Theoretical Astrophysics. An Introduction

Beginning from first principles and adopting a modular structure, this book develops the fundamental physical methods needed to describe and understand a wide range of seemingly very diverse astrophysical phenomena and processes. For example, the discussion of radiation processes including their spectra is based on Larmor's equation and extended by the photon picture and the internal dynamics of radiating quantum systems, leading to the shapes of spectral lines and the ideas of radiation transport. Hydrodynamics begins with the concept of phase-space distribution functions and Boltzmann's equation and develops ideal, viscous and magneto-hydrodynamics all from the vanishin…