This book provides a comprehensive survey of modern molecular astrophysics. It includes an introduction to molecular spectroscopy and then addresses the main areas of current molecular astrophysics, including galaxy formation, star forming regions, mass loss from young as well as highlyevolved stars and supernovae, starburst galaxies plus the tori and discs near the central engines of active galactic nuclei. All chapters have been written by invited authors who are acknowledged experts in their fields. The thorough editorial process has ensured a uniformly high standard ofexposition and a coherent style. The book is unique in giving a detailed view of its wide-ranging subject. It will provide the standard introduction for research students in molecular astrophysics. The book will be read by research astronomers and astrophysicists who wish to broaden the basis oftheir knowledge or are moving their activities into this burgeoning field. It will enable chemists to learn the astrophysics most related to chemistry as well as instruct physicists about the molecular processes most important in astronomy.
Describing interstellar matter in our galaxy in all of its various forms, this book also considers the physical and chemical processes that are occurring within this matter. The first seven chapters present the various components making up the interstellar matter and detail the ways that we are able to study them. The following seven chapters are devoted to the physical, chemical and dynamical processes that control the behaviour of interstellar matter. These include the instabilities and cloud collapse processes that lead to the formation of stars. The last chapter summarizes the transformations that can occur between the different phases of the interstellar medium. Emphasizing methods over results, The Interstellar Medium is written for graduate students, for young astronomers, and also for any researchers who have developed an interest in the interstellar medium.
This book focuses on the most recent, relevant, comprehensive and significant aspects in the well-established multidisciplinary field Laboratory Astrophysics. It focuses on astrophysical environments, which include asteroids, comets, the interstellar medium, and circumstellar and circumplanetary regions. Its scope lies between physics and chemistry, since it explores physical properties of the gas, ice, and dust present in those systems, as well as chemical reactions occurring in the gas phase, the bare dust surface, or in the ice bulk and its surface. Each chapter provides the necessary mathematical background to understand the subject, followed by a case study of the corresponding system. The book provides adequate material to help interpret the observations, or the computer models of astrophysical environments. It introduces and describes the use of spectroscopic tools for laboratory astrophysics. This book is mainly addressed to PhD graduates working in this field or observers and modelers searching for information on ice and dust processes.
This is a comprehensive and richly illustrated textbook on the astrophysics of the interstellar and intergalactic medium--the gas and dust, as well as the electromagnetic radiation, cosmic rays, and magnetic and gravitational fields, present between the stars in a galaxy and also between galaxies themselves. Topics include radiative processes across the electromagnetic spectrum; radiative transfer; ionization; heating and cooling; astrochemistry; interstellar dust; fluid dynamics, including ionization fronts and shock waves; cosmic rays; distribution and evolution of the interstellar medium; and star formation. While it is assumed that the reader has a background in undergraduate-level physics, including some prior exposure to atomic and molecular physics, statistical mechanics, and electromagnetism, the first six chapters of the book include a review of the basic physics that is used in later chapters. This graduate-level textbook includes references for further reading, and serves as an invaluable resource for working astrophysicists. Essential textbook on the physics of the interstellar and intergalactic medium Based on a course taught by the author for more than twenty years at Princeton University Covers radiative processes, fluid dynamics, cosmic rays, astrochemistry, interstellar dust, and more Discusses the physical state and distribution of the ionized, atomic, and molecular phases of the interstellar medium Reviews diagnostics using emission and absorption lines Features color illustrations and detailed reference materials in appendices Instructor's manual with problems and solutions (available only to teachers)
An essential introduction to the theory of exoplanetary atmospheres The study of exoplanetary atmospheres—that is, of planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system—may be our best hope for discovering life elsewhere in the universe. This dynamic, interdisciplinary field requires practitioners to apply knowledge from atmospheric and climate science, astronomy and astrophysics, chemistry, geology and geophysics, planetary science, and even biology. Exoplanetary Atmospheres provides an essential introduction to the theoretical foundations of this cutting-edge new science. Exoplanetary Atmospheres covers the physics of radiation, fluid dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric escape. It draws on simple analytical models to aid learning, and features a wealth of problem sets, some of which are open-ended. This authoritative and accessible graduate textbook uses a coherent and self-consistent set of notation and definitions throughout, and also includes appendixes containing useful formulae in thermodynamics and vector calculus as well as selected Python scripts. Exoplanetary Atmospheres prepares PhD students for research careers in the field, and is ideal for self-study as well as for use in a course setting. The first graduate textbook on the theory of exoplanetary atmospheres Unifies knowledge from atmospheric and climate science, astronomy and astrophysics, chemistry, planetary science, and more Covers radiative transfer, fluid dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric escape Provides simple analytical models and a wealth of problem sets Includes appendixes on thermodynamics, vector calculus, tabulated Gibbs free energies, and Python scripts Solutions manual (available only to professors)