Radiative Transfer in Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres

Description

Radiative transfer is essential for obtaining information from the spectra of astrophysical objects. This volume provides an overview of the physical and mathematical background of radiative transfer, and its applications to stellar and planetary atmospheres. It covers the phenomenology and physics of early-type and late-type stars, as well as ultra-cool dwarf stars and extrasolar planets. Importantly, it provides a bridge between classical radiative transfer and stellar atmosphere modelling and novel approaches, from both theoretical and computational standpoints. With new fields of application and a dramatic improvement in both observational and computational facilities, it also discusses the future outlook for the field. Chapters are written by eminent researchers from across the astronomical disciplines where radiative transfer is employed. Using the most recent observations, this is a go-to resource for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics.

Lucio Crivellari is Associate Researcher at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife and at the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Italy. He has previously held positions as an ESA External Fellow at the Observatoire de Paris-Meudon (1982-83) and European Union Senior Fellow Human Capital and Mobility at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (1994-95). His research focuses on radiative transfer and stellar atmosphere theory. Sergio Simon-Diaz is Staff Researcher at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife. He is mainly involved in the observation and analysis of massive stars and he has authored more than a hundred refereed papers. At present he is leading the IACOB project, a long-term observational project aimed at providing an overview of the main physical properties of Galactic massive O- and B-type stars to be used to improve our current understanding of the current theories of stellar atmospheres, winds, interiors and evolution of massive stars. Maria Jesus Arevalo is Associate Professor at Universidad de la Laguna, Tenerife and researcher at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. She was also the Head of Graduate Studies Division of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in 2016-17. Her research focuses on binary stars.

'The bulk of this volume consists of highly specialized and rigorously presented tutorials on this theory and on how to employ it, suitable for readers who are already professional specialists or advanced graduate students in physics or astrophysics, assuming strong mathematical preparation ... This will be a welcome acquisition for graduate-level and research libraries with collections in physics, astrophysics, and planetary science.' S. P. Maran, Choice