Turbulence and convection are phenomena the existence of which has haunted astrophysicists because they pose such extremely difficult problems. The papers in this volume are taken from a conference held in February 1999 which brought together representatives of four different viewpoints: the computational physicist's numerical three-dimensional large-eddy simulations; theorists, who wish to simplify the equations into approximate, but useful one-dimensional recipes; astrophysicists, who see turbulence and convection as a subroutine; and experimentalists, who provide insights into what really happens at molecular levels in space - and keep everyone else honest.

This book presents an introduction to, and modern account of, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, an active field both in general turbulence theory and in various areas of astrophysics. The book starts by introducing the MHD equations, certain useful approximations and the transition to turbulence. The second part of the book covers incompressible MHD turbulence, the macroscopic aspects connected with the different self-organization processes, the phenomenology of the turbulence spectra, two-point closure theory, and intermittency. The third considers two-dimensional turbulence and compressible (in particular, supersonic) turbulence. Because of the similarities in the theoretical approach, these chapters start with a brief account of the corresponding methods developed in hydrodynamic turbulence. The final part of the book is devoted to astrophysical applications: turbulence in the solar wind, in accretion disks, and in the interstellar medium. This book is suitable for graduate students and researchers working in turbulence theory, plasma physics and astrophysics.

Convection is ubiquitous throughout the Universe, and during the last three decades it has become the largest factor of uncertainty in theoretical models of stars and in the interpretation of observations on the basis of such models. Recently, numerical simulations of convection have dramatically improved in their potential to take into account both the large scale properties of the flow itself and the microphysical properties of the fluid. Observations have become accurate enough to provide stringent tests for both numerical simulations and models of convection. IAU S239 was held to further understanding of convection, bringing together leading researchers in solar and stellar physics, the physics of planets, and of accretion disks. With reviews, research contributions, and detailed recordings of plenary discussions, this book is a valuable resource for professional astronomers and graduate students interested in the interdisciplinary study of one of the key physical processes in astrophysics.

The most authoritative synthesis of the quantitative spectroscopic analysis of stellar atmospheres This book provides an in-depth and self-contained treatment of the latest advances achieved in quantitative spectroscopic analyses of the observable outer layers of stars and similar objects. Written by two leading researchers in the field, it presents a comprehensive account of both the physical foundations and numerical methods of such analyses. The book is ideal for astronomers who want to acquire deeper insight into the physical foundations of the theory of stellar atmospheres, or who want to learn about modern computational techniques for treating radiative transfer in non-equilibrium situations. It can also serve as a rigorous yet accessible introduction to the discipline for graduate students. Provides a comprehensive, up-to-date account of the field Covers computational methods as well as the underlying physics Serves as an ideal reference book for researchers and a rigorous yet accessible textbook for graduate students An online illustration package is available to professors at press.princeton.edu

Geophysical and Astrophysical Convection collects important papers from an international group of the world's foremost researchers in geophysical and astrophysical convection to present a concise overview of recent thinking in the field. Topics include: Atmospheric convection, solar and stellar convection, unsteady non-penetrative thermal convection, astrophysical convection and dynamos, dynamics of cumulus entertainment, turbulent convection: helical buoyant convection, transport phenomena, potential vorticity, rotating convective turbulence, and the modeling and simulation various types of convection and turbulence.

This is a reissue of Professor Batchelor's text on the theory of turbulent motion, which was first published by Cambridge Unviersity Press in 1953. It continues to be widely referred to in the professional literature of fluid mechanics, but has not been available for several years. This classic account includes an introduction to the study of homogeneous turbulence, including its mathematic representation and kinematics. Linear problems, such as the randomly-perturbed harmonic oscillator and turbulent flow through a wire gauze, are then treated. The author also presents the general dynamics of decay, universal equilibrium theory, and the decay of energy-containing eddies. There is a renewed interest in turbulent motion, which finds applications in atmospheric physics, fluid mechanics, astrophysics, and planetary science.

Helioseismology has enabled us to probe the internal structure and dynamics of the Sun, including how its rotation varies in the solar interior. The unexpected discovery of an abrupt transition - the tachocline - between the differentially rotating convection zone and the uniformly rotating radiative interior has generated considerable interest and raised many fundamental issues. This volume contains invited reviews from distinguished speakers at the first meeting devoted to the tachocline, held at the Isaac Newton Institute. It provides a comprehensive account of the understanding of the properties and dynamics of the tachocline, including both observational results and major theoretical issues, involving both hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic behaviour. The Solar Tachocline is a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in astrophysics, heliospheric physics and geophysics, and the dynamics of fluids and plasmas.