| `A book of great educational value for graduate students and professional astronomers. ' Professor Dame Carole Jordan, University of Oxford
Progress in modern radio astronomy led to the discovery of space masers in the microwave range, and it became a powerful tool for studies of interstellar star-forming molecular clouds. Progress in observational astronomy, particularly with ground-based huge telescopes and the space-based Hubble Space Telescope, has led to recent discoveries of space lasers in the optical range. These operate in gas condensations in the vicinity of the mysterious star Eta Carinae (one of the most luminous and massive stars of our Galaxy). Both maser and laser effects, first demonstrated under laboratory conditions, have now been discovered to occur under natural conditions in space, too. This book describes consistently the elements of laser science, astrophysical plasmas, modern astronomical observation techniques, and the fundamentals and properties of astrophysical lasers. A book with such an interdisciplinary scope has not been available to date. The book will also be useful for a wider audience interested in modern developments of the natural sciences and technology.
About the Author
Vladilen Letokhov is the Founder and Head of Laser Spectroscopy Department at the Institute of Spectroscopy, Russian Academy of Science, Troitsk, Russia. He has also held the distiction of Tage Erlander Professor at Lund University, Doctor Honoris Causa of University Paris-Nord and Lund University, and Visiting Professor to many universities throughout the United States and France. He is a member of the European Academy of Arts and Science, European Academy and the Max Planck Society.
Books by the same author
Laser Control of Atoms and Molecules Sveneric Johansson is Head of Atomic Astrophysics Division, Institute of Astronomy, Lund University, Sweden and Guest Scientist at NASA/GSFC and the University of Maryland, USA. He was previously President of Commission of International Astronomical Union (2003-2006). He is author of 150 scientific publications and 2 monographs and recipient of the Wallmarska Prize of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. |
