Publisher's Synopsis
In recent years there have been substantial advances in abundance analysis of stars, planetary nebulae and the interstellar medium due to improvements in instrumentation and in availability of basic atomic data which has led to increasing sophistication of models for the astrophysical light sources. These advances have enabled observers to make much more critical tests of the theory of Big Bang and stellar nucleosynthesis and of scenarios for galactic evolution than ever before. While there have been many books on cosmology and galactic and stellar evolution in which abundance analysis of astrophysical objects has played some part, this book is the first one for several years where specialists in the various relevant fields discuss the basis and implications of the subject as a whole. The subjects in this volume cover the particular interests of Professor B. E. J. Pagel, who has made substantial contributions in the course of a long career. The major aim of the book is to bring together the results from high redshift studies and Galactic studies in a coherent way, and to cover relevant aspects of nuclear and atomic physics.
