Publisher's Synopsis
Relativistic astrophysics is a branch of physics that deals with some of the most difficult challenges in our understanding of nature: the birth of the Universe, the origin of cosmic structures, the nature of exotic objects such as quasars, accretion disks and black holes. Based on a meeting to honour the pioneering work of Igor Novikov, this book presents nineteen specially written chapters covering all aspects of relativistic astrophysics. The distinguished team of authors is: Marek Abramowicz, Bernard Carr, Valeri Frolov, Werner Israel, Bernard Jones, Lev Kofman, Edward ('Rocky') Kolb, Malcolm Longair, Phil Lubin, Donald Lynden-Bell, Igor Novikov, Martin Rees, Sergei Shadarin, George Smoot, Roland Svensson, Gustav Tammann, Kip Thorne, Michael Turner and J. Craig Wheeler. This volume provides researchers with a broad overview of modern relativistic astrophysics and offers an ideal source of supplementary reading for graduate students in astrophysics, cosmology and physics. It is a succinct yet engaging review of what is today one of the most active and fruitful areas of research in physics.
