Origin and Evolution of the Elements

This Carnegie volume discusses the origin and evolution of elements in our galaxy and others.

Andrew McWilliam (Edited by), Michael Rauch (Edited by)

9780521143950, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 June 2010

514 pages
24.4 x 2.6 x 17 cm, 0.81 kg

Review of the hardback: 'The production standards of the book are extremely high. This enhances the pleasure in reading the book … Anyone who has an interest in elemental or molecular abundance measurements anywhere in the Universe should have this volume on their bookshelf. I suspect that the shelf-life of this book will be significantly longer than that of most other conference proceedings.' The Observatory

This comprehensive volume reviews our understanding of the origin and evolution of elements, from stellar nucleosynthesis to the chemical evolution of the cosmos. With chapters by leading authorities in the field, it describes models of how the elements are produced by stars, the nuclear processes involved, and how the quantity of elements evolved in our Galaxy and distant galaxies. The observed chemical composition of stars in different locations within our Galaxy and nearby galaxies is discussed, as are the compositions of hot and cold gases, of dust grains found between stars and in meteorites, and of the integrated light from distant galaxies and quasars. This authoritative volume is a valuable resource for graduate students and professional research astronomers.

Introduction
List of participants
1. Mount Wilson Observatory contributions to the study of cosmic abundances of the chemical elements George W. Preston
2. Synthesis of the elements in stars: B2FH and beyond E. Margaret Burbidge
3. Stellar nucleosynthesis: a status report 2003 David Arnett
4. Advances in r-process nucleosynthesis John J. Cowan and Christopher Sneden
5. Element yields of intermediate-mass stars Richard B. C. Henry
6. The impact of rotation on chemical abundances in red giant branch stars Corinne Charbonnel
7. s-processing in AGB stars and the composition of carbon stars Maurizio Busso, Oscar Straniero, Roberto Gallino, and Carlos Abia
8. Models of chemical evolution Francesca Matteucci
9. Model atmospheres and stellar abundance analysis Bengt Gustafsson
10. The light elements: lithium, beryllium, and boron Ann Merchant Boesgaard
11. Extremely metal-poor stars John E. Norris
12. Thin and thick galactic disks Poul E. Nissen
13. Globular clusters and halo field stars Christopher Sneden, Inese I. Ivans and Jon P. Fulbright
14. Chemical evolution in ? Centauri Verne V. Smith
15. Chemical composition of the Magellanic Clouds, from young to old stars Vanessa Hill
16. Detailed composition of stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies Matthew D. Shetrone
17. The evolutionary history of Local Group irregular galaxies Eva K. Grebel
18. Chemical evolution of the old stellar populations of M31 R. Michael Rich
19. Stellar winds of hot massive stars nearby and beyond the Local Group Fabio Bresolin and Rolf P. Kudritzki
20. Presolar stardust grains Donald D. Clayton and Larry R. Nittler
21. Interstellar dust B. T. Draine
22. Interstellar atomic abundances Edward B. Jenkins
23. Molecules in the interstellar medium Tommy Wiklind
24. Metal ejection by galactic winds Crystal L. Martin
25. Abundances from the integrated light of globular clusters and galaxies Scott C. Trager
26. Abundances in spiral and irregular galaxies Donald R. Garnett
27. Chemical composition of the intracluster medium Michael Loewenstein
28. Quasar elemental abundances and host galaxy evolution Fred Hamann, Matthias Dietrich, Bassem M. Sabra, and Craig Warner
29. Chemical abundances in the damped Ly? systems Jason X. Prochaska
30. Intergalactic medium abundances Robert F. Carswell
31. Conference summary Bernard E. J. Pagel.

Subject Areas: Astrophysics [PHVB]