High-Energy Astrophysics (Princeton Series in Astrophysics)

A fine work of astrophysical scholarship, wonderfully written and inspiring. Seamlessly interweaving a tapestry of theory and experiment, from both qualitative and quantitative vantage. Lucid exposition, crisp derivations, physical intuition and insight, ensure pleasurable reading. Survey of Instrumentation (Chapter one and two), basic derivations underlying the theory (Chapters 3 through 8), following which detailed descriptions of astronomical objects (Chapters 9 through 13). Perhaps at its most informative when providing theoretical analyses of radiative processes, accretion plasma and disks. Special Relativity and Electromagnetism are given rapid review for applications in this realm: "....by considering the differential elements of physical quantities, the validity of Lorentz Transformation is preserved as long as it is understood that it applies solely to that given instant." (page 43). Concluding chapters are descriptive (qualitative) , but include nice color plates and data tables of relevant experimental observations.A few highlights:(1) Simplified derivation of Fermi acceleration (pages 77-80): "...random scattering..accelerating particle scatter off random fluctuation of Magnetic Field."(2) Simplified hydrodynamic and Parker-wind equations (pages 118-126): "... a flow that begins subsonic and becomes supersonic near the compact object..." preliminary to a discussion of "Timescale Hierarchy " (pages 158-160): "...various timescales of interest in order to understand behavior of accretion disks..."(3) The archetypal Cygnus X-1 including discussion of X-Ray Binaries (Chapter ten)... "for examining the behavior of matter and radiation under the influence of strong gravity..." and we read "...more and more, the boundary between modern astrophysics and particle physics is dissolving, and nowhere is this in greater evidence than the high-energy domain." (page 324). Extensive (twenty pages) bibliography, referencing the journal literature.The writing, the prose if you will, is a delight to peruse, allowing for understanding by the uninitiated to the field.Well worth perusal for those with an interest in the confluence of astronomy and physics.Prerequisite of basic undergraduate physics and mathematics.Recommended as an introduction to basics in the field of high-energy astrophysics.

Arrived on time and as expected.

I have now read through this book twice and I must say, it is one of the best and most complete overviews of high-energy astrophysics I have ever seen. Topics are mathematically covered ad nauseam, though any nausea I experienced was more from my brain spinning with the concepts (and in quite a good way). I think Dr. Melia has written THE text on HE Astrophysics.That said, I do offer a word of warning to those who would attempt this Everest (and to read it truly is an Everest expedition for the mind - challenging, demanding proper preparation, and most certainly not for any but the most serious of students or scholars): this book was written for advanced graduate-level programs and, as such, it assumes a significant degree of knowledge on the part of the reader. If you are not fluent in the language of higher-order mathematics, do not understand at least the basics of high-energy physics, or lack a significant interest in this subject, you will find this text grueling and will likely regret your purchase decision (I had several friends borrow this to see if they would enjoy it - intelligent friends, mind you - and all but one of them became frustrated and lost within three pages). However, if these qualifications do not scare you away, I think you will find this book as wonderfully enlightening as I did and you will most certainly learn a great deal about the universe and the mechanics of the cosmos.

I agree with Dennis Evans review completely but I cannot give this book more than 3. There is a lot of "back-of-the-envelop" type of estimation and hand-waving arguments which I found to be hard to follow, I could not grasp the main theoretical arguments from formulas of the author.The author, in my opinion, is wasting too many pages on recapitulating standard topics of graduate curriculum and fails to connect them to the main developments of the chapter, quickly referring one to this or that author for the details. I did not need the derivation of the dipole radiation, or be told that it is convenient to introduce potentials into Maxwell's equations.Perhaps the observational material could be of interest to some people, if they were not written in such a verbose manner.This book is only useful for special lists and the experts, you will not learn how to build a physical model from a combination of first principles and empirical observations and then compare them with observation. In fact, obtaining the analytical or numerical details of such analysis is very difficult: undergraduate texts do not cover them, graduate texts, such as these, refer to original papers, and those papers often omit the details. Where can one find the details of the numerical simulation of an accretion disk around a neutral star? How can one verify the correctness of the preferred solution or build on it? There is no way currently of doing so. You just have assertions by the writers of such books.

There is something for everyone in this book. People interested inobservational techniques and data will appreciate the overview in thefirst few chapters. Those more interested in the theoreticalinterpretation of high-energy sources will find ample discussion ofthe physical principles underlying these objects in the rest of thebook. But don't expect to see the most complete discussion of thissubject here. This book is intended more as a compact overview of thecentral topics, and in this regard, it works quite well. I found thelist of references particularly helpful. Anyone interested in learningmore about any particular sub-topic will find the references up-to-dateand very relevant. Overall, this will make a great addition to yourlibrary.