ISBN:  Unavailable

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Page count: 171

"During the last ten years research on interstellar medium (ISM) has expanded almost explosively. Observational studies are no longer confined to [a] few parsec[s] of the galactic disk but the halo of our Galaxy has been probed to a few kiloparsecs and it is even possible to explore the ISM of nearby galaxies. The early proposals centered on the notion that most of the space in our Galaxy is filled with primarily neutral gas which is ionized by low energy [cosmic] rays and soft X-rays has now been totally rejected. The observation in UV, EUV and X-ray suggest that in the ISM there is an extensive network of low density gas at 'coronal' temperature. There has been a parallel revision of our understanding of the energetics of the ISM. It is now realized that supernovae are not the only sources of energy in the ISM, but high velocity winds from pre-stellar nebulae and from high mass stars input a substantial amount of energy to the ISM. The advances at the red-end of the electromagnetic spectrum have been equally impressive. High spectral and spatial resolution infrared and submillimeter observations have considerably improved our knowledge of formation and [destruction] of complex molecules in the ISM. This has been aided, to no small degree, by availability of experimentally determined reaction rates and the development of numerical codes to solve equations of large dimensions. The third RAL Workshop on Astronomy and Astrophysics was organized to bring together these diverse and very rapidly changing developments in the research on the gas in the interstellar medium. The Workshop also provided a meeting point for 'observers' and theoreticians and the exchange of ideas and views should lead to a better understanding of the chemistry and chemical evolution of the interstellar medium."--Preface.