Cosmochemistry
The Melting Pot of the Elements

A timely 2004 review of developments in cosmochemistry over the last decade.

C. Esteban (Edited by), R. J. García López (Edited by), A. Herrero (Edited by), F. Sánchez (Edited by)

9780521169592, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 20 January 2011

314 pages
24.4 x 17 x 1.7 cm, 0.5 kg

Review of the hardback: 'Although almost three years have passed since the course was held (the most recent references are from 2002), the articles read well because all the authors have taken the trouble to introduce their subject with useful textbook-style material and give generally thoughtful treatments … this book is of considerably more lasting value than your run-of-the-mill conference proceedings.' The Observatory

The chemical composition of the Universe has evolved over billions of years. A host of astrophysical processes and observations must be understood in order to explain why celestial objects have the chemical compositions observed. Originally published in 2004, this book contains the lectures delivered at the XIII Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, which was dedicated to reviewing current knowledge about the origin and evolution of the chemical elements in the Universe. Written by seven prestigious astrophysics researchers, it covers cosmological and stellar nucleosynthesis, abundance determinations in stars and ionised nebulae, chemical composition of nearby and distant galaxies, and models of chemical evolution of galaxies and intracluster medium. This is a timely review of developments in cosmochemistry over the last decade.

1. Primordial alchemy: from the Big Bang to the present Universe G. Steigman
2. Stellar nucleosynthesis N. Langer
3. Obervational aspects of stellar nucleosynthesis D. L. Lambert
4. Abundance determinations in HII regions and planetary nebulae G. Stasinska
5. Element abundances in nearby galaxies D. R. Garnett
6. Chemical evolution of galaxies and intracluster medium F.Matteucci
7. Element abundances through the cosmic ages M. Pettini.

Subject Areas: Analytical chemistry [PNF], Cosmology & the universe [PGK]