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The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of O VI Absorption in the Disk of the Milky Way
To probe the distribution and physical characteristics of interstellargas at temperatures T~3×105 K in the disk of the MilkyWay, we have used the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) toobserve absorption lines of O VI λ1032 toward 148 early-typestars situated at distances >1 kpc. After subtracting off a mildexcess of O VI arising from the Local Bubble, combining our new resultswith earlier surveys of O VI, and eliminating stars that showconspicuous localized X-ray emission, we find an average O VI midplanedensity n0=1.3×10-8 cm-3. Thedensity decreases away from the plane of the Galaxy in a way that isconsistent with an exponential scale height of 3.2 kpc at negativelatitudes or 4.6 kpc at positive latitudes. Average volume densities ofO VI along different sight lines exhibit a dispersion of about 0.26 dex,irrespective of the distances to the target stars. This indicates that OVI does not arise in randomly situated clouds of a fixed size anddensity, but instead is distributed in regions that have a very broadrange of column densities, with the more strongly absorbing cloudshaving a lower space density. Line widths and centroid velocities aremuch larger than those expected from differential Galactic rotation, butthey are nevertheless correlated with distance and N(O VI), whichreinforces our picture of a diverse population of hot plasma regionsthat are ubiquitous over the entire Galactic disk. The velocity extremesof the O VI profiles show a loose correlation with those of very stronglines of less ionized species, supporting a picture of a turbulent,multiphase medium churned by shock-heated gas from multiple supernovaexplosions.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Cepheid Masses: FUSE Observations of S Muscae
S Mus is the Cepheid with the hottest known companion. The largeultraviolet flux means that it is the only Cepheid companion for whichthe velocity amplitude could be measured with the echelle mode of theHST GHRS. Unfortunately, the high temperature is difficult to constrainat wavelengths longer than 1200 Å because of the degeneracybetween temperature and reddening. We have obtained a FUSE spectrum inorder to improve the determination of the temperature of the companion.Two regions that are temperature sensitive near 16,000 K but relativelyunaffected by H2 absorption (940 Å and the Lyβwings) have been identified. By comparing FUSE spectra of S Mus B withspectra of standard stars, we have determined a temperature of17,000+/-500 K. The resulting Cepheid mass is 6.0+/-0.4Msolar. This mass is consistent with main-sequenceevolutionary tracks with a moderate amount of convective overshoot.Based on observations made with the NASA-CNES-CSA Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer satellite. FUSE is operated for NASA by JohnsHopkins University, under NASA contract NAS5-32985.
| New Estimates of the Solar-Neighborhood Massive Star Birthrate and the Galactic Supernova Rate
The birthrate of stars of masses >=10 Msolar is estimatedfrom a sample of just over 400 O3-B2 dwarfs within 1.5 kpc of the Sunand the result extrapolated to estimate the Galactic supernova ratecontributed by such stars. The solar-neighborhood Galactic-plane massivestar birthrate is estimated at ~176 stars kpc-3Myr-1. On the basis of a model in which the Galactic stellardensity distribution comprises a ``disk+central hole'' like that of thedust infrared emission (as proposed by Drimmel and Spergel), theGalactic supernova rate is estimated at probably not less than ~1 normore than ~2 per century and the number of O3-B2 dwarfs within the solarcircle at ~200,000.
| Probing the inner halo and IVC gas through the Local Interstellar Chimney
We present an absorption study of the interstellar gas at high positivegalactic latitudes in the direction close to the axis of the LocalChimney (LC), which is an extension of the rarefied local cavity thatreaches out from the galactic disk to a z-distance of at least 250 pcinto the lower halo region. Our study includes high-resolution (R 1.7 km s-1) spectral observations of the interstellar NaI andCaII absorption lines seen towards 6 early-type stars with distancesranging from 225 to 500 pc contained within a radius of6° along the sight-line (l = 160°, b= +55°). These visible data are supplemented withfar-ultraviolet absorption measurements of the interstellar sight-linestowards two hot white dwarf stars, RE J1043+490 (d = 230 pc) and REJ1059+512 (d = 315 pc), taken with the NASA Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite.Our observations reveal interstellar gas clouds with velocities in the-20 to -60 km s-1 range that appear to be falling towards thegalactic disk. In particular, we have detected absorption with avelocity of V_helio -55 km s-1 towards two sight-lines(HD 89501 and HD 88545) that can be associated with an intermediatevelocity (IV) cloud called the IV Arch. Our observations place aprobable z-distance to this IVC of 275-320 pc, this being much nearerthan previously thought.The far UV spectra of the two hot white dwarfs show only a few (10)interstellar absorption lines, which is indicative of the very lowdensity phase of the interstellar gas contained within the LC region. Wehave derived relative elemental abundance ratios for C, N, O, Si, Ar andFe for these two sight-lines and find that the abundance patterns arevery similar to those found for other sight-lines in the local cavity.The high ionization line of OVIłambda1032 Å has beendetected towards RE J1043+490 with a column density of 7 ×1012 cm-2, which is consistent with the averagespace density of this ion recently found in the Local Bubble region.Finally, we (tentatively) propose a possible connection between theformation of the Gould Belt, the Local Bubble cavity, the Local Chimneyand the overlying IV Arch clouds.
| Catalog of Galactic OB Stars
An all-sky catalog of Galactic OB stars has been created by extendingthe Case-Hamburg Galactic plane luminous-stars surveys to include 5500additional objects drawn from the literature. This work brings the totalnumber of known or reasonably suspected OB stars to over 16,000.Companion databases of UBVβ photometry and MK classifications forthese objects include nearly 30,000 and 20,000 entries, respectively.
| Highly Ionized Gas in the Galactic Halo: A FUSE Survey of O VI Absorption toward 22 Halo Stars
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectra of 22 Galactichalo stars are studied to determine the amount of O VI in the Galactichalo between ~0.3 and ~10 kpc from the Galactic midplane. Strong O VIλ1031.93 absorption was detected toward 21 stars, and a reliable3 σ upper limit was obtained toward HD 97991. The weaker member ofthe O VI doublet at 1037.62 Å could be studied toward only sixstars because of stellar and interstellar blending problems. Themeasured logarithmic total column densities vary from 13.65 to 14.57with =14.17+/-0.28 (1 σ). The observed columns arereasonably consistent with a patchy exponential O VI distribution with amidplane density of 1.7×10-8 cm-3 and scaleheight between 2.3 and 4 kpc. We do not see clear signs of stronghigh-velocity components in O VI absorption along the Galactic sightlines, which indicates the general absence of high-velocity O VI within2-5 kpc of the Galactic midplane. This result is in marked contrast tothe findings of Sembach et al., who reported high-velocity O VIabsorption toward ~60% of the complete halo sight lines observed byFUSE. The line centroid velocities of the O VI absorption do not reflectGalactic rotation well. The O VI velocity dispersions range from 33 to78 km s-1, with an average of =45+/-11 kms-1 (1 σ). These values are much higher than the valueof ~18 km s-1 expected from thermal broadening for gas atT~3×105 K, the temperature at which O VI is expected toreach its peak abundance in collisional ionization equilibrium.Turbulence, inflow, and outflow must have an effect on the shape of theO VI profiles. Kinematical comparisons of O VI with Ar I reveal thateight of 21 sight lines are closely aligned in LSR velocity(|ΔVLSR|<=5 km s-1), while nine of 21exhibit significant velocity differences(|ΔVLSR|>=15 km s-1). This dual behaviormay indicate the presence of two different types of O VI-bearingenvironments toward the Galactic sight lines. The correlation betweenthe H I and O VI intermediate-velocity absorption is poor. We couldidentify the known H I intermediate-velocity components in the Ar Iabsorption but not in the O VI absorption in most cases. Comparison of OVI with other highly ionized species suggests that the high ions areproduced primarily by cooling hot gas in the Galactic fountain flow andthat turbulent mixing also has a significant contribution. The role ofturbulent mixing varies from negligible to dominant. It is mostimportant toward sight lines that sample supernova remnants like Loops Iand IV. The average N(C IV)/N(O VI) ratios for the nearby halo (thiswork) and complete halo (Savage et al.) are similar (~0.6), but thedispersion is larger in the sample of nearby halo sight lines. We areable to show that the O VI enhancement toward the Galactic center regionthat was observed in the FUSE survey of complete halo sight lines(Savage et al.) is likely associated with processes occurring near theGalactic center by comparing the observations toward the nearby HD177566 sight line to those toward extragalactic targets.
| A Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of Molecular Hydrogen in Intermediate-Velocity Clouds in the Milky Way Halo
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) data are used toinvestigate the molecular hydrogen (H2) content ofintermediate-velocity clouds (IVCs) in the lower halo of the Milky Way.We analyze interstellar absorption toward 56 (mostly extragalactic)background sources to study H2 absorption in the Lyman andWerner bands in 61 IVC components at H I column densities>=1019 cm-2. For data with good signal-to-noiseratio (S/N) (~9 per resolution element and higher), H2 in IVCgas is convincingly detected in 14 cases at column densities varyingbetween ~1014 and ~1017 cm-2. We findan additional 17 possible H2 detections in IVCs in FUSEspectra with lower S/N. The molecular hydrogen fractions, f, varybetween 10-6 and 10-3, implying a dense, mostlyneutral gas phase that is probably related to the cold neutral medium(CNM) in these clouds. If the H2 stays information-dissociation equilibrium, the CNM in these clouds can becharacterized by compact (D~0.1 pc) filaments with volume densities onthe order of nH~30 cm-3. The relatively highdetection rate of H2 in IVC gas implies that the CNM in theseclouds is ubiquitous. More dense regions with much higher molecularfractions may exist, but it would be difficult to detect them inabsorption because of their small size.
| Synthetic High-Resolution Line Spectra of Star-forming Galaxies below 1200 Å
We have generated a set of far-ultraviolet stellar libraries usingspectra of OB and Wolf-Rayet stars in the Galaxy and the Large and SmallMagellanic Cloud. The spectra were collected with the Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer and cover a wavelength range from 1003.1 to1182.7 Å at a resolution of 0.127 Å. The libraries extendfrom the earliest O to late-O and early-B stars for the Magellanic Cloudand Galactic libraries, respectively. Attention is paid to the complexblending of stellar and interstellar lines, which can be significant,especially in models using Galactic stars. The most severe contaminationis due to molecular hydrogen. Using a simple model for the H2line strength, we were able to remove the molecular hydrogen lines in asubset of Magellanic Cloud stars. Variations of the photospheric andwind features of C III λ1176, O VI λλ1032, 1038, PV λλ1118, 1128, and S IV λλ1063, 1073, 1074are discussed as a function of temperature and luminosity class. Thespectral libraries were implemented into the LavalSB and Starburst99packages and used to compute a standard set of synthetic spectra ofstar-forming galaxies. Representative spectra are presented for variousinitial mass functions and star formation histories. The valid parameterspace is confined to the youngest ages of less than ~=10 Myr for aninstantaneous burst, prior to the age when incompleteness of spectraltypes in the libraries sets in. For a continuous burst at solarmetallicity, the parameter space is not limited. The suite of models isuseful for interpreting the rest-frame far-ultraviolet in local andhigh-redshift galaxies. Based on observations made with theNASA-CNES-CSA Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. FUSE is operatedfor NASA by the Johns Hopkins University under NASA contract NAS5-32985.
| An Atlas of Galactic OB Spectra Observed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer
An atlas of far-ultraviolet spectra of 45 Galactic OB stars observedwith the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer is presented. The atlascovers the wavelength region between 912 and 1185 Å with aneffective spectral resolution of 0.12 Å. Systematic trends in themorphology and strength of stellar features are discussed. Particularattention is drawn to the variations of the C III λ1176, S IVλλ1063, 1073, and P V λλ1118, 1128 lineprofiles as a function of temperature and luminosity class; and the lackof a luminosity dependence associated with O VI λλ1032,1038. Numerous interstellar lines are also identified. Based onobservations made with the NASA-CNES-CSA Far Ultraviolet SpectroscopicExplorer. FUSE is operated for NASA by the Johns Hopkins Universityunder NASA contract NAS5-32985.
| A New Measurement of the Average Far-Ultraviolet Extinction Curve
We have measured the extinction curve in the far-ultraviolet wavelengthregion of (900-1200 Å) using spectra obtained with the BerkeleyEUV/FUV spectrometer during the ORFEUS I and the ORFEUS II (Orbiting andRetrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer) missions in 1993and 1996. From the complete sample of early-type stars observed duringthese missions, we have selected pairs of stars with the same spectraltype but different reddenings to measure the differential FUVextinction. We model the effects of molecular hydrogen absorption andexclude affected regions of the spectrum to determine the extinctionfrom dust alone. We minimize errors from inaccuracies in the catalogedspectral types of the stars by making our own determinations of spectraltypes based on their IUE spectra. We find substantial scatter in thecurves of individual star pairs and present a detailed examination ofthe uncertainties and their effects on each extinction curve. We findthat, given the potentially large uncertainties inherent in using thepair method at FUV wavelengths, a careful analysis of measurementuncertainties is critical to assessing the true dust extinction. Wepresent a new measurement of the average far-ultraviolet extinctioncurve to the Lyman limit; our new measurement is consistent with anextrapolation of the standard extinction curve of Savage & Mathis.
| IUE Absorption-Line Observations of the Moderately and Highly Ionized Interstellar Medium toward 164 Early-Type Stars
We present measurements of Galactic interstellar Al III, Si IV, and C IVabsorption recorded in high-resolution archival ultraviolet spectra of164 hot early-type stars observed by the International UltravioletExplorer (IUE) satellite. The objects studied were drawn from the listof hot stars scheduled to be observed with the Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite as part of observing programsdesigned to investigate absorption by O VI in the Galactic disk andhalo. Multiple IUE echelle-mode integrations have been combined toproduce a single ultraviolet (1150-1900 Å) spectrum of each starwith a spectral resolution of ~25 km s-1 (FWHM). Selectedabsorption-line profiles are presented for each star along with plots ofthe apparent column density per unit velocity for each line of the AlIII, Si IV, and C IV doublets. We report absorption-line equivalentwidths, absorption velocities, and integrated column densities based onthe apparent optical depth method of examining interstellar absorptionlines. We also determine column densities and Doppler parameters fromsingle-component curve-of-growth analyses. The scientific analysis ofthese observations will be undertaken after the FUSE satellite producessimilar measurements for absorption by interstellar O IV, Fe III, S III,and other ions. Based on archival data from observations obtained withthe International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite sponsored byNASA, SERC, and ESA.
| Distances and Metallicities of High- and Intermediate-Velocity Clouds
A table is presented that summarizes published absorption linemeasurements for the high- and intermediate-velocity clouds (HVCs andIVCs). New values are derived for N(H I) in the direction of observedprobes, in order to arrive at reliable abundances and abundance limits(the H I data are described in Paper II). Distances to stellar probesare revisited and calculated consistently, in order to derive distancebrackets or limits for many of the clouds, taking care to properlyinterpret nondetections. The main conclusions are the following. (1)Absolute abundances have been measured using lines of S II, N I, and OI, with the following resulting values: ~0.1 solar for one HVC (complexC), ~0.3 solar for the Magellanic Stream, ~0.5 solar for a southern IVC,and ~solar for two northern IVCs (the IV Arch and LLIV Arch). Finally,approximate values in the range 0.5-2 solar are found for three moreIVCs. (2) Depletion patterns in IVCs are like those in warm disk or halogas. (3) Most distance limits are based on strong UV lines of C II, SiII, and Mg II, a few on Ca II. Distance limits for major HVCs aregreater than 5 kpc, while distance brackets for several IVCs are in therange 0.5-2 kpc. (4) Mass limits for major IVCs are0.5-8×105 Msolar, but for major HVCs theyare more than 106 Msolar. (5) The Ca II/H I ratiovaries by up to a factor 2-5 within a single cloud, somewhat morebetween clouds. (6) The Na I/H I ratio varies by a factor of more than10 within a cloud, and even more between clouds. Thus, Ca II can beuseful for determining both lower and upper distance limits, but Na Ionly yields upper limits.
| Upper Limits on O VI Emission From Voyager Observations
We have examined 426 Voyager fields distributed across the sky for O VIλλ1032, 1038 emission from the Galactic diffuseinterstellar medium. No such emission was detected in any of ourobserved fields. Our most constraining limit was a 90% confidence upperlimit of 2600 photons cm-2 sr-1 s-1 onthe doublet emission in the direction (l,b)=(117.3d,50.6d). Combiningthis with an absorption-line measurement in nearly the same directionallows us to place an upper limit of 0.01 cm-3 on theelectron density of the hot gas in this direction. We have placed 90%confidence upper limits of less than or equal to 10,000 photonscm-2 sr-1 s-1 on the O VI emission in16 of our 426 observations.
| Radial velocities. Measurements of 2800 B2-F5 stars for HIPPARCOS
Radial velocities have been determined for a sample of 2930 B2-F5 stars,95% observed by the Hipparcos satellite in the north hemisphere and 80%without reliable radial velocity up to now. Observations were obtainedat the Observatoire de Haute Provence with a dispersion of 80Ä,mm(-1) with the aim of studying stellar and galactic dynamics.Radial velocities have been measured by correlation with templates ofthe same spectral class. The mean obtained precision is 3.0 km s(-1)with three observations. A new MK spectral classification is estimatedfor all stars. Based on observations made at the Haute ProvenceObservatory, France and on data from The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA.Tables 4, 5 and 6 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.htm
| Spectral classifications in the near infrared of stars with composite spectra. III. Study of a sample of 137 objects with the Aurelie spectrograph
We provide spectral classifications for a sample of 137 stars mentionedas having composite spectra. The classifications were carried out on 33Angstroms /mm spectra in the region 8370 - 8870 Angstroms. Of these 137objects, 115 correspond in the infrared to cool stars (G, K or M) ofluminosity classes III, II and I; for 22 stars, we find only hot spectraof types B, A, F or Am, so that they do not fulfil our definition ofcomposite spectra. We detect four new Am stars, and one Am star (HD70826) turns out to be a composite spectrum object. As in Paper II, thecool components of composite spectra show a strong concentration in thevicinity of G8III. Based upon observations carried out at Observatoirede Haute-Provence (OHP).
| High-Velocity Rain: The Terminal Velocity Model of Galactic Infall
A model is proposed for determining the distances to fallinginterstellar clouds in the galactic halo by measuring the cloud velocityand column density and assuming a model for the vertical densitydistribution of the Galactic interstellar medium. It is shown thatfalling clouds with N(H I) <~ 1019 cm-2 may be decelerated to aterminal velocity which increases with increasing height above theGalactic plane. This terminal velocity model correctly predicts thedistance to high-velocity cloud Complex M and several other interstellarstructures of previously determined distance. It is demonstrated howinterstellar absorption spectra alone may be used to predict thedistances of the clouds producing the absorption. If the distance,velocities, and column densities of enough interstellar clouds are knownindependently, the procedure can be reversed, and the terminal velocitymodel can be used to estimate the vertical density structure (both themean density and the porosity) of the interstellar medium. Using thedata of Danly and assuming a drag coefficient of CD ≅ 1, thederived density distribution is consistent with the expected densitydistribution of the warm ionized medium, characterized by Reynolds.There is also evidence that for z >~ 0.4 kpc one or more of thefollowing occurs: (1) the neutral fraction of the cloud decreases to ~31+/- 14%, (2) the density drops off faster than characterized byReynolds, or (3) there is a systematic decrease in CD with increasing z.Current data do not place strong constraints on the porosity of theinterstellar medium.
| Cross-correlation characteristics of OB stars from IUE spectroscopy
We present a catalogue of homogeneous measures of the linewidthparameter, v_esin i, for 373 O-type stars and early B supergiants(including the separate components of 25 binary and three triplesystems), produced by cross-correlating high-resolution,short-wavelength IUE spectra against a `template' spectrum of tauSco. Wealso tabulate terminal velocities. There are no O supergiants in oursample with v_esin i<65 km s^-1, and only one supergiant earlier thanB5 has v_esin i<50 km s^-1, confirming that an important linebroadening mechanism in addition to rotation must be present in theseobjects. A calibration of the area under the cross-correlation peakagainst spectral type is used to obtain estimates of continuum intensityratios of the components in 28 spectroscopically binary or multiplesystems. At least seven SB2 systems show evidence for the `Struve-Sahadeeffect', a systematic variation in relative line strength as a functionof orbital phase. The stellar wind profiles of the most rapid rotator inour sample, the O9III:n* star HD 191423 (v_esin i=436km s^-1), show itto have a `wind-compressed disc' similar to that of HD 93521; this starand other rapid rotators are good candidates for studies of non-radialpulsation.
| High-Velocity Clouds
High-velocity clouds (HVCs) consist of neutral hydrogen (\HI) atvelocities incompatible with a simple model of differential galacticrotation; in practice one uses {the absolue value of} VLSR {greater orequal to} 90 km/s to define HVCs. This review describes the mainfeatures of the sky and velocity distributions, as well as the availableinformation on cloud properties, small-scale structure, velocitystructure, and observations other than in 21-cm emission. We show thatHVCs contain heavy elements and that the more prominent ones are morethan 2 kpc from the Galactic plane. We evaluate the hypotheses proposedfor their origin and reject those that account for only one or a fewHVCs. At least three different hypotheses are needed: one for theMagellanic Stream and possibly related clouds, one for the Outer ArmExtension, and one (or more) for the other HVCs. We discuss the evidencefor the accretion and the fountain model but cannot rule out either one.
| Coronal Gas in the Halo. II. ORFEUS Observations of Galactic Halo Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996ApJ...465..296H&db_key=AST
| Intermediate-Velocity Gas in the North Galactic Hemisphere: H i Studies
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996ApJ...457..703K&db_key=AST
| The Ca+ abundance of HVC complex C
We report the first detection of Ca II H and K absorption in thehigh-velocity cloud complex C, the largest HVC. Absorption is detectedin the spectra of the quasar PG 1351+640 and of the Seyfert galaxy Mark290, at velocities of -163 and -137km/s (see fig.2). The implied Ca+abundances are about 2x10^-8^, or about 0.01 times the total solarCalcium abundance. This values lies near the middle of the range ofvalues found for other HVCs. The measured abundance will allow firmconclusions about the distance of complex C from the presence or absenceof its absoprtion in stellar spectra.
| Distance and metallicity limits of high-velocity clouds.
This paper presents results of a program to derive distances ofhigh-velocity clouds (HVCs) through measurement of absorption in theCaIIH and K lines. The problems of the method and their solutions arediscussed in detail. A probable detection of absorption toward theSeyfert galaxy Mark106 is reported, which gives a Ca^+^ abundance of(17+/-6)x10^-9^ in HVC complex A. The non-detection of CaII absorptionagainst a stellar probe sets a tentative lower limit of 1.6kpc to thedistance of complex A. Non-detections of HVC CaII lines in 9 starsprojected on complexes M, C and H may give distance limits, if theCa^+^/HI ratio in those HVCs can be derived from absorptions againstextra-galactic probes. High-resolution HI observations are required toget reliable Ca^+^ abundances. Westerbork HI synthesis observations arereported for several directions together with profiles obtained at theEffelsberg 100-meter dish. From results on several HVCs, we concludethat the Ca^+^/HI ratio may vary strongly between different HVCcomplexes.
| The distribution of neutral hydrogen in the interstellar medium. 1: The data
We compile, from the existing literature, the largest sample to date(842 data points) of hydrogen column density measurements, N(H I), ofthe gas in the interstellar medium. We include only results obtainedfrom absorption measurements toward individual stars (594 in our sample)in an effort to construct a three-dimensional picture of theinterstellar gas. We derive hydrogen column densities toward a fractionof the stars in the sample from published column density measurements ofmetal ions. A three-dimensional physical model derived from this dataset will be presented in a companion paper. The observed stars spandistances from a few parsecs to a few thousand parsecs, and more thanhalf of the sample serves to describe the local interstellar mediumwithin a few hundred parsecs of the Sun. Hydrogen column densities rangefrom 1017 to 1022/sq cm. We describe here thevarious observational methods used to estimate the hydrogen columndensities and present the table with the stellar and hydrogen columndensity data. The provided table is intended as a global reference work,not to introduce new results.
| An IUE survey of interstellar H I LY alpha absorption. 1: Column densities
We measure Galactic interstellar neutral hydrogen column densities byanalyzing archival interstellar Ly alpha absorption line data toward 554B2 and hotter stars observed at high resolution with the IUE satellite.This study more than doubles the number of lines of sight with measuresof N(H I) based on Ly alpha. We have included the scattered lightbackground correction algorithm of Bianchi and Bohlin in our datareduction. We use the correlation between the Balmer discontinuity(c1) index and the stellar Ly alpha absorption in order toassess the effects of stellar Ly alpha contamination. Approximately 40%of the B stars with measured (c1) index, exhibit seriousstellar Ly alpha contamination. One table contains the derived values ofthe interstellar N(H I) for 393 stars with at most small amounts ofstellar contamination. Another lists the observed values of total N(H I)for 161 stars with suspected stellar Ly alpha contamination and/oruncertain stellar parameters.
| A Look at High Velocity Clouds
Not Available
| A high-resolution optical and radio study of Milky Way halo gas
Optical interstellar absorption lines of Ti II and Ca II and the 21 cmemission line of H I were observed at high-resolution (6 and 1 km/s,respectively) and high detection sensitivity along 25 lines of sight inthe Galactic halo. The sample includes 16 distant halo stars matchedwith one or more nearly aligned foreground stars as well as local starsalong five extragalactic sight lines. The data show substantialinterstellar material, at both low and intermediate velocities, between250 and 1000 pc beyond the Galactic plane. As much as one-third of thetotal gas observed in Ca II absorption may be beyond 1 kpc, and thegaseous Ti II may lie in an even thicker layer. The directly determinedgaseous Ti abundance above the Galactic plane exceeds that in the disk,on the average, by a factor of 4 to 6 and, for individual cloudcomponents, is further enhanced at higher LSR velocity. Thirty threediscrete high-latitude clouds are detected in Ca II absorption, and 17discrete clouds, including three high-velocity clouds, are identified inH I emission. The kinematics of the high-latitude gas observed in Ti IIand Ca II absorption is characterized by significant peculiar velocitieswith respect to a model corotating halo.
| The ionization conditions in the Milky Way halo - Infalling gas toward the North Galactic Pole
Observations of gas in the Milky Way halo are studied with an eye towardthe theoretical predictions of the Galactic Fountain model for theproduction of halo gas. Data are shown that indicate significantvariations in the ionization conditions in infalling halo gas in thenorthern galactic hemisphere. Understanding the nature of Milky Way halogas plays a critical role in interpreting QSO absorption lines in theinvestigation of galaxies at high redshift.
| Ultraviolet and radio observations of Milky Way halo gas
Interstellar-absorption-line and 21-cm emission-line data for sightlines to 56 stars are combined in order to study the kinematics andspatial distribution of the gas that is at great distances from theGalactic plane. Measurements of the interstellar velocities and H Icolumn densities from the 21-cm emission and Ly-alpha absorption areincluded. The problem of contamination of the interstellar Ly-alphaabsorption line by stellar Ly-alpha absorption is analyzed, and thisinformation is used to reevaluate the vertical distribution of H I. Anew method for determining lower limits on the vertical distribution ofgas by including information on the velocity structure in the gas ispresented. The data for individual sight lines are discussed.
| The distribution of interstellar AL III away from the Galactic plane
IUE spectra are analyzed to study the density distribution ofinterstellar Al III away from the Galactic plane. In most cases, themeasured values of the relative line strengths are consistent with onlymodest levels of line saturation. Al III is found to have an exponentialscale height and 1 sigma errors of 1.02(+0.36, -0.24) kpc. For the sameset of 70 stars, the scale height and 1 sigma errors for H I are0.67(+0.21, -0.16) kpc. The Al III scale height is similar to the valueobtained for free electrons from pulsar dispersion measures. The ionizedgas traced by Al III is somewhat more extended than the neutral gastraced by H I but less extended than the very highly ionized gas tracedby Si IV, C IV, and N V.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Drache |
| Right ascension: | 13h55m15.45s |
| Declination: | +66°07'00.6" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 9.049 |
| Proper motion RA: | 2.2 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 8.885 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.036 |
Catalogs and designations:
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INHABITED SKY
