Physical Foundations of Spectroscopy

Abstract

The Physical foundations of spectroscopy arose from inspiration to help university students to make a smooth transition from undergraduate work into research. Today, young people are led rapidly into specialized research, seemingly far removed from their undergraduate curriculum. Every chapter of Physical foundations links spectroscopy, whether applied to astrophysics, plasma physics, atoms, atmospheres, planetary or space physics, directly to the subjects in a typical physics curriculum. Fundamental principles are emphasized throughout, along with sufficient mathematics to enable a clear understanding of, for instance, spectra of a laboratory plasma, the Sun, or intergalactic space. Particle and photon transport are treated together, allowing a reader to go smoothly from hydrodynamics to radiation transfer. A final chapter uses the solar spectrum as a touch-stone to cement ideas and illustrate some of the initially puzzling behavior of spectral lines in terms of elementary ideas. Problems and keynotes accompany the text, allowing the book also to be used as a text for graduate students.