Far-Infrared Emission of the Interstellar Medium - Models meet Extragalactic and Galactic Observations

Workshop
Date:
Mo, 05.11.2007 09:00  –   We, 07.11.2007 17:30
Speaker:
Carsten Kramer, Universität zu Köln
Address:
Physikzentrum Bad Honnef
Hauptstr. 5, 53604 Bad Honnef, Germany

Language:
English
Contact person:
Victor Gomer,

Description

Objectives
Star formation is often shrouded in mystery by the parental dusty interstellar medium. However, the
absorbed energy induced by deeply embedded young sources is largely reradiated at submillimeter and
far-infrared wavelengths. This cooling emission provides the key tool to study the interplay between the
ISM and star formation. FIR emission from gas and dust thus allows to study the role of the ISM in the
cycle of matter in widely different environments, from high-z galaxies to local star formation in the Milky
Way. In the forthcoming years, new ground- and space based observatories with unprecedented sensitivity
and high resolution will invigorate this field. Herschel and SOFIA in particular will offer for the first time
the possibility to observe spectrally resolved Extragalactic and Galactic FIR cooling lines of the ISM on a
regular basis.
The main goal of this workshop is to stimulate the exchange of knowledge on the structure and composition
of the ISM, near and far, bringing together modellers and observers. It thus follows-up and extends
on the Onsala workshop 2005 (www.oso.chalmers.se/workshop). The workshop will consist of invited
talks, contributed talks, and poster contributions.
Key questions
• Chemical tracers: What are the key chemical tracers of the physical conditions of the ISM in different
environments in the Milky Way and in external galaxies?
• Heating mechanisms: What is the relative importance of shocks, UV-photons, X-rays, cosmic rays
in different galactic environments?
• What is the mutual relation between star formation and turbulence?
• Phases of the ISM: The cold and dense molecular ISM is a prerequisite for any star formation. How
does it form and how is it dispersed? What do we know about the cycle of interstellar matter through
the various phases of the ISM?

Far_Infrared_and_Submillimeter_Emission_of_the_In.pdf