Contents -- Preface -- Prologue -- 1 Gravitation -- 1.1 Orbits in Newtonian gravity -- 1.2 Precession and tides -- 1.3 Virial theorem -- 1.4 Gravitational collisions and relaxation -- 1.5 Relativistic gravity -- 1.6 Gravitational lensing -- 2 Radiative Processes -- 2.1 The origin of radiation -- 2.1.1 Radiation in classical theory -- 2.1.2 Radiation in quantum theory -- 2.2 Thermal radiation -- 2.3 Monochromatic plane wave -- 2.4 Astrophysical radiative processes -- 2.4.1 Thermal bremsstrahlung -- 2.4.2 Synchrotron radiation -- 2.4.3 Inverse Compton scattering -- 2.5 Radiative processes in quantum theory -- 2.5.1 Energy levels -- 2.5.2 Transition rates and cross sections -- 2.5.3 Ionisation and recombination -- 2.5.4 Spectral line profiles -- 3 Matter -- 3.1 Equations of state -- 3.2 Self-gravitating barotropic fluids -- 3.3 Flows of matter -- 3.3.1 Spherical accretion -- 3.3.2 Accretion disks -- 3.3.3 Shock waves and explosions -- 3.3.4 Turbulence -- 3.4 Basic plasma physics -- 3.4.1 Ionisation equilibrium of plasma -- 3.4.2 Electromagnetic fields in plasma -- 4 Stars and Stellar Evolution -- 4.1 When is gravity important? -- 4.2 Stellar magnitudes and colours -- 4.3 Modeling stellar structure -- 4.4 The Sun as a star -- 4.5 Overview of stellar evolution -- 4.5.1 Formation of a main sequence star -- 4.5.2 Life history of a star -- 5 Relics of Stars -- 5.1 Supernova remnants -- 5.2 White dwarfs -- 5.3 Neutron stars and pulsars -- 5.4 Black holes -- 5.5 Compact remnants in stellar binaries -- 6 Cosmology and the Early Universe -- 6.1 Evolution of the universe -- 6.2 Primordial nucleosynthesis -- 6.3 Decoupling of matter and radiation -- 6.4 Formation of dark matter halos -- 6.5 Generation of initial perturbations -- 6.6 Temperature anisotropies in the CMBR -- 7 Universe at z < 20 -- 7.1 Galaxy formation.

7.2 Star formation history of the universe -- 7.3 Intergalactic medium and the Gunn-Peterson effect -- 7.4 Ionisation of IGM -- 8 Normal Galaxies -- 8.1 Morphological classification of galaxies -- 8.1.1 Properties of disk galaxies -- 8.1.2 Angular momentum of galaxies -- 8.1.3 Properties of elliptical galaxies -- 8.2 Models for stellar distribution in a galaxy -- 8.2.1 Lane-Emden models -- 8.2.2 Isothermal and King models -- 8.2.3 Disk models -- 8.3 Spectral energy distribution of galaxies -- 8.4 The evolution of galaxies -- 8.5 Luminosity function of galaxies -- 8.6 Distribution of galaxies -- 9 Active Galaxies -- 9.1 AGN: Basic paradigm and the spectra -- 9.2 Radio jets and bulk relativistic motion -- 9.3 Quasar luminosity function -- 9.4 Neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium -- 9.4.1 Lyman forest -- 9.4.2 Damped Lyman alpha clouds -- Appendix Range of Physical Quantities in Astrophysics -- Bibliography -- Index.