The Context of the Workshop

The International Space Science Institute (ISSI) held, in 2008-2009, a series of three Workshops on  the magnetic fields of the Sun, of the planets and of the Earth, respectively. In 2010, a fourth Workshop, also addressing magnetic fields, was held on the large-scale magnetic fields in the Universe. This Workshop also covered our current knowledge about the primordial magnetic fields and the origin of the weak-field, large-scale cosmological magnetic structure. The topics related to the generation and effects of the very strong magnetic fields found near the most compact objects in the Universe has not been covered by the previous Workshops. These compact objects are Magnetic Stars, White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs); their extremely strong magnetic fields interact with matter resulting in a range of observed phenomena, among them shock waves and radiation over a very broad spectrum. The present Workshop intends to cover these important topics.

Objectives of the Workshop

A great challenge of modern astrophysics is the understanding of the origin of magnetic fields at different scales from planetary  to the largest scale structures of the universe. The present Workshop, intends to address the topic of compact magnetized objects encountered in the Universe. The Workshop will aim to understand how the observed very strong, indeed extreme magnetic fields that are found in the environment of these objects are generated and what effects they produce on their environment and how they generate the radiation emitted from them which is the only carrier of the remote information. Among these effects, the generation of Jets and their complex physics,  the occurrence of Gamma Ray Bursts, the formation and properties of Relativistic Shocks, and the production of High-Energy Particles by the Cosmic Engines are of tantalizing interest.

The Workshop will review observations and theory of the magnetic field production at the observed extreme strengths as well as their effects on the objects and the environment.

The Workshop will cover the following main themes:

A. Magnetic Stars
B. White Dwarfs
C. Neutron Stars
D. Magnetars
E. Pulsar Wind Nebulae
F. AGNs/GRBs
G. Jet Acceleration/Collimation
H. Reconnection/Particle Acceleration