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Related papers: The Interstellar Environment of our Galaxy

200 papers

Magnetic fields on a range of scales play a large role in the ecosystems of galaxies, both in the galactic disk and in the extended layers of gas away from the plane. Observing magnetic field strength, structure and orientation is complex,…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-27 Marijke Haverkorn , Volker Heesen

The cycling of baryons in and out of galaxies is what ultimately drives galaxy formation and evolution. The circumgalactic medium (CGM) represents the interface between the interstellar medium and the cosmic web, hence its properties are…

Physical properties of stars such as luminosity, surface temperature, distance, or mass are measured from observations. These physical properties are of paramount importance to understand how stars are born, live, and die in the universe…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2024-12-10 Laurent Mahy

Magnetic fields are ubiquitous in the universe and an important component of the interstellar medium. It is crucial to accurately model and understand their properties in different environments and across all mass ranges of galaxies to…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-12-22 Maria Werhahn , Rüdiger Pakmor , Rebekka Bieri , Freeke van de Voort , Rosie Y. Talbot , Volker Springel

After recombination the cosmic gas was left in a cold and neutral state. However, as the first stars and black holes formed within early galactic systems, their UV and X-ray radiation induced a gradual phase transition of the intergalactic…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2014-09-18 Andrea Ferrara , Stefania Pandolfi

We argue that clusters of galaxies have an intergalactic medium, which is permeated by strong magnetic fields and also has a contribution of pressure from cosmic rays. These two components of total pressure are probably highly time…

Astrophysics · Physics 2016-08-16 Peter L. Biermann , Torsten A. Enßlin , Hyesung Kang , Hyesook Lee , Dongsu Ryu

We discuss the evolution of cosmological magnetic fields from the early universe to the present. We review different scenarios for magnetogenesis in the early universe and follow the subsequent evolution of these fields as the universe…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Angela V. Olinto

A prediction of standard inflationary cosmology is that the elemental composition of the medium out of which the earliest stars and galaxies condensed consisted primarily of hydrogen and helium 4He with small admixtures of deuterium,…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-07 Martin Harwit , Marco Spaans

Magnetic fields are an important ingredient of the interstellar medium (ISM). Besides their importance for star formation, they govern the transport of cosmic rays, relevant to the launch and regulation of galactic outflows and winds, which…

Cosmic rays are charged energetic particles that permeate the interstellar medium. Their sizeable energy share and penetration power makes them essential players in the dynamical and chemical processes that rule Galactic evolution, such as…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-03-17 Giada Peron , Sarah Recchia , Stefano Menchiari , Alexandre Marcowith , Andrei Bykov , Martin Pohl , Elena Amato

In this chapter we review our knowledge of our galaxy's cometary population outside our Oort Cloud - exocomets and Interstellar Objects (ISOs). We start with a brief overview of planetary system formation, viewed as a general process around…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2023-04-03 Alan Fitzsimmons , Karem Meech , Luca Matrà , Susanne Pfalzner

In a large scale view of the universe, galaxies are the basic unit of structure. A typical bright galaxy may contain 100 billion stars and span tens of thousands of light years, but the empty expanses between the galaxies are much larger…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 David H. Weinberg

Galaxies at high redshifts with strong star formation are sources of high-energy cosmic rays. These cosmic rays interact with the baryon and radiation fields of the galactic environment via photo-pair, photo-pion and proton-proton processes…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2017-08-24 Ellis R. Owen , Kinwah Wu , Pooja Surajbali , Idunn B. Jacobsen

Recent measurements of cosmic gamma ray intensities up to TeV energies have been used to estimate the spectral shape of the parent cosmic ray particles present in the interstellar medium. The case is made for the particle spectrum in the…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-12 Anatoly D. Erlykin , Arnold W. Wolfendale

We consider the physical conditions of the neutral medium within, and in the environments of, galaxies. The basic physical and morphological properties of the neutral medium within galaxy disks are now quite well-constrained. Systematic…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Robert Braun

Water is observed throughout the universe, from diffuse interstellar clouds to protoplanetary disks around young stars, and from comets in our own solar system and exoplanetary atmospheres to galaxies at high redshifts. This review…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2013-12-18 Ewine F. van Dishoeck , Eric Herbst , David A. Neufeld

In this chapter we outline some of the basic understanding of the chemistry that accompanies planet formation. We discuss the basic physical environment which dictates the dominant chemical kinetic pathways for molecule formation. We focus…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2018-12-05 Edwin A. Bergin , L. Ilsedore Cleeves

Motivated by recent experimental proposals to search for extragalactic cosmic rays (including anti-matter from distant galaxies), we study particle propagation through the intergalactic medium (IGM). We first use estimates of the magnetic…

In this chapter, we explore the origins of cometary material and discuss the clues cometary composition provides in the context of the origin of our solar system. The review focuses on both cometary refractory and volatile materials, which…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2023-01-13 Edwin A. Bergin , Conel Alexander , Maria Drozdovskaya , Matthieu Gounelle , Susanne Pfalzner

Emission and absorption line observations of molecules in late-type stars are a vital component in our understanding of stellar evolution, dust formation and mass loss in these objects. The molecular composition of the gas in the…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2016-08-24 T. J. Millar