Blandford Roger D
130-33 Caltech, 1201 East California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2002 Sep 15;360(1798):2091-103. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2002.1055.
Recent X-ray observations have had a major impact on topics ranging from proto-stars to cosmology. They have also drawn attention to important and general physical processes that currently limit our understanding of thermal and non-thermal X-ray sources. These include unmeasured atomic astrophysics data (wavelengths, oscillator strengths, etc.), basic hydromagnetic processes (e.g. shock structure, reconnection), plasma processes (such as electron-ion equipartition and heat conduction) and radiative transfer (in discs and accretion columns). Progress on these problems will probably come from integrative studies that draw upon observations, throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, of different classes of source. X-ray observations are also giving a new perspective on astronomical subjects, like the nature of galactic nuclei and the evolution of stellar populations. In addition, they are helping us to address central cosmological questions, including the measurement of the matter content of the Universe, understanding its overall luminosity density, describing its chemical evolution and locating the first luminous objects. X-ray astronomy has a healthy future with several international space missions under construction and in development.
最近的X射线观测对从原恒星到宇宙学等一系列主题产生了重大影响。它们还使人们关注到一些重要且普遍的物理过程，这些过程目前限制了我们对热X射线源和非热X射线源的理解。其中包括未测量的原子天体物理学数据（波长、振子强度等）、基本的磁流体动力学过程（如激波结构、重联）、等离子体过程（如电子 - 离子均分和热传导）以及辐射转移（在吸积盘和吸积柱中）。这些问题的进展可能来自综合研究，这些研究借鉴了对不同类型源在整个电磁频谱范围内的观测。X射线观测也为诸如星系核的性质和恒星族群的演化等天文学主题提供了新的视角。此外，它们还帮助我们解决核心的宇宙学问题，包括测量宇宙的物质含量、理解其整体光度密度、描述其化学演化以及定位首批发光天体。随着多个国际太空任务正在建设和发展，X射线天文学有着光明的未来。
