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This book utilizes the authors twenty years of research experience to describe conclusions on the nature of quasars, their distribution, and their evolution in the universe. Concentrating on observational astrophysics rather than theory, Quasar Astronomy serves as both a summary of what is known about quasars and a guide to research methods and unanswered questions. After reviewing the cosmological framework and necessary equations, the book discusses all aspects of observed quasar properties. Techniques are summarized for analysing quasar data obtained with various kinds of telescopes and extensive references are given to recent publications. The major original contributions in chapters 5 and 6 deal with the distribution of quasars in spacetime, a subject extensively discussed in the current research literature. The book not only summarizes existing results from various techniques but refers to the potentialities of new instruments that are presently being developed, resulting in a unified, up-to-date and practical account of the astronomy of quasars.
List of contents
Preface; 1. The technology; 2. Quasar surveys; 3. Cosmology; 4. Quasars as cosmological probes; 5. Luminosity functions; 6. Quasar evolution; 7. Continuous spectra; 8. Emission line spectroscopy; 9. Quasar structure; References; Index.
Summary
This book utilises the author's twenty years of research experience to describe conclusions on the nature of quasars, their distribution, and their evolution in the universe. It not only summarises existing results from various techniques but refers to the potentialities of new instruments that are presently being developed.
