This book goes beyond a phenomenological study to present a detailed quantitative treatment of the dynamic interactions between stars and interstellar matter. Emphasizing a practical understanding of these processes, the text is interlaced with mathematical derivations that are understandable by anyone with an undergraduate background in Physics.

The Interstellar Medium
Fundamental Concepts of Radiation
Measurements of Radiation
Photoionization and Recombination
Line Radiation from Atoms and Ions
Continuum Radiation in the Gas Phase
Interstellar Molecules
Interstellar Grains: Physical Processes
The Chemical Composition of Interstellar and Circumstellar Grains
Chemical Reactions in the ISM; T.Hasegawa
Gas Dynamics, Gravitational Collapse and Stellar Winds
Interaction between Stars and the Interstellar Medium
Beyond the Galaxy
References
Appendices
Symbols and Abbreviations
Glossary
Solutions to Problems

SUN KWOK is a Distinguished Research Fellow of the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, and Faculty Professor of the University of Calgary, Canada. He has published over 200 scientific papers in the fields of interstellar medium and stellar evolution. He is best known for his theory on the origin of planetary nebulae and for the study of organic compounds in the circumstellar environment.