Jayant V Narlikar

This book describes in a non-technical language, one of the success stories of modern (twentieth-century) astronomy. It presents us with the physical picture of what constitutes a star, with a description of how a star evolves with time, how its shape and brightness change, how it manufactures the chemical elements deep in its interior, what makes it explode. The presentation also includes exotic objects such as supernovae, pulsars, neutron stars and white dwarfs, and of course, black holes. The book will be appropriate as supplementary material for an elementary course on astronomy and astrophysics.

From Black Clouds To Black Holes

Fred Hoyle

This book describes the subject of electrodynamics at classical as well as quantum level, developed as an interaction at a distance. Thus it has electric charges interacting with one another directly and not through the medium of a field. In general such an interaction travels forward and backward in time symmetrically, thus apparently violating the principle of causality. It turns out, however, that in such a description the cosmological boundary conditions become very important. The theory therefore works only in a cosmology with the right boundary conditions; but when it does work it is free from the divergences that plague a quantum field theory. Contents:Classical Electrodynamics:Historical BackgroundThe Problems of Classical Field Theorynman Absorber Theory of RadiationAction at a Distance in Curved SpacetimeCosmological ModelsResponse of the Expanding UniverseQuantum Electrodynamics Non-Relativistic Processes:The Path-Integral Approach to Quantum MechanicsPerturbation Theory and the Influence FunctionalAbsorption and Stimulated EmissionSpontaneous EmissionThe Complete Influence Functional and the Level Shift FormulaRelativistic Quantum Electrodynamics:Path Integrals for Relativisitc ParticlesMany Particle Interactions and the Quantum Response of the UniverseSelf ActionCosmological Cut-Offs to Radiative CorrectionsConcluding Remarks Readership: Undergraduates and research students in physics and cosmology. keywords:Action at a Distance;Electrodynamics;Wheeler-Feynman Theory;Response of the Universe;Direct Particle Fields;Arrow of Time;Cosmology and Quantum;Electrodynamics;QED without Fields

Lectures on Cosmology and Action at a Distance Electrodynamics

India has a rich history of scientific accomplishments. In the fifth century, nearly one millennium before Copernicus, the Indian astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata theorized that the earth spins on its axis. Likewise, in the twentieth century physicist Meghnad Saha’s ionization equation opened the door to stellar astrophysics. But India’s scientific achievements have occurred as flashes of brilliance rather than as a clear trajectory of progress. So how did India, with its historic university system and excellent observatories, lose its scientific edge? Cosmologist, founder director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, and science fiction author Jayant V. Narlikar tracks the highs and lows of Indian science across the millennia, distinguishing fact from fiction. Through a lively narrative of breakthroughs and failures, he explores the glories of India’s scientific advances and questions the more fanciful so-called discoveries. His essays are invigorated by his excitement for new findings, and he argues passionately for preserving the true scientific temperament instead of granting legitimacy to such pseudosciences as astrology. Above all, Narlikar raises issues that both the layperson and the scientist need to consider as India seeks to lead the world in information technology and biotechnology.

Jayant V Narlikar

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