The term "chemical evolution of galaxies" refers to the evolution of
abundances of chemical species in galaxies, which is due to nuclear
processes occurring in stars and to gas flows into and out of
galaxies.
This book deals with the chemical evolution of galaxies of all
morphological types (ellipticals, spirals and irregulars) and stresses
the importance of the star formation histories in determining the
properties of stellar populations in different galaxies. The topic is
approached in a didactical and logical manner via galaxy evolution
models which are compared with observational results obtained in the
last two decades: The reader is given an introduction to the concept of
chemical abundances and learns about the main stellar populations in our
Galaxy as well as about the classification of galaxy types and their
main observables. In the core of the book, the construction and solution
of chemical evolution models are discussed in detail, followed by
descriptions and interpretations of observations of the chemical
evolution of the Milky Way, spheroidal galaxies, irregular galaxies and
of cosmic chemical evolution.
The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to students as well
as to amend our present ideas in research; the book also summarizes the
efforts made by authors in the past several years in order to further
future research in the field.
