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Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium

  • Textbook
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Giovanni Carraro

    1. Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy

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  • Presents a comprehensive look at the subject of the interstellar medium
  • Contains both introductory material and front-line research topics
  • Derives all of its formulas from first principles
  • Features examples and appendices with resolved problems

Part of the book series: UNITEXT for Physics (UNITEXTPH)

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Fundamental Equations for Ideal Fluids

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 1-20

  3. Acoustic Waves

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 21-41

  4. Real Fluids

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 43-64

  5. The Interstellar Medium

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 65-84

  6. Shock Waves

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 85-109

  7. Turbulence

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 111-134

  8. Electrodynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 135-155

  9. Motion of a Plasma in a Magnetic Field

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 157-178

  10. Magnetohydrodynamic Waves

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 179-205

  11. Dust from the Interstellar Medium

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 207-221

  12. HII Regions

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 223-253

  13. Stellar Winds

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 255-275

  14. Supernovae Remnants

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 277-298

  15. The Interstellar Medium and Its Components

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 299-318

  16. Molecular Clouds

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 319-340

  17. Star Formation

    • Giovanni Carraro
    Pages 341-356
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Keywords

About this book

This book is based on a series of lectures for an Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium (ISM) master’s degree in Astrophysics and Cosmology at Padova University. 
From the cold molecular phase in which stars and planetary systems form, to the very hot coronal gas that surrounds galaxies and galaxy clusters, the ISM is everywhere. Studying its properties is vital for the exploration of virtually any field in astronomy and cosmology. These notes give the student a coherent and accurate mathematical and physical approach, with continuous references to the real ISM in galaxies. 
The book is divided into three parts. Part One introduces the equations of fluid dynamics for a system at rest and acoustic waves, and then explores the real ISM through the role of thermal conduction and viscosity, concluding with a discussion of shock waves and turbulence. In Part Two, the electromagnetic field is switched on and its role in modulating shock waves and contrasting gravity is studied. Part Three describes dust and its properties, followed by the main stellar sources of energy. The last two chapters respectively address the various components of the ISM and molecular clouds and star formation.


Authors and Affiliations

  • Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy

    Giovanni Carraro

About the author

Giovanni Carraro earned his initial degree in astronomy at the University of Padua in 1991, and then completed his Ph.D. at that same institution in 1996 with a thesis on the formation of elliptical galaxies. He followed up this achievement with two post-doctoral fellowships, one at SISSA/ISAS in Trieste and the other at Yale University. The ‘00s and the first half of the ‘10s had him taking on a series of posts as Visiting Scientist at a significant number of universities, many of them in the USA. while spending 9 years as support astronomer at ESO Paranal, Chile. He has written extensively on the subject of astronomy, including having had 325 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, 82 as primary author. He has been involved in many astronomy-related organizations, including serving as Vice President (2009–2012) and President (2012–2015) of IAU Commission 37 (star clusters and associations). Throughout his career, he has maintained his commitment to scientific education and presently holds a position as Associate Professor at his alma mater.  He is the director of the PhD school in Astronomy and also serves as scientific editor of AAS journals.His current personal research involves studies of Open and Globular clusters (in relation to the formation of the Milky Way and Local Group galaxies) and the outer solar system bodies and Uranus/Neptune satellites (in the context of the origins of satellite systems and the taxonomy of said bodies).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium

  • Authors: Giovanni Carraro

  • Series Title: UNITEXT for Physics

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75293-4

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-75292-7Published: 23 June 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-75295-8Published: 24 June 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-75293-4Published: 22 June 2021

  • Series ISSN: 2198-7882

  • Series E-ISSN: 2198-7890

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 356

  • Number of Illustrations: 39 b/w illustrations, 16 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Materials Science, general, Acoustics, Classical Electrodynamics, Plasma Physics

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