Atomic Astrophysics And Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy enables the precise study of astronomical objects and phenomena. Bridging the gap between physics and astronomy, this is the first integrated graduate-level textbook on atomic astrophysics. It covers the basics of atomic physics and astrophysics, including state-of-the-art research applications, methods and tools. The content is evenly balanced between the physical foundations of spectroscopy and their applications to astronomical objects and cosmology. An undergraduate knowledge of physics is assumed, and relevant basic material is summarized at the beginning of each chapter. The material is completely self-contained and features sufficient background information for self-study. Advanced users will find it handy for spectroscopic studies. A website hosted by the authors contains updates, corrections, exercises and solutions, as well as news items from physics and astronomy related to spectroscopy. A link to this can be found at www.cambridge.org/9780521825368.

The third edition of Astronomical Spectroscopy examines the physics necessary to understand and interpret astronomical spectra. It offers a step-by-step guide to the atomic and molecular physics involved in providing astronomical spectra starting from the relatively simple hydrogen atom and working its way to the spectroscopy of small molecules.Based on UCL course material, this book uses actual astronomical spectra to illustrate the theoretical aspects of the book to give the reader a feel for such spectra as well as an awareness of what information can be retrieved from them. It also provides comprehensive exercises, with answers given, to aid understanding.

In recent years there have been great advances in the fields of laboratory and astronomical spectroscopy. These have been equally matched by large-scale computations using state-of-the-art theoretical methods. The accurate atomic opacities that are available today play a great role in the field of biomedical research using nanotechnology. The proceedings of the "International Conference on Recent Advances in Spectroscopy: Theoretical, Experimental and Astrophysical Perspectives" contain both invited and contributory papers, which give the most recent results by the peers in the areas of theoretical and experimental atomic physics as well as observational astrophysics.

This book is an invaluable guide to calibrating any infrared spectrum using noble gases as a reference. Featuring a detailed graphical and tabular overview of highly excited (Rydberg) states of neutral noble gases in the infrared range of 700–7000 cm-1, it helps researchers by providing high-precision experimental data that can be used in almost every infrared spectroscopic laboratory.

Nearly all information about the Universe comes from the study of light as it reaches us. However, understanding the information contained in this light requires both telescopes capable of resolving it into its component colours and a detailed knowledge of the quantum mechanical behaviour of atoms and molecules. This book, which is based on a third-year undergraduate course taught by the author at University College London, presents the basic atomic and molecular physics necessary to understand and interpret astronomical spectra. It explains how and what kind of information can be extracted from these spectra. Contemporary astronomical spectra are used extensively to study the underlying atomic physics and illustrate the results.

This book describes the basic physical principles of atomic spectroscopy and the absorption and emission of radiation in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. It summarizes the basics of electromagnetism and thermodynamics and then describes in detail the theory of atomic spectra for complex atoms, with emphasis on astrophysical applications. Both equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena in plasmas are considered. The interaction between radiation and matter is described, together with various types of radiation (e.g., cyclotron, synchrotron, bremsstrahlung, Compton). The basic theory of polarization is explained, as is the theory of radiative transfer for astrophysical applications. Atomic Spectroscopy and Radiative Processes bridges the gap between basic books on atomic spectroscopy and the very specialized publications for the advanced researcher: it will provide under- and postgraduates with a clear in-depth description of theoretical aspects, supported by practical examples of applications.

Atomic and molecular spectroscopy has provided basic information leading to the development of quantum mechanics and to the understanding of the building blocks of matter. It continues to provide further insight into the statics and dynamics of the microcosmos, and provides the ·means for test ing new concepts and computational methods. The results of atomic and molecular spectroscopy are of great importance in astrophysics, plasma and laser physics. The rapidly growing field of spectroscopic applications has made considerable impact on many disciplines, including medicine, envi ronmental protection, chemical processing and energy research. In particu lar, the techniques of electron and laser spectroscopy, the subjects of the 1981 Nobel prize in physics, have contributed much to the analytical poten tial of spectroscopy. This textbook on Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy has been pre pared to provide an overview of modern spectroscopic methods. It is in tended to serve as a text for a course on the subject for final-year under graduate physics students or graduate students. It should also be useful for students of astrophysics and chemistry. The text has evolved from courses on atomic and molecular spectroscopy given by the author since 1975 at Chalmers University of Technology and at the Lund Institute of Technol ogy. References are given to important books and review articles which of different aspects of atomic and molecular allow more detailed studies spectroscopy. No attempt has been made to cover all important references, nor have priority aspects been systematically considered.

This book discusses many advances in optical physic, and is aimed at advanced undergraduates taking courses in atomic physics, or graduate students in the fields of lasers, astrophysics, and physical chemistry. The book is intended mainly for experimentalists, and the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with free atoms is introduced using classical or semi-classical calculations wherever possible. Topics discussed include the spontaneous emission of radiation, stimulated transitions and the properties of gas and turnable dye lasers, and the physics and applications of resonance fluorescence, optical double resonance, optical pumping, and atomic beam magnetic resonance experiments.