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This symposium was dedicated to science opportunities with the VLT. All major areas of astronomical research were discussed in the plenary sessions, ranging from where we stand in cosmology to the new frontiers in the solar system. The workshops published in this volume focussed on different ways of finding clusters of galaxies at high redshift, on gravitational lensing by distant compact clusters, on the use of stellar populations as distance, age or abundance indicators, and on the extraordinary progress made in the discovery of extrasolar planets. This book affords a glimpse of what will be at the center of astrophysical research in the forthcoming decade. It is addressed to researchers and graduate students.
The search for dark matter is one of the most relevant topics in astroparticle physics today. It involves many different experimental techniques that should collectively contribute significantly to the identification of the nature and characteristics of the dark matter constituents, offering at the same time much room for new technological developments. The theoretical framework is also essential, both for properly interpreting the different results and for suggesting the most interesting possible candidates and search strategies. This book compares the methods, the developments and the results.
Measuring the masses of galaxies as a function of redshift is perhaps one of the most challenging open issues in current astronomical research. The evolution of the baryonic and dark matter components of galaxies is not only a critical test of the hierarchical formation paradigm, but ultimately also provides new clues on the complex interplay between star formation, the cooling and heating of gas and galaxy merging processes. This book reviews current techniques to measure the baryonic (stellar) and dark masses of nearby galaxies, and focusses on ongoing attempts to measure theses same quantities in galaxies at higher and higher redshifts. It also gives room to future perspectives, with special emphasis on new survey projects and satellite missions.
This book provides an overview of many of the dramatic recent developments in the fields of astronomy, cosmology and fundamental physics. Topics include observations of the structure in the cosmic background radiation, evidence for an accelerating Universe, the extraordinary concordance in the fundamental parameters of the Universe coming from these and other diverse observations, the search for dark matter candidates, evidence for neutrino oscillations, space experiments on fundamental physics, and discoveries of extrasolar planets. This book will be useful for researchers and graduate students who wish to have a broad overview of the current developments in these fields.
Galaxies represent the most readily visible fabric of the cosmos. Their morphological types, luminosities and environmental surroundings contain valuable clues as to their origin and evolution. Locally, a strong correlation is seen between galaxy morphology and environmental location; this may have been molded at surprisingly modest redshifts. Spectroscopic and photometric studies of deep fields also suggest remarkably recent changes in the galaxy population. The associated growth of structure during the same interval can be tracked via X-ray studies of distant clusters of galaxies.Very recently, impressive observational facilities have been completed, each of which has extended the astronom...
Supermassive black holes are now believed to play an important role in the evolution of the Universe. Every respectable galaxy hosts in its center a black hole that appears to regulate the growth of the galaxy itself. In this book, leading experts in the field review the most recent theoretical and observational results on the following topics: - formation and growth of the first black holes in the Universe and their role in the formation and evolution of galaxies - the physics of black-hole accretion and the production of relativistic jets - binary black-hole mergers and gravitational radiation. Theoretical work is supplemented by the most recent exciting results from space and ground based observatories. This volume is useful research and reference tool for the entire astrophysical community.
This book discusses the remarkable plant diversity of the Maltese Archipelago. Despite its relatively small area and long-term human exploitation, many different plant communities occur in this territory. The book presents phytosociological investigations, together with taxonomical studies, which have been conducted over more than forty years, highlighting the unique features of this central Mediterranean insular ecosystem. It also describes the phytosociological role played by several narrow endemic or phytogeographically relevant taxa and introduces many phytocoenoses exclusively growing in the archipelago. The study integrates the palaeogeographic issues linked to the ancient and intriguing history of the different civilizations that succeeded on the islands for thousands of years. The book also focuses on the N2000 habitats.