The methods used in the detection and characterisation of exoplanets are presented through the study of transiting systems in this unique textbook for advanced undergraduates. From determining the atmospheric properties of transiting exoplanets to measuring the planetary orbit's alignment with the stellar spin, students will discover what these measurements imply for reinvigorated theories of planet formation and evolution. Worked examples and exercises with full solutions help students to assess their understanding of concepts and results. Key points and equations are highlighted to make them easily identifiable, and there are full colour illustrations throughout. Bridging the gap between introductory, non-mathematical texts and more advanced textbooks, this book is ideal for students with some background in mathematics, physics and astronomy. Accompanying resources to this textbook are available at: http://www.cambridge.org/features/astrophysics.
Mantle convection is the fundamental agent driving many of the geological features observed at the Earth's surface, including plate tectonics and plume volcanism. Yet many Earth scientists have an incomplete understanding of the process. This book describes the physics and fluid dynamics of mantle convection, explaining what it is, how it works, and how to quantify it in simple terms. It assumes no specialist background: mechanisms are explained simply and the required basic physics is fully reviewed and explained with minimal mathematics. The distinctive forms that convection takes in the Earth's mantle are described within the context of tectonic plates and mantle plumes, and implications are explored for geochemistry and tectonic evolution. Common misconceptions and controversies are addressed - providing a straightforward but rigorous explanation of this key process for students and researchers across a variety of geoscience disciplines.
Multilayer networks, in particular multilayer social networks, where users belong to and interact on different networks at the same time, are an active research area in social network analysis, computer science, and physics. These networks have traditionally been studied within these separate research communities, leading to the development of several independent models and methods to deal with the same set of problems. This book unifies and consolidates existing practical and theoretical knowledge on multilayer networks including data collection and analysis, modeling, and mining of multilayer social network systems, the evolution of interconnected social networks, and dynamic processes such as information spreading. A single real dataset is used to illustrate the concepts presented throughout the book, demonstrating both the practical utility and the potential shortcomings of the various methods. Researchers from all areas of network analysis will learn new aspects and future directi
Multilayer networks, in particular multilayer social networks, where users belong to and interact on different networks at the same time, are an active research area in social network analysis, computer science, and physics. These networks have traditionally been studied within these separate research communities, leading to the development of several independent models and methods to deal with the same set of problems. This book unifies and consolidates existing practical and theoretical knowledge on multilayer networks including data collection and analysis, modeling, and mining of multilayer social network systems, the evolution of interconnected social networks, and dynamic processes such as information spreading. A single real dataset is used to illustrate the concepts presented throughout the book, demonstrating both the practical utility and the potential shortcomings of the various methods. Researchers from all areas of network analysis will learn new aspects and future directi
This cross-disciplinary volume provides an overview of how complexity theory and the tools of statistical mechanics can be applied to linguistic problems to help reveal language groups, and to model the evolution and competition of languages in space and time. Illustrated with a series of case studies and worked examples, it presents an interdisciplinary framework to enable researchers from the mathematical, physical and social sciences to collaborate on linguistic problems. It demonstrates the complexity of linguistic databases and provides a mathematical toolkit for analyzing and extracting useful information from them - helping to conceptualize empirical facts better than a mere ethnographic view. Providing an important bridge to facilitate collaboration between linguists and mathematical modelers, this book will stimulate new ideas and avenues for research, and will form a valuable resource for advanced students and academics working across complex systems, sociolinguistics, and la
Massive stars play a crucial role in the Universe: they are important drivers for the photometric and chemical evolution of galaxies; they are sources of important elements, including those necessary for life; and, with their strong winds and supernova explosions, they feed the interstellar medium with momentum and kinetic energy, impacting on the star formation rate. Knowledge of the evolution of massive stars is important not only for stellar physics, but also for probing the evolution of galaxies and their star formation histories throughout cosmic time. This volume provides an introduction to these topics and to the techniques used to investigate the properties of massive stars, including asteroseismology, spectropolarimetry, and interferometry. It highlights synergies between these new techniques and more classical methods, to create a synthetic view of massive stars, leading researchers towards new and innovative solutions to the most topical questions regarding the evolution of
This Element presents a unified computational fluid dynamics framework from rarefied to continuum regimes. The framework is based on the direct modelling of flow physics in a discretized space. The mesh size and time step are used as modelling scales in the construction of discretized governing equations. With the variation-of-cell Knudsen number, continuous modelling equations in different regimes have been obtained, and the Boltzmann and Navier-Stokes equations become two limiting equations in the kinetic and hydrodynamic scales. The unified algorithms include the discrete velocity method (DVM)–based unified gas-kinetic scheme (UGKS), the particlebased unified gas-kinetic particle method (UGKP), and the wave and particle–based unified gas-kinetic wave-particle method (UGKWP). The UGKWP is a multi-scale method with the particle for non-equilibrium transport and wave for equilibrium evolution. The particle dynamics in the rarefied regime and the hydrodynamic flow solver in the continuu
This modern and self-contained book offers a clear and accessible introduction to the important topic of machine learning with neural networks. In addition to describing the mathematical principles of the topic, and its historical evolution, strong connections are drawn with underlying methods from statistical physics and current applications within science and engineering. Closely based around a well-established undergraduate course, this pedagogical text provides a solid understanding of the key aspects of modern machine learning with artificial neural networks, for students in physics, mathematics, and engineering. Numerous exercises expand and reinforce key concepts within the book and allow students to hone their programming skills. Frequent references to current research develop a detailed perspective on the state-of-the-art in machine learning research.
The cataclysmic stellar explosion Supernova 1987A, visible to the naked eye, was the nearest and brightest supernova witnessed since the invention of the telescope four centuries ago. This volume deals with supernovae and their remnants, in terms of exceptional phenomena that produce and release high-energy nuclei and particles. Marking the thirtieth anniversary of SN 1987A, the proceedings of IAU Symposium 331 introduce the accumulating knowledge on these central sources in many active fields of investigation: stellar evolution and the diversity of supernova progenitors and their properties, explosive nucleosynthesis and particle acceleration in the most extreme environments known to physics, and the long-standing issues about the origins of heavy nuclei in the Universe and of cosmic rays. Through its interdisciplinary approach, this volume also sheds light on the open issues related to these topics and emphasizes topics of future interest with upcoming multi-wavelength and multi-mess
Aimed at graduate students and researchers in theoretical physics, this book presents the modern theory of strong interaction: quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The book exposes various perturbative and nonperturbative approaches to the theory, including chiral effective theory, the problems of anomalies, vacuum tunnel transitions, and the problem of divergence of the perturbative series. The QCD sum rules approach is exposed in detail. A great variety of hadronic properties (masses of mesons and baryons, magnetic moments, form factors, quark distributions in hadrons, etc.) have been found using this method. The evolution of hadronic structure functions is presented in detail, together with polarization phenomena. The problem of jets in QCD is treated through theoretical description and experimental observation. The connection with Regge theory is emphasized. The book covers many aspects of theory which are not discussed in other books, such as CET, QCD sum rules, and BFKL.
This book was first published in 2004. Unraveling the origin of biodiversity is fundamental for understanding our biosphere. This book clarifies how adaptive processes, rather than geographic isolation, can cause speciation. Adaptive speciation occurs when biological interactions induce disruptive selection and the evolution of assortative mating, thus triggering the splitting of lineages. Internationally recognized leaders in the field explain exciting developments in modeling speciation, together with celebrated examples of rapid speciation by natural selection. Written for students and researchers in biology, physics, and mathematics, this book is a groundbreaking treatment of modern speciation science.
Narrative Science examines the use of narrative in scientific research over the last two centuries. It brings together an international group of scholars who have engaged in intense collaboration to find and develop crucial cases of narrative in science. Motivated and coordinated by the Narrative Science project, funded by the European Research Council, this volume offers integrated and insightful essays examining cases that run the gamut from geology to psychology, chemistry, physics, botany, mathematics, epidemiology, and biological engineering. Taking in shipwrecks, human evolution, military intelligence, and mass extinctions, this landmark study revises our understanding of what science is, and the roles of narrative in scientists' work. This title is also available as Open Access.
This book is about the methods used for unifying different scientific theories under one all-embracing theory. The process has characterized much of the history of science and is prominent in contemporary physics; the search for a 'theory of everything' involves the same attempt at unification. Margaret Morrison argues that, contrary to popular philosophical views, unification and explanation often have little to do with each other. The mechanisms that facilitate unification are not those that enable us to explain how or why phenomena behave as they do. A feature of this book is an account of many case studies of theory unification in nineteenth- and twentieth-century physics and of how evolution by natural selection and Mendelian genetics were unified into what we now term evolutionary genetics.
This 1998 book describes the progress that had been made towards the development of a comprehensive understanding of the formation of complex, disorderly patterns under conditions far from equilibrium. The application of fractal geometry and scaling concepts to the quantitative description and understanding of structure formed under non-equilibrium conditions is described. Self-similar fractals, multi-fractals and scaling methods are discussed, with examples, to facilitate applications in the physical sciences. Computer simulations and experimental studies are emphasised, but the author also includes discussion of theoretical advances in the subject. Much of the book deals with diffusion-limited growth processes and the evolution of rough surfaces, although a broad range of other applications is also included. The techniques and topics will be relevant to graduate students and researchers in physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering and the earth sciences, interested in applyi
This book is about the ways in which many animals form groups; for instance, schools of fish, flocks of birds, and swarms of insects. Covering both invertebrate and vertebrate species, the authors investigate three-dimensional animal aggregations from a variety of disciplines, from physics to mathematics to biology. The first section is devoted to the various methods, mainly optical and acoustic, used to collect three-dimensional data over time. The second section focuses on analytical methods used to quantify pattern, group kinetics, and interindividual interactions within the group. The section on behavioural ecology and evolution deals with the functions of aggregative behaviour from the point of view of an inherently selfish individual member. The final section uses models to elucidate how group dynamics at the individual level creates emergent pattern at the level of the group.
Dynamo theory, the study of the generation and maintenance of magnetic fields by fluid motions, is important in many areas of physics, ranging from stellar and galactic dynamics, through solar physics and geomagnetism, to reactor physics. This volume contains the lectures given by leading specialists, for an intensive course held at the Newton Institute, as part of a NATO Advanced Study Institute. The course was intended for beginning graduate students, so starts with background material, before leading on to describe areas closer to current research. Topics covered include planetary and solar dynamos, fast dynamos and the use of symmetry principles to derive evolution equations. Detailed bibliographies are provided. As the only modern introduction to the subject, this will be welcome reading for students in planetary and solar physics, plasma physics and astrophysics.
This authoritative textbook - the second volume of a comprehensive three-volume course on theoretical astrophysics - deals with stellar physics. Designed to help graduate students and researchers develop an understanding of the key physical processes governing stars and stellar systems, it teaches the fundamentals, and then builds on them to give the reader an in-depth understanding of advanced topics. The book's modular design allows the chapters to be approached individually, yet seamless transitions create a coherent and connected whole. It can be used alone or in conjunction with Volume I, which covers a wide range of astrophysical processes, and the forthcoming Volume III, on galaxies and cosmology. After reviewing the key observational results and nomenclature used in stellar astronomy, the book develops a solid understanding of central concepts including stellar structure and evolution, the physics of stellar remnants, pulsars, binary stars, the sun and planetary systems, inters
In this important book, Ellery Eells explores and refines philosophical conceptions of probabilistic causality. In a probabilistic theory of causation, causes increase the probability of their effects rather than necessitate their effects in the ways traditional deterministic theories have specified. Philosophical interest in this subject arises from attempts to understand population sciences as well as indeterminism in physics. Taking into account issues involving spurious correlation, probabilistic causal interaction, disjunctive causal factors, and temporal ideas, Professor Eells advances the analysis of what it is for one factor to be a positive causal factor for another. A salient feature of the book is a theory of token level probabilistic causation in which the evolution of the probability of a later event from an earlier event is central. This will be a book of crucial significance to philosophers of science and metaphysicians; it will also prove stimulating to many economists,
In this important book, Ellery Eells explores and refines philosophical conceptions of probabilistic causality. In a probabilistic theory of causation, causes increase the probability of their effects rather than necessitate their effects in the ways traditional deterministic theories have specified. Philosophical interest in this subject arises from attempts to understand population sciences as well as indeterminism in physics. Taking into account issues involving spurious correlation, probabilistic causal interaction, disjunctive causal factors, and temporal ideas, Professor Eells advances the analysis of what it is for one factor to be a positive causal factor for another. A salient feature of the book is a theory of token level probabilistic causation in which the evolution of the probability of a later event from an earlier event is central. This will be a book of crucial significance to philosophers of science and metaphysicians; it will also prove stimulating to many economists,
The advent of supercomputers has brought computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to the forefront as a tool to analyze increasingly complex simulation scenarios in many fields. Computational aerodynamics problems are also increasingly moving towards being coupled, multi-physics and multi-scale with complex, moving geometries. The latter presents severe geometry handling and meshing challenges. Simulations also frequently use formal design optimization processes. This book explains the evolution of CFD and provides a comprehensive overview of the plethora of tools and methods available for solving complex scenarios while exploring the future directions and possible outcomes. Using numerous examples, illustrations and computational methods the author discusses turbulence modeling, pre and post processing, coupled solutions, the importance of design optimization, multiphysics problems, reduced order models, and large scale computations and the future of CFD. Advanced Computational Fluid and Ae
