This PDF by Nora Mills Boyd, Siska De Baerdemaeker, Kevin Heng,
and Vera Matarese is an explication of how the theory and observation balance
within astrophysics. Items under discussion include laboratory astrophysics, the
problem with the Hubble constant, and also how theory plays a game of
give-and-take with observation in stellar population synthesis. Discussions on
epistemological lessons extracted from gravitational-wave astrophysics are also
present, covering simulation practices, idealisations in computer modeling, and
verification of data. Discussing the philosophical implications of observational
black hole astrophysics and entity realism in extragalactic studies, it ends
with reflections by a theoretical astrophysicist, providing an all-encompassing
view into the foundations and methodologies that guide todays astrophysical
research.
Author(s): Nora Mills Boyd, Siska De Baerdemaeker, Kevin Heng,
Vera Matarese
Authored by Jes K. Jurgensen, Arnaud Belloche and Robin T. Garrod, this
PDF delves into the role that astrochemistry plays in the process of star
formation. Recent advances and challenges in the field are addressed, with a
focus on chemical inventories in star-forming regions. Chemical differentiation
and the evolution of the protostar under physical conditions are addressed by
the authors, who underscore fractionation as one of the processes. The
communication of physical and chemical aspects of star formation is made by the
document as it exposes the reader to such complicated interactions which finally
end in the emergence of stars and development of chemical complexity in space.
Author(s): Jes K. Jurgensen, Arnaud Belloche, and Robin T.
Garrod
The review by Duncan V. Mifsud
and other authors points at the role which sulfur plays in the special world of
astrochemistry as an element of paramount importance to biological systems and
planetary geology. A pdf of laboratory studies involving sulfur-bearing
molecules include spectroscopy and results from experiments on thermal and
photochemical processing. Charged particle bombardment and radiolysis of sulfur
ice analogues are discussed for a better understanding of the behavior of sulfur
in extraterrestrial environments. The current document concludes with proposed
further research directions and continues to highlight the importance of sulfur
in astrochemical processes.
Author(s): Duncan V. Mifsud,
Zuzana Kanuchova, Péter Herczku, Sergio Ioppolo