Dynamics of Galaxies

Description

Our understanding of galaxies, the building blocks of the Universe has advanced significantly in recent years. New observations from ground- and space-based telescopes, the discovery of dark matter, and new insights into its distribution have been instrumental in this. This textbook provides graduate students with a modern introduction to the gravitationally determined structure and evolution of galaxies. Readers will also benefit from detailed discussions of the issues involved in the process of modeling complex stellar systems. Additionally, the text provides an accessible framework for interpreting observations and devising new observational tests. Based on the author's extensive teaching experience, this second edition features an up-to-date view of basic phenomenology, a discussion of the structure of dark halos in galaxies, the dynamics of quasi-relaxed stellar systems and globular clusters, galaxies and gravitational lensing and an introduction to self-gravitating accretion disks. Extended problem sets are available from the accompanying resources website: www.cambridge.org/9781107000544.

Giuseppe Bertin is Professor of Physics at the University of Milan, Italy; previously he was in the faculty of the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa. He has also held several positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been a member of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara (in 2006 and 2009). Professor Bertin is also author of Spiral Structure in Galaxies: A Density Wave Theory with C. C. Lin, and editor of the proceedings of a series of three international workshops on plasmas in the laboratory and in the universe. He is the recipient of the Italian National Academy's Premio del Presidente della Repubblica in Science for 2013.

Review of the first edition: 'A fresh and exciting introduction to modern galactic physics on the grand scale, and of its connections to other broad domains of contemporary physics. Graduate students in particular, will appreciate the clarity of presentation.' Bruno Coppi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Review of the first edition: '... fills a major need for a graduate-level, physically based introduction to galaxies, and it will be of very wide appeal as a course text. The original approach leads to a rich physical intuition of real kinematical systems. A particular strength is the detailed analysis of the limitations of current methods and theories.' Gerry Gilmore, University of Cambridge Review of the first edition: '[This] book is particularly useful for students interested in mathematical methods of galactic dynamics. Bertin's comparisons between galactic dynamics and plasma physics are also innovative and illustrative ... Many of his descriptions are particularly good for beginning graduate students: his chapter on dispersive waves, for example. Each chapter includes thought-provoking questions.' Debra Elmegreen and Bruce C. Elmegreen, Physics Today Review of the first edition: 'Bertin takes an Olympian view of this complex field and describes it with remarkable clarity and depth.' Tjeerd S. van Albada, Groningen University Review of the first edition: 'This book is a joy to read. It connects the internal dynamics of galaxies to the physics of plasmas and the theory of wave in fluids with a delight in the universality of the laws of mechanics ... An endearing characteristic is its lack of dogmatism, both in the theory of spiral structure and over dark matter ... [For graduates] who want a single book for their own learning it is highly recommended. It gives an excellent introduction to the properties and internal dynamics of galaxies that allows the subject to provide its own evidence on their nature and constitution unencumbered by the philosophical baggage of cosmology.' Donald Lynden-Bell, The Observatory 'This is a superb, advanced, and up-to-date volume on all types and aspects of galaxies covering the expanding range of modern observations, the analytical theory of self-gravitating collisionless systems, and N-body simulations. It will be valuable as the basic text in a graduate-level course on galaxies and as a reference text for astronomers doing research on galaxies. For course use, the text is accompanied by extended problem sets developed by Professor Bertin over many years of graduate teaching and research on galaxies. I am very impressed.' Richard Lovelace, Cornell University 'This book provides a rich introduction to the dynamics of galaxies at the graduate level, progressing from basic observations, concepts and techniques, to active areas of research. Enough mathematics is presented to empower the reader, but the emphasis is on imparting a physical understanding of underlying principles and research frontiers. New chapters in the second edition on gravitational lensing and self-gravitating accretion disks provide a welcome exposure to these active research areas and connect to the fundamentals of previous chapters. The book distinguishes itself by making explicit the conceptual links between classical gravitational dynamics, plasma physics, and fluid dynamics. This, in turn, results in a particularly attractive text for a robust graduate astrophysics course curriculum. Researchers, instructors and students will all appreciate the comprehensive reference lists for each chapter and the plethora of practice problems.' Eric G. Blackman, University of Rochester 'This book presents a good introduction to many advanced topics in the area of galactic structure and evolution usually not covered in more introductory texts. The approach is original, particularly by presenting many interesting parallels and analogies with other areas of physics. To sum up: a very useful book for studying this subject at graduate level.' Ilian Iliev, University of Sussex