Handbook of Astrochemistry

Auteur
Wendy Brown is a surface scientist who has studied surface processes of relevance to astrochemistry for almost 20 years. Her main areas of expertise related to astrochemistry include experimental studies of adsorption, reaction, dynamics and surface processing of species adsorbed on model grain surfaces at ~25 K and under ultra-high vacuum using a wide range of surface analytical techniques. She is currently Professor of Physical Chemistry and Head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sussex, where she has been since 2013. Martin McCoustra is ScotChem Professor of Chemical Physics at Heriot-Watt University and a surface scientist with over 30 years experience. His expertise lies in the surface physics and chemistry of thermal and energetic processes on complex surfaces (dust grains, ices and polymers) in ultra-high vacuum over a wide range of temperatures. He is especially interested in the dynamics and kinetics of such processes and employs a range of tools in his work including molecular beam and laser methods in addition to classical surface analytical methods.Serena Viti is an astronomer who has worked in the field of Astrochemistry for over 20 years. Her research interests span a wide range of topics but they are all centred on the role of molecules in space, especially in the dense gas of the interstellar medium, of star forming regions and of nearby galaxies. She is currently a Professor of Astronomy at Leiden University where she has been since 2020, after moving from University College London where she was the Head of the Astrophysics Group.

Texte du rabat
Astrochemistry is an interdisciplinary field centered on the study and the understanding of the chemistry that occurs in space; in the gas phase, on dust grain surfaces and in solid state materials (the grain themselves and icy mantles that grow on them). It focuses on the role that chemistry plays in the matter cycle and the influence it has on the chemical evolution of the Universe. The Handbook of Astrochemistry provides a comprehensive overview of Astrochemistry as a series of tutorial reviews by leading experts on all experimental, theoretical, computational and astronomical aspects of this field.Starting from an overview of the observational molecular Universe, it then moves on to describe the state-of-the-art knowledge in the fields of gas-phase and solid-phase laboratory and computational astrochemistry; its use in astrochemical modelling; and finally how observations of molecules shape our understanding of how stars and planets form and of the chemical origins of biology.Combining the knowledge and experience of an international team of experts, the Handbook of Astrochemistry is an authoritative, accessible guide for all those working in related fields.