Quasar Absorption Lines: Volume 2, Astrophysics, Analysis, and Modeling

Christopher W. Churchill is a professor in the Department of Astronomy at New Mexico State University, where he leads the Quasar Absorption Line Galaxy Evolution Group, a collaboration between NMSU and several other international institutions. He has studied quasars for 30 years and published around 250 articles. His research has been featured on 'PBS Spacetime' and NPR and in 'New Scientist,' 'Scientific American,' 'The New York Times,' and 'The Washington Post.' He has taught astronomical spectroscopy for 20 years. This two-volume text consolidates these practical experiences.

From the Foreword: 'The second [volume] deals first with the core knowledge required to make sense of it all, from the underlying atomic physics to cosmology and to the physics of the interaction of light with matter. [...] To collect all this encyclopedia of relevant knowledge [on quasars] under one assemblage has never been attempted before and is the phenomenal achievement of these two volumes. Students and experts in the field will find them an endless source of information and a much used reference text for many years to come.' Max Pettini, University of Cambridge

• Foreword Max Pettini; Preface; Part IV. Ions and Photons in the Cosmos: 20. Hydrogen and hydrogenic ions; 21. Transitions of hydrogenic ions; 22. Multi-electron ions and transitions; 23. Atomic properties and spectra; 24. The ΛCDM cosmological paradigm; 25. Applied cosmology; 26. Cosmological radiative transfer; Part V. Analyzing Quasar Spectra: 27. Spectrographs and spectra; 28. Absorption lines and ionization breaks; 29. Absorption line analysis; 30. Profile fitting and column densities; 31. Absorption line surveys; 32. Absorber population statistics; Part VI. Modeling Absorbers: 33. Macro properties of astrophysical gas; 34. The microphysics of ionized gas; 35. Introduction to ionization modeling; 36. Modeling absorbers; References; Index.