Physics and
Chemistry of the Interstellar MediumPhysics and
Chemistry of the Interstellar Medium
Sun Kwok
University of Hong Kong
"This book
is one of the few modern texts on the interstellar medium. It is particularly
excellent for microphysical processes and particularly those that are not easily
accessible---physically oriented discussions
of atomic and molecular excitation and radiation, molecular binding and
astrochemical processes, and important detailed aspects of interstellar grains
such as the observational manifestations and formation/destruction mechanisms.
—Carl Heiles, UC Berkeley
"I would
recommend that this book be adopted by faculty for their courses. Students
will learn a great deal from it, and it will be useful as a reference for
researchers in this field."
—Mark Wolfire, University of Maryland
This book is a graduate-level text covering
the fundamental physics and chemistry required for a modern understanding of the
interstellar medium. Radiation mechanisms are comprehensively presented,
and extensive examples are drawn from observations in the X-ray, ultraviolet,
optical, infrared, mm/sub mm, and radio observations. This book goes beyond a
phenomenological study of the interstellar medium to give a detailed
quantitative treatment of the radiative and dynamical interactions between stars
and the interstellar medium. With an emphasis on a physical understanding of
these processes, the mathematical derivations are clean, elegant and easily
understandable by anyone with an undergraduate background in physics.
About the Author
Sun Kwok is the Dean of Science and Chair
Professor of Physics at the University of Hong Kong. He 
has
published over 250 scientific papers in the fields of interstellar medium and
stellar evolution and is best known for his theory on the origin of planetary
nebulae and for the study of organic compounds in the circumstellar environment.
His observing experience covers the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio
to X-ray, and has observed extensively with most major ground-based and
space-based telescopes. He has also recently written two books, The Origin and
Evolution of Planetary Nebulae and Cosmic Butterflies,
published by Cambridge University Press.
