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Gamma-ray astronomy began in the mid-1960s with balloon satellite, and, at very high photon energies, also with ground-based instruments. However, the most significant progress was made in the last decade of the 20th century, when the tree satellite missions SIGMA, Compton, and Beppo-Sax gave a completely new picture of our Universe and made gamma-ray astronomy an integral part of astronomical research. This book, written by well-known experts, gives the first comprehensive presentation of this field of research, addressing both graduate students and researchers. Gamma-ray astronomy helps us to understand the most energetic processes and the most violent events in the Universe. After describing cosmic gamma-ray production and absorption, the instrumentation used in gamma-ray astronomy is explained. The main part of the book deals with astronomical results, including the somewhat surprising result that the gamma-ray sky is continuously changing.
List of contents
1 Introduction.- 2 Gamma-Ray Production and Absorption Processes.- 3 Instruments.- 4 Summary of the Gamma-Ray Sky.- 5 The Sun as a Gamma-Ray Source.- 6 Gamma-Ray Pulsars.- 7 X-Ray Binaries as Gamma-Ray Sources.- 8 Continuum Gamma Ray Emission from Supernova Remnants.- 9 Diffuse Galactic Continuum Gamma-Rays.- 10 Nucleosynthesis.- 11 Nuclear Interaction Gamma-Ray Lines.- 12 Gamma-Ray Emission of Active Galaxies.- 13 Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources.- 14 The Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background.- 15 Gamma-Ray Bursts.
Summary
Gamma-ray astronomy began in the mid-1960s with balloon satellite, and, at very high photon energies, also with ground-based instruments. However, the most significant progress was made in the last decade of the 20th century, when the tree satellite missions SIGMA, Compton, and Beppo-Sax gave a completely new picture of our Universe and made gamma-ray astronomy an integral part of astronomical research. This book, written by well-known experts, gives the first comprehensive presentation of this field of research, addressing both graduate students and researchers. Gamma-ray astronomy helps us to understand the most energetic processes and the most violent events in the Universe. After describing cosmic gamma-ray production and absorption, the instrumentation used in gamma-ray astronomy is explained. The main part of the book deals with astronomical results, including the somewhat surprising result that the gamma-ray sky is continuously changing.
Additional text
From the reviews of the first edition:
"The editor, Dr. Schoenfelder, has done an excellent job in compiling the finest articles encompassing every aspect of gamma-ray astronomy. [...] The articles offer easy reading and readers with basic astronomy background would find no problem at all in understanding these articles. The book is best suited for graduate students, and also an excellent handbook for references for any serious researchers." (Indian Journal of Physics, 77B/4, 2003)
"The book consists of articles written by gamma-ray astronomers at the Max Planck Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik in Garching. The result is a nice compilation of topics in the forefront of the field and a uniformity of style. … As an introductory text for new workers in the field - and there will be quite a few, in view of forthcoming space missions - the book will be useful … ." (Arnold Wolfendale, The observatory, Vol. 122 (1168), 2002)
Report
From the reviews of the first edition:
"The editor, Dr. Schoenfelder, has done an excellent job in compiling the finest articles encompassing every aspect of gamma-ray astronomy. [...] The articles offer easy reading and readers with basic astronomy background would find no problem at all in understanding these articles. The book is best suited for graduate students, and also an excellent handbook for references for any serious researchers." (Indian Journal of Physics, 77B/4, 2003)
"The book consists of articles written by gamma-ray astronomers at the Max Planck Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik in Garching. The result is a nice compilation of topics in the forefront of the field and a uniformity of style. ... As an introductory text for new workers in the field - and there will be quite a few, in view of forthcoming space missions - the book will be useful ... ." (Arnold Wolfendale, The observatory, Vol. 122 (1168), 2002)
