This book is written to bring out the physical content behind the mathematical formulae.

This set of lectures collects surveys of open problems in celestial dynamics and dynamical astronomy applied to solar, extra-solar and galactic systems. The discovery and thus the possibility to study many new extra-solar planetary systems have spurred new developments in the field and enabled the testing and enlargement of the domains of validity of theoretical predictions through the Nekhoroshev theorem.

Since it was first published in 1987, Galactic Dynamics has become the most widely used advanced textbook on the structure and dynamics of galaxies and one of the most cited references in astrophysics. Now, in this extensively revised and updated edition, James Binney and Scott Tremaine describe the dramatic recent advances in this subject, making Galactic Dynamics the most authoritative introduction to galactic astrophysics available to advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers. Every part of the book has been thoroughly overhauled, and many sections have been completely rewritten. Many new topics are covered, including N-body simulation methods, black holes in stellar systems, linear stability and response theory, and galaxy formation in the cosmological context. Binney and Tremaine, two of the world's leading astrophysicists, use the tools of theoretical physics to describe how galaxies and other stellar systems work, succinctly and lucidly explaining theoretical principles and their applications to observational phenomena. They provide readers with an understanding of stellar dynamics at the level needed to reach the frontiers of the subject. This new edition of the classic text is the definitive introduction to the field. ? A complete revision and update of one of the most cited references in astrophysics Provides a comprehensive description of the dynamical structure and evolution of galaxies and other stellar systems Serves as both a graduate textbook and a resource for researchers Includes 20 color illustrations, 205 figures, and more than 200 problems Covers the gravitational N-body problem, hierarchical galaxy formation, galaxy mergers, dark matter, spiral structure, numerical simulations, orbits and chaos, equilibrium and stability of stellar systems, evolution of binary stars and star clusters, and much more Companion volume to Galactic Astronomy, the definitive book on the phenomenology of galaxies and star clusters

This topical volume examines one of the leading problems in astronomy - how galaxies cluster in our Universe. This book, first published in 2000, describes gravitational theory, computer simulations and observations related to galaxy distribution functions. It embeds distribution functions in a broader astronomical context, including other exciting contemporary topics such as correlation functions, fractals, bound clusters, topology, percolation and minimal spanning trees. Key results are derived and the necessary gravitational physics provided to ensure the book is self-contained. Throughout the book, theory, computer simulation and observation are carefully interwoven and critically compared. The book also shows how future observations can test the theoretical models for the evolution of galaxy clustering at early times in our Universe. This clear and authoritative volume is written at a level suitable for graduate students, and will be of key interest to astronomers, cosmologists, physicists and applied statisticians.

Galaxies, along with their underlying dark matter halos, constitute the building blocks of structure in the Universe. Of all fundamental forces, gravity is the dominant one that drives the evolution of structures from small density seeds at early times to the galaxies we see today. The interactions among myriads of stars, or dark matter particles, in a gravitating structure produce a system with fascinating connotations to thermodynamics, with some analogies and some fundamental differences. Ignacio Ferreras presents a concise introduction to extragalactic astrophysics, with emphasis on stellar dynamics, and the growth of density fluctuations in an expanding Universe. Additional chapters are devoted to smaller systems (stellar clusters) and larger ones (galaxy clusters). Fundamentals of Galaxy Dynamics, Formation and Evolution is written for advanced undergraduates and beginning postgraduate students, providing a useful tool to get up to speed in a starting research career. Some of the derivations for the most important results are presented in detail to enable students appreciate the beauty of maths as a tool to understand the workings of galaxies. Each chapter includes a set of problems to help the student advance with the material.

Provides advanced students with an introduction to modern galactic dynamics, and equips them with useful observational and theoretical tools.

This is the definitive treatment of the phenomenology of galaxies--a clear and comprehensive volume that takes full account of the extraordinary recent advances in the field. The book supersedes the classic text Galactic Astronomy that James Binney wrote with Dimitri Mihalas, and complements Galactic Dynamics by Binney and Scott Tremaine. It will be invaluable to researchers and is accessible to any student who has a background in undergraduate physics. The book draws on observations both of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and of external galaxies. The two sources are complementary, since the former tends to be highly detailed but difficult to interpret, while the latter is typically poorer in quality but conceptually simpler to understand. Binney and Merrifield introduce all astronomical concepts necessary to understand the properties of galaxies, including coordinate systems, magnitudes and colors, the phenomenology of stars, the theory of stellar and chemical evolution, and the measurement of astronomical distances. The book's core covers the phenomenology of external galaxies, star clusters in the Milky Way, the interstellar media of external galaxies, gas in the Milky Way, the structure and kinematics of the stellar components of the Milky Way, and the kinematics of external galaxies. Throughout, the book emphasizes the observational basis for current understanding of galactic astronomy, with references to the original literature. Offering both new information and a comprehensive view of its subject, it will be an indispensable source for professionals, as well as for graduate students and advanced undergraduates.