This concise textbook covers all aspects of the interstellar and intergalactic medium, for graduate students and advanced undergraduates.

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)

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

Publisher Description

The space between the stars contains a large diversity of objects in which physical processes occur that are fundamental to the structure and evolution of galaxies. This book offers the reader a basic knowledge of these processes and presents simple numeric estimates of the main quantities relevant to the interstellar medium. The main objects that constitute the interstellar space are described, but the emphasis of the book lies in the physical processes occurring in these objects, which may also occur in other astrophysical environments. The book is directed tor graduate as well as advanced undergraduate students of physics and astrophysics.

The book leads the advanced undergraduate through the wide range of disciplines related to an understanding of the interstellar medium and is suitable for any student studying either physics or astrophysics. The study of the interstellar medium incorporates a large range of physical More...processes on both large and small scales all of which are covered in this text. Together with the inclusion of simple models and problems at the end of each chapter this text provides a comprehensive overview and grounding in the study of the interstellar medium.

An essential resource for graduate students and astrophysicists 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)