Galaxies and Cosmology

Description

Cosmology is the study of nature on the grandest scale we know: that of the universe itself. This successful and class-tested textbook covers all the essentials: galaxies, their formation, morphology, dynamics, stellar and gaseous structure, and interactions; radio sources, quasars, and other galactic nuclei and their spectra and absorption-line systems; and the interstellar medium and the universe on a large scale - in short, all of extragalactic astronomy. The emphasis throughout is on data acquired at all wavelengths thanks to modern observational techniques and on the concepts relevant to each type of object. The authors present the thinking that lies at the heart of the newest theories and developments, including the formation of stars and spiral and barred structures, the origin of absorption lines, the properties of galaxies, and recent inflationary theories in cosmology. In addition, the authors have thoroughly revised and updated the text of the French original for this new translation. Front Matter ....Pages I-XVI General Introduction (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 1-3 The Classification and Morphology of Galaxies (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 5-27 The Galactic Interstellar Medium (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 29-62 The Kinematics and Masses of Galaxies (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 63-82 Elliptical Galaxies (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 83-100 The Spiral Structure of Galaxies (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 101-135 Barred Galaxies (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 137-165 Interactions between Galaxies (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 167-206 Extragalactic Radio Sources (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 207-238 Quasars and Other Active Nuclei (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 239-267 The Absorption-Line Systems of Quasars (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 269-291 The Universe on a Large Scale (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 293-332 The Formation of Galaxies and Large Structures in the Universe (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 333-355 Cosmology (Françoise Combes, Patrick Boissé, Alain Mazure, Alain Blanchard)....Pages 357-395 Back Matter ....Pages 397-408