Cosmic Coupling

This book reflects on 8 decades of research on one of the longest-standing unsolved problems in modern astrophysics: why does the Sun form a hot corona? The authors give a critical overview of the field and offer suggestions on how to bridge the chasm between what we can measure, and what we can calculate. They go back to basics to explain why the problem is difficult, where we have made progress and where we have not, to help the next generation of scientists devise novel techniques to crack such a long-lasting problem. A way forward is formulated centered around refutation, using Bayesian methods to propose and to try to reject hypotheses and models, and avoiding seduction by ``confirmation bias’’.

We're all getting comfortable with the idea that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but how many of us aware how much all of our sex lives are influenced by all of the planets all of the time? Perhaps the pick-up line “So, what's your sign?" is more important than most people in search of truly cosmic coupling may have realized.

This book provides a systematic introduction to the observation and application of kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) in various plasma environments, with a special focus on the solar-terrestrial coupling system. Alfven waves are low-frequency and long-wavelength fluctuations that pervade laboratory, space and cosmic plasmas. KAWs are dispersive Alfven waves with a short wavelength comparable to particle kinematic scales and hence can play important roles in the energization and transport of plasma particles, the formation of fine magneto-plasma structures, and the dissipation of turbulent Alfven waves.

Under the dynamic direction of Music Director Michael Stern, The Kansas City Symphony covers itself in glory with incidental music for The Tempest by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Jean Sibelius. This is the first high-resolution digital recording of the Sullivan (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame), and a masterful performance of the colorful Sibelius suites, including the seldom-heard Prelude, which depicts the Shakespearean tempest in all its fury.