Stars as Laboratories for Fundamental Physics: The Astrophysics of Neutrinos, Axions, and Other Weakly Interacting Particles [Paperback]

The first extended work of its kind,Stars as Laboratories for Fundamental Physicsstands at the intersection of two burgeoning fields, astrophysics and particle physics. Georg Raffelt, one of the world's leading researchers in this field, describes what the study of stars reveals about fundamental particle interactions.

Raffelt presents the many uses of stellar astrophysics for research in basic particle physics. He focuses primarily on the properties and nongravitational interactions of elementary particles. Numerous graphs and figures complement the text.

Stars as Laboratories for Fundamental Physicsis a valuable reference for cosmologists, astrophysicists, and particle physicists.

Georg G. Raffeltis a staff scientist in the Theory Group at the Max-Planck-Institute for Physics in Munich, and is a receiving editor for the journalAstroparticle Physics.

Preface
Acknowledgments
1: The Energy-Loss Argument
2: Anomalous Stellar Energy Losses Bounded by Observations
3: Particles Interacting with Electrons and Baryons
4: Processes in a Nuclear Medium
5: Two-Photon Coupling of Low-Mass Bosons
6: Particle Dispersion and Decays in Media
7: Nonstandard Neutrinos
8: Neutrino Oscillations
9: Oscillations of Trapped Neutrinos
10: Solar Neutrinos
11: Supernova Neutrinos
12: Radiative Particle Decays from Distant Sources
13: What Have We Learned from SN 1987A?
14: Axions
15: Miscellaneous Exotica
16: Neutrinos: The Bottom Line
App. A. Units and Dimensions
App. B. Neutrino Coupling Constants
App. C. Numerical Neutrino Energy-Loss Rates
App. D. Characteristics of Stellar Plasmas
References
Acronyms
Symbols
Subject Index