天文学前沿

章节摘录

版权页：插图：Quantum effects become crucial any time we ask a question which in-volves lengths scales comparable to or smaller than that of an atom. Thequantum realm is a strange one indeed, divorced from everyday intuitionand common sense. In it, balls can pass straight through walls and a catcan be both dead and alive at the same time.Remarkably, the theorems proven by Hawking and Penrose show thatEinstein's theory very likely breaks down at some point because the typicallength scales for the Universe become smaller than the size of an atom, andso quantum effects must be included. At the same time we cannot ignoregravity because near the Big Bang gravity becomes extremely strong. As aresult, the combined theory we are searching for - the holy grail of modernfundamental physics - is known as quantum gravity.Whether or not quantum effects can smooth out and make finite theinfinity density and temperature of the Big Bang is not known. Indeed itis one of the biggest unanswered questions in cosmology. Most researchers,perhaps, believe that they will - and hence that the cosmos may be mucholder than our current best estimate of thirteen billion years. But withouta complete theory of quantum gravity we find only tantalizing hints.

内容概要

编者：(英国）J.M.T.汤普森

书籍目录

Foreword
Preface
Cosmology and the Big Bang
1. Thirteen Billion Years in Half an Hour
2. The Paradigm of Inflation
3. Cosmology with Varying Constants
4. Small Scales, Big Issues for Cold Dark Matter
5. Violence and Black Holes in the Hearts of Galaxies Probing the
Universe
6. First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
Results: Implications for Cosmology and Inflation
7. Quest for Gravitational Waves
8. Strong-Field Tests of Relativistic Gravity with Pulsars
9. Gamma-Ray Bursts as Cosmological Probes
10. New Radio Interferometers and Data Access: Investigations of
Star Formation
Stars and Conditions for Life
11. Gamma-Ray Bursts
12. Astrophysical Dust
13. The Astrophysics of Crowded Places
14. Astrochemistry: From Molecular Clouds to Planetary
Systems
15. Extrasolar Planets
Solar System and Climate Change
16. Our Solar System
17. Planetary Upper Atmospheres
18. The Solar Dynamo
19. Explosions on the Sun
20. Solar Variability, Coupling between Atmospheric Layers and Neil
Arnold
Index

编辑推荐

《天文学前沿:从大爆炸到太阳系(英文版)》是英国皇家会前沿科技丛书之一。

作者简介

《天文学前沿:从大爆炸到太阳系(英文版)》在这本极具可读性的书中，来自全世界天文学领域的首席科学家们给出了其研究进展的一般看法，讲述了各自的前沿研究，并提出了他们关于未来的设想。书中的文章主要选自世界上历史最悠久的科技期刊——皇家学会哲学学报的特刊，只不过在这里是以一种更口语化的语言呈现给广大读者。期刊编辑对文章进行了严格精选，涵盖了宇宙大爆炸的起源、恒星和星系的演化及形成、冷暗物质、突增的太阳黑子事件以及人类对太阳系的探索。通过该书，读者可以与作者一起分享他们在天文学前沿工作的兴奋和热情。

对于初入门或正想进入这些研究领域的青年学者来说，《天文学前沿:从大爆炸到太阳系(英文版)》不仅可以丰富他们的专业知识、扩展他们的视野，更可以为他们选择适合于自己兴趣的研究方向提供帮助。而对于大学生和那些对这些领域的知识和发展方向有兴趣的一般读者来说，阅读这些书，既可以增进他们的科学知识，也可以助其了解这些领域的发展方向。

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