Physical Processes in Interstellar Clouds

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Formation and Evolution of the Largest Cloud Complexes in Spiral Galaxies

   • Bruce G. Elmegreen

   Pages 1-12

3. Diffuse Interstellar Gas

   • Carl Heiles, Shrinivas R. Kulkarni

   Pages 13-33

4. The Structure of Molecular Clouds

   • Leo Blitz

   Pages 35-58

5. Structure and Physics of Cool Giant Molecular Complexes

   • E. Falgarone, M. Pérault

   Pages 59-73

6. Galactic Gamma Rays and Gas Tracers

   • A. W. Strong

   Pages 75-80

7. The Distribution of Molecular Gas in the Galaxy

   • J. L. Osborne, M. Parkinson, K. M. Richardson, A. W. Wolfendale

   Pages 81-87

8. Gamma Rays and the Distribution of Cosmic Rays in the Galaxy

   • A. W. Wolfendale

   Pages 89-93

9. Supernovae and the Interstellar Medium

   • Richard McCray

   Pages 95-104

10. Energy Dissipation in Magnetic Cloud Complexes

    • Bruce G. Elmegreen

    Pages 105-114

11. The Large-Scale Motion of the ISM and the Interaction with the System of Stars

    • Wilhelm H. Kegel

    Pages 115-124

12. Fluctuations in the ISM Due to the Gravitational Interaction with the System of Stars

    • Wilhelm H. Kegel

    Pages 125-136

13. Dense Cores in Dark Clouds

    • Gary A. Fuller, P. C. Myers

    Pages 137-160

14. Molecular Cloud Temperature and Density Determinations and What they Teach us

    • C. M. Walmsley

    Pages 161-171

15. Formation and Heating of Molecular Cloud Cores

    • Susana Lizano, Frank H. Shu

    Pages 173-193

16. Fragmentation and Turbulence in Molecular Clouds

    • L. G. Stentholm

    Pages 195-203

17. Observational Constraints on Cloud Physics

    • L. G. Stenholm

    Pages 205-217

18. Chemical Processes in the Interstellar Gas

    • A. Dalgarno

    Pages 219-239

19. The Abundance of Interstellar CO

    • Ewine F. van Dishoeck, John H. Black

    Pages 241-274

20. Dust Formation in Stellar Winds

    • H.-P. Gail, E. Sedlmayr

    Pages 275-303

This book is the result of a meeting held in August, 1986 in Irsee, West Germany. As the title suggests, the aim of the meeting was to discuss physical processes in interstellar clouds, determine the current status, aims and future direction of the research in this area. Interstellar clouds contain nearly all the mass of diffuse gas in our galaxy, some 10% of the total galactic mass. They represent the birth site for stars and the final "dumping ground" for matter ejected from stars (winds, ex­ plosive ejecta) and thus play an integral part in the galactic recycling of material. Not only are the clouds important for the structure and evolution of our galaxy, they are also interesting objects of study "per se". Because of their vast scales (up to about 100 parsec), extreme temperatures (as low as about lOOK), and long life 8 times (estimated a about 10 years) a number of physical and chemical processes occur in these environments, which we are not able to study elesewhere, certainly not in laboratories. It is for this reason that the meeting, and hence this book, was organized in such a way that firstly the latest observational results were sum­ m~ized, going from the global, large scales, to finer details and dynamics, then progressing onwards to the processes -dynamical, chemical, electromagnetic, etc.

• Galaxy
• cosmic ray
• gravitation
• gravity
• interstellar matter
• star
• star formation
• stellar

` ..provides an excellant overview of interstellar cloud physics with descriptions of practically all areas where advances are currently being made. '
Spaceflight

• Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Max-Planck-Institut für Physik und Astrophysik, Garching, Germany

  G. E. Morfill, M. Scholer

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