Accretion disks in compact stellar systems containing white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes are the principal laboratory for understanding the role of accretion disks in a wide variety of environments from proto-stars to quasars. Recent work on disk instabilities and dynamics has given a new theoretical framework with which to study accretion disks. Modeling of time-dependent phenomena provides new insight into the causes and interpretation of photometric and spectroscopic variability and new constraints on the fundamental physical problem — the origin of viscosity in accretion disks. This book contains expert reviews on the nature of limit cycle thermal instabilities and a variety of closely related topics from the theory of angular momentum transport to eclipse mapping of the disk structure. The result is a comprehensive contemporary survey of the structure and evolution of accretion disks in compact binary systems.

The first comprehensive and up-to-date review of our new understanding of accretion disks around black holes - with chapters from experts from around the world.

With contributions from leading scientists in the field, and edited by two of the most prominent astronomers of our time, this is a totally authoritative volume on X-ray astronomy that will be essential reading for everyone interested – from students to astrophysicists and physicists. All the aspects of this exciting area of study are covered, from astronomical instrumentation to extragalactic X-ray astronomy.

It has been more than fifty years since the first significant paper on accretion flows was written. In recent years, X-ray satellites capable of identifying accretion disks and radiation jets - indications that accretion has taken place - have significantly advanced our understanding of these phenomena. This volume presents a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the major theoretical and observational topics associated with accretion processes in astrophysics. Comprising lectures presented at the twenty-first Winter School of the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, the text emphasises the physical aspects of accretion, investigating how radiation jets are produced, how accretion power is divided between jets and radiated energy, the geometry of accretion flow, and the accretion processes of active galactic nuclei. Written by an international team of experienced scientists, chapters offer young researchers key analytical tools for supporting and carrying out the next generation of front-line research.

This 21st volume in the series contains 15 invited reviews and highlight contributions presented during the 2008 International Scientific Conference of the German Astronomical Society on the topic of "New Challenges to European Astronomy", held in Vienna, Austria. The papers discuss a wide range of hot topics, including cosmology, high-energy astrophysics, astroparticle physics gravitational waves, extragalactic and stellar astronomy -- together representing the roadmap for modern astrophysical research.

This book highlights selected topics of standard and modern theory of accretion onto black holes and magnetized neutron stars. The structure of stationary standard discs and non-stationary viscous processes in accretion discs are discussed to the highest degree of accuracy analytic theory can provide, including relativistic effects in flat and warped discs around black holes. A special chapter is dedicated to a new theory of subsonic settling accretion onto a rotating magnetized neutron star. The book also describes supercritical accretion in quasars and its manifestation in lensing events. Several chapters cover the underlying physics of viscosity in astrophysical discs with some important aspects of turbulent viscosity generation. The book is aimed at specialists as well as graduate students interested in the field of theoretical astrophysics.

High resolution is a key element in research in astronomy and cosmology. Advances in instrumentation and new methods are enabling us to constantly make new exciting discoveries, and progress in theoretical modelling allows us to gain a deeper understanding of cosmic physics. One example of this progress in instrumentation and observing strategy have made possible the discovery of a rich population of low-mass planets orbiting solar-type stars (Michel Mayor et al., Karl Schwarzschild Lecture 2010). This 23rd volume in the series Reviews of Modern Astronomy contains 14 invited reviews and highlight contributions presented during the 2010 annual meeting of the Astronomical Society on the topic "Zooming in: The cosmos at high resolution", held in Bonn, Germany, in September 2010.