The physics of galactic halos

This book contains new observational results which help to illuminate the hydrodynamic and the magnetohydrodynamic interactions between the disk and the halo of our galaxy and other galaxies. It discusses how the recent discovery of an x-ray corona of our galaxy and the revelation of its x-ray emission's impact on intergalactic gas clouds has motivated the development of new theoretical models. It explores these are models for galactic winds, galactic fountains, acceleration of low-energy cosmic ray particles in turbulent velocity fields, magnetic reconnection in the boundary layers of colliding interstellar gas clouds, and complete evolutionary scenarios for galactic halos.