Related papers: The Interstellar Environment of our Galaxy
The properties of interstellar clouds near the Sun are ordered by the Loop I superbubble and by the interstellar radiation field. Comparisons of the kinematics and magnetic field of the interstellar gas flowing past the Sun, including the…
The physical properties and kinematics of the partially ionized interstellar material near the Sun are typical of warm diffuse clouds in the solar vicinity. The interstellar magnetic field at the heliosphere and the kinematics of nearby…
Astrophysical fluids, including interstellar and interplanetary medium, are magnetized and turbulent. Their appearance, evolution, and overall properties are determined by the magnetic turbulence that stirs it. We argue that examining…
From X-ray observations of galaxy clusters one derives the mass of the intracluster medium along with its chemical composition. Optical/infrared observations are used to estimate the mass of the stellar components of galaxies, along with…
Interstellar grains may be composite collections of particles of distinct materials, including voids, agglomerated together. We determine the various optical cross sections of such composite grains, given the optical properties of each…
Observations of molecular clouds in the gamma ray domain provide us with a tool to study the distribution of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. This is because cosmic rays can penetrate molecular clouds, undergo hadronic interactions in the dense…
The physical state of the intergalactic medium can be probed in great detail with the intervening absorption systems seen in quasar spectra. The properties of the Hydrogen absorbers depend on many cosmological parameters, such as the…
An ionization plays a key role in formation of stars, planets and their atmospheres. Cosmic rays (CR) are the main source of the ionization, therefore it is important to know and be able to estimate fluxes of galactic and stellar cosmic…
Detailed composition measurements can be a very powerful means of tracing origins, a fact used regularly by forensic scientists and art historians. One of the main motivating factors for making detailed observations of cosmic rays was…
The main goal of the present lectures is to outline the key particle interactions and energy loss mechanisms in the Galactic medium that high-energy particles are subject to. These interactions are an important ingredient entering the…
We review the physical properties of nearby, relatively luminous galaxies, using results from newly available massive data sets together with more detailed observations. First, we present the global distribution of properties, including the…
The intrinsic properties of galaxies are influenced by their environments, underscoring the environment's critical role in galaxy formation and evolution. Traditionally, these environments are categorized into four fixed classifications:…
Dark matter is a fundamental constituent of the universe, which is needed to explain a wide variety of astrophysical and cosmological observations. Although the existence of dark matter was first postulated nearly a century ago and its…
Detailed characterization of an extrasolar planet's atmosphere provides the best hope for distinguishing the makeup of its outer layers, and the only hope for understanding the interplay between initial composition, chemistry, dynamics &…
Magnetic fields are an important component of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies. The thermal gas in the ISM has a multiphase structure, broadly divided into ionised, atomic, and molecular phases. The connection between the…
Radioactive components of the interstellar medium provide an entirely-different and new aspect to the studies of the interstellar medium. Injected from sources of nucleosynthesis, unstable nuclei decay along their trajectories. Measurements…
Current ongoing stellar spectroscopic surveys (RAVE, GALAH, Gaia-ESO, LAMOST, APOGEE, Gaia) are mostly devoted to studying Galactic archaeology and structure of the Galaxy. But they allow for important auxiliary science: (i) Galactic…
From a minimum of total energy of celestial bodies, their basic parameters are obtained. The steady-state values of the mass, radius, and temperature of stars and white dwarfs, as well as masses of pulsars are calculated. The luminosity and…
The study of the gamma-ray radiation produced by cosmic rays that escape their accelerators is of paramount importance for (at least) two reasons: first, the detection of those gamma-ray photons can serve to identify the sources of cosmic…
Planetary atmospheres, and models of them, are discussed from the viewpoint of condensed matter physics. Atmospheres are a form of condensed matter, and many interesting phenomena of condensed matter systems are realized by them. The…