The violent interstellar medium

Abstract

Observational evidence for high-velocity and high-temperature interstellar gas is reviewed. The physical processes that characterize this gas are described, including the ionization and emissivity of coronal gas, the behavior and appearance of high-velocity shocks, and interfaces between coronal gas and cooler interstellar gas. Hydrodynamical models for the action of supernova explosions and stellar winds on the interstellar medium are examined, and recent attempts to synthesize all the processes considered into a global model for the interstellar medium are discussed.