Springer Jets and Winds in Pulsar Wind Nebulae, Gamma-Ray Bursts and Blazars: 62 (Space Sciences Series of ISSI, 62)

Relativistic objects in astrophysics present a diverse set of phenomena and cover vast ranges of time scales and spatial scales, but their descriptions rely on a similar backbone: production of a relativistic outflow in a central compact object and dissipation of the outflow at large radii, accompanied by acceleration of particles up to very high energies and production of secondary non-thermal electromagnetic radiation. This book provides a timely and comprehensive review of the main physical processes involved in the formation and dissipation of relativistic outflows. It will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science.   Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 207, Issue 1-4, July 2017 From the Back Cover Relativistic objects in astrophysics present a diverse set of phenomena and cover vast ranges of time scales and spatial scales, but their descriptions rely on a similar backbone: production of a relativistic outflow in a central compact object and dissipation of the outflow at large radii, accompanied by acceleration of particles up to very high energies and production of secondary non-thermal electromagnetic radiation. This book provides a timely and comprehensive review of the main physical processes involved in the formation and dissipation of relativistic outflows. It will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science.   Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 207, Issue 1-4, July 2017 About the Author Andrei Bykov is head of High Energy Astrophysics Division in the Ioffe Institute of Physics and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences and  professor of St.Petersburg State Politechnical University. His principal research interest is theory and observations of physical processes in astrophysical objects with extreme energy release - supernovae, pulsars, gamma-ray bursts  and clusters of galaxies. He is author and coauthor of over 200 scientific publications, including the book Turbulence, Current Sheets and Shocks in Cosmic Plasma, and he is editor of five books on high energy astrophysics. Elena Amato is an astrophysicist working at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory (Florence), which is part of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). Her main research interests are in the field of Theoretical High Energy Astrophysics. More specifically, she has been working on the physics of Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Supernova Remnants and the origin and propagation of Galactic Cosmic Rays. Her research has resulted in more than 60 refereed articles. Jonathan Arons is Professor Emeritus in the Astronomy Department and the Physics Department at University of California at Berkeley. His main research interests are in the field of Theoretical Astrophysics.  Namely, compact astrophysical objects, pulsars, neutron stars, black holes, ionized plasmas,  cosmic rays, magnetized accretion disks,  magnetic fields, planets. Theory and simulation of relativistic collisionless shock wave structure is another field of interest. He is author and coauthor of over 250 scientific publications and editor of several books in his research fields.   Martin Lemoine is a senior scientist at CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), working at the IAP (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris) on astroparticle physics. His current primary research theme is the theory of particle acceleration to very high energies in relativistic astrophysical sources. Formerly Associate Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique, Lemoine has authored about 100 research papers and co-edited four collections of proceedings on astroparticle physics and cosmology. Maurizio Falanga received his university degree for Theoretical Physics and Astronomy at the University of Basel, Switzerland and his PhD degree in astrophysics