Title : Chaos and Complexity in Astrophysics

Author : Oded Regev

Columbia University, New York

Published in July 2006 by CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Address : The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK

Telephone : 01223 312393 Fax : 01223 315052

Internet : www.cambridge.org

ISBN : 0-521-855534-9 - 468 pages – hardback

PRICE : £ 47 US$ 85.00

The discipline of nonlinear dynamics has developed explosively in all areas of physics over the last two decades. This comprehensive primer summarizes the main developments in the mathematical theory of dynamical systems, chaos, pattern formation and complexity. An introduction to mathematical concepts and techniques is given in the first part of the book, before being applied to stellar, interstellar, galactic and large scale complex phenomena in the Universe. Regev demonstrates the possible application of ideas including strange attractors, Poincaré sections, fractals, bifurcations, and complex spatial patterns, to specific astrophysical problems. This self-contained text will appeal to a broad audience of astrophysicists and astronomers who wish to understand and apply modern dynamical approaches to the problems they are working on. It provides researchers and graduate students with the investigative tools they need to fully explore chaotic and complex phenomena.

• Includes a comprehensive and self-contained introduction to dynamical system and pattern theory, especially appropriate for astrophysicists • Uses examples to demonstrate theoretical notions in astronomy and astrophysics whenever possible • Gives many diverse applications of chaos and complexity theory to astrophysics, and discusses them in considerable detail