Here is an introduction to the theory of atomic and molecular collision processes which occur in the interstellar medium. The text deals primarily with processes that occur in interstellar molecular clouds, where the electron density is low and collisions with the abundant neutral species H, H2 and He predominate.

Until recently, the field of atomic and molecular collisions was left to a handful of practitioners who essentially explored it as a branch of atomic physics and gathered their experimental re sults mainly from spectroscopy measurements in bulk. But in the past ten years or so, all of this has dramatically changed, and we are now witnessing the rapid growth of a large body of research that encompasses the simplest atoms as well as the largest mole cules, that looks at a wide variety of phenomena well outside purely spectroscopic observation, and that finds applications in an unexpectedly broad range of physico-chemical and physical pro cesses. The latter are in turn surprisingly close to very important sectors of applied research, such as the modeling of molecular lasers, the study of isotope separation techniques, and the energy losses in confined plasmas, to mention just a few of them. As a consequence of this healthy state of affairs, greatly diversified research pathways have developed; however, their specialized problems are increasingly at risk of being viewed in isolation, although they are part of a major and extended branch of physics or chemistry. This is particularly true when it comes to the theory of this work -- where well-established methods and models of one subfield are practically unknown to researchers in other subfields -- and, consequently, the danger of wasteful duplication arising is quite real.

New stars form in the dense turbulent gas clouds of galaxies, and the formation of these clouds is the subject of the IAU S237. This book is the most up-to-date review of all aspects of cloud and star formation, and one of the few compendiums available on ISM turbulence.

This title covers the state of the art in this field both theoretically and experimentally. With contributions from leading researchers including several Nobel laureates, it represents a long-lasting source of reference on all aspects of fundamental research into or using atomic and molecular beams.

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.

April 1986

The Interstellar Medium in Galaxies is a collection of seven reviews covering the following constituents of the interstellar medium: dust, molecular gas, neutral atomic hydrogen, ionized hydrogen, and hot gas, and covering the abundances of heavy elements in the interstellar medium and the role of star formation. The reviews not only provide a good background in these subjects, but also describe in detail the most recent advances in the area and discuss the current problems in the field. The properties of the different constituents of the interstellar medium are discussed within the perspective of the difference in properties of the parent galaxies and the environment. The interplay between star formation and the characteristics of the interstellar medium is also discussed in detail. This volume provides very up-to-date material on the subject of the interstellar medium in galaxies and is useful both as a basic reference for professional scientists in this field and as an introductory book for astronomers who want to familiarize themselves with this field. This volume can also serve as an accompanying text book for graduate courses on the interstellar medium.