Plasmas in the Universe
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Author(s): B. Coppi and A. Ferrari (Eds)
Publisher: IOS Press
ISBN: 1586030736
Format: hardback
503pp
Price: £80.00, $126.00
Review Date: 04 January 2001
Review: Since the first course in Plasma Astrophysics, held in 1966, the interaction between astronomers and plasma physicists has increased. These papers illustrate the latest developments in the fields of space and solar physics, stellar physics, extragalactic physics and cosmology. Progress in plasma physics has continued apace, in particular the existence of collective processes, both linear and nonlinear, which can explain key areas of accretion physics, magnetic reconnection, the formation of 'strange' particle distributions, particle scattering phenomena etc. Several papers discuss indications of the influence of nonlinear phenomena in astrophysical applications - one of the main lines in the future of plasma astrophysics. The editors anticipate that the fast growth of plasma astrophysics will continue, thanks to the new observations in the high-energy band of the spectrum, and the validation and discovery of new theories using increasingly sophisticated machines.