Written by one of today’s most highly respected astrophysicists, Foundations of High-Energy Astrophysics is an introduction to the mathematical and physical techniques used in the study of high-energy astrophysics. Here, Mario Vietri approaches the basics of high-energy astrophysics with an emphasis on underlying physical processes as opposed to a more mathematical approach. Alongside more traditional topics, Vietri presents new subjects increasingly considered crucial to understanding high-energy astrophysical sources, including the electrodynamics of cosmic sources, new developments in the theory of standard accretion disks, and the physics of coronae, thick disks, and accretion onto magnetized objects.

The most thorough and engaging survey of high-energy astrophysics available today, Foundations of High-Energy Astrophysics introduces the main physical processes relevant to the field in a rigorous yet accessible way, while paying careful attention to observational issues. Vietri’s book will quickly become a classic text for students and active researchers in astronomy and astrophysics. Those in adjoining fields will also find it a valuable addition to their personal libraries.

Mario Vietri is professor at the Scuola Normale Superiore, in Pisa, Italy.

“This book provides an elegant, self-contained introduction to fundamental aspects of the physics of high-energy cosmic sources. Great emphasis is placed on physical intuition. Subjects such as hydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, and radiative processes are presented at the level required for applications to high-energy astrophysics. Rigorous derivations are often complemented with simple arguments that facilitate an immediate grasp of the relevant processes. The chapters dealing with nonthermal particles, accretion onto compact objects, and explosions guide the reader through the foundations of some of the most relevant recent developments in these fields. Topics that are rarely addressed in introductory monographs are also treated in this book in a very clear fashion; these include pair-dominated plasmas and the electrodynamics of neutron stars and black holes. This is an excellent book and an invaluable tool for advanced students and researchers in astrophysics.”—Luigi Stella, INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Rome

“Mario Vietri’s book provides an excellent pedagogical introduction to the basic elements of high-energy astrophysics. The authoritative text is well balanced to serve both beginning students and advanced researchers. The comprehensive description of hydrodynamic and radiative processes from first principles is applied to the extreme environments near compact objects or energetic shocks. This exceptional combination of basic physics and its applications, rarely found to this level of rigor in a single textbook, demonstrates how fundamental physical principles shape observable phenomena in one of the most exciting frontiers of present-day astrophysics.”

This book will be a very useful addition to the library of every working theoretical astrophysicist, and a great reference for observers, students and scientists in general who are interested in the subject of high energy astrophysics. The emphasis on physical principles and basic processes, rather than on specific phenomena and observations, ensures that the material is relevant for a wide range of astrophysics applications, and will remain so for a long time.”