Introduction to the Interstellar Medium

A comprehensive yet accessible textbook introducing the nature of the rarefied matter that pervades the space between stars.

Jonathan P. Williams (Author)

9781108480802, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 18 February 2021

218 pages
25 x 17.5 x 1.5 cm, 0.58 kg

'This is a particularly attractive complement to a book that should be on the shelf of any student-or indeed professional astronomer-who wants to know more about the 'stuff between the stars' … Highly recommended.' T. D. Oswalt, Choice

The gas and dust between the stars emit across the electromagnetic spectrum and are found in a range of physical conditions from diffuse plasmas to cold, dense molecules. Through their study we see how quantum processes shape the structure of our Galaxy and fluid mechanics sets the stellar mass scale. The Interstellar Medium is a very broad subject with layers of complexity, a long history and a steady flow of new results. This comprehensive yet accessible textbook provides a self-contained one-semester course for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students. It is written in a style that students can follow by themselves and allows instructors to use class time to go deeper into the details or show applications to current research. It makes extensive use of publicly accessible data to illustrate specific points and to encourage students to learn by performing their own analyses.

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Observations
3. Essential Background Physics
4. Dust
5. Atomic Regions
6. Ionized Regions
7 Molecular Regions
8. Dynamics
9. Star Formation
10. The ISM on the Galactic Scale
11. The ISM in Other Galaxies and Beyond
Appendix. Constants in SI and CGS Units
Nomenclature
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Astrophysics [PHVB], Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods [PGG]