galaxies. These surveys have had a major impact on observational cosmology and on our current understanding of large-scale structures…
The first part of this paper deals with the impact of nonsolar and - for late-type, dwarf, and high redshift galaxies - generally subsolar abundances on the interpretation of observational data for starburst galaxies. It points out the…
Star formation history shows a gradual decline since the last 8-9 Gyr (z=1). The bulk of present-day stellar mass and metal content was formed at redshifts lower than 2-3, which is consistent with a hierarchical scenario of galaxy…
Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the Universe, whose origin and mechanism is the focus of intense interest. They appear connected to supernova remnants from massive stars or the merger of their remnants, and their…
We describe how cosmology has converged towards a beautiful model of the Universe: the Big Bang Universe. We praise this model, but show there is a dark side to it. This dark side is usually called ``the cosmological problems'': a set of…
The Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics created five panels to identify the science themes that would define the field's research frontiers in the coming decade. I will describe the conclusions of one of these, the Panel on…
Cosmic explosions are observed in many astrophysical environments. They range in scale from hydromagnetic instabilities in the terrestrial magnetotail and solar ``nanoflares'' to cosmological gamma ray bursts, supernovae and the protracted…
Radionuclides with half-lives ranging from some years to billions of years presumably synthesized outside of the solar system are now recorded in ``live'' or ``fossil'' form in various types of materials, like meteorites or the galactic…
Recent X-ray observations have had a major impact on topics ranging from protostars to cosmology. They have also drawn attention to important and general physical processes that currently limit our understanding of thermal and nonthermal…
Asteroseismology of massive stars has recently begun a revolution thanks to high-precision time series photometry from space telescopes. This has allowed accurate and robust constraints on interior physical processes, such as mixing and…