Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology

Introduction, Background, and Preview.- Star Formation and Proto-Stellar Collapse.- Planet Formation.- Exoplanets.- Life: A Brief History and its Boundaries.- Planetary Radiation, Comparative Planetology, Biosignatures and Daisyworld.- Cosmochemistry, Dust and Prebiotic Molecules.- Comets, Meteorites and Proto-Planetary Disk Structure.- Habitable Zones.

CALEB A. SCHARF was born and educated in England. He received his B.Sc. in Physics from Durham University, UK, and his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge, UK. Following postdoctoral work in X-ray astronomy and observational cosmology at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland, USA, he has been a research scientist at Columbia University, New York, USA. He is currently Director of the multidisciplinary Columbia Astrobiology Center, USA. His research interests include the study of exoplanets, exomoons, and the nature of environments suitable for life.

'Scharf's coverage of exoplanets is quite wonderful and will be very valuable for classes. I enjoyed reading this presentation.' - Geoff Marcy, University of California, Berkeley 'I like this book very much. The writing style is clear and engaging and it provides more physics than most texts on astrobiology.' - Debra Fischer, San Francisco State University <EM>'Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology</EM> is a well-rounded introduction to exoplanets and their potential habitability, suitable for both newcomers to the field (including biologists wishing to learn more about the astro- side of astrobiology) and experienced researchers looking for a course textbook to recommend.' - Lewis Dartnell<EM>, Astrobiology Society of Britain</EM> '...makes available to our community what should be the gold standard text to introduce advanced high school physics, college undergraduate, and university graduate students to the fundamental astrophysics of exoplanet formation, evolution, and detection...I suspect this text will become a much-loved, dog eared friend to every amateur, student, or professional astrobiologist enamored of the mathematical simplicity, elegance, and beauty inherent in the appearance and evolution of life in our universe.' - <EM>Astrobiology</EM>