Compact Objects in Astrophysics

Compact objects are an important class of astronomical objects in current research. Supermassive Black Holes play an important role in the understanding of the formation of galaxies in the early Universe. Old White Dwarfs are nowadays used to calibrate the age of the Universe. Mergers of Neutron Stars and Black Holes are the sources of intense gravitational waves which will be measured in the next ten years by gravitational wave detectors.§Camenzind gives a comprehensive introduction and up-to-date overview about the physical processes behind these objects, covering the field from the beginning to most recent results, including all relevant observations.§After a presentation of the taxonomy of Compact Objects, the basic principles of General Relativity are given. The author then discusses in detail the physics and observations of White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars (including the most recent equations of state for neutron star matter), the Gravitational Field of Rapidly Rotating Compact Objects, Rotating Black Holes (including ray tracing and black hole magnetospheres), gravitational waves and our new understanding of accretion processes by means of the magnetorotational instability of accretion disks.§This modern treatise of compact object astrophysics uses the modern 3+1 split approach to Einstein's equations and to relativistic hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics. Both graduate students and advanced researchers will appreciate this book as reference text for this highly interesting field of astrophysics.