The Outer Spiral Structure of the Galaxy and the High-Velocity Clouds

1974 ◽  
pp. 124-128
Author(s):  
R. D. Davies
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Spiral Structure ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
High Velocity Clouds

scholarly journals High Velocity Neutral Hydrogen Clouds

1974 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 599-616
Author(s):  
R. D. Davies
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Spiral Structure ◽  
Neutral Hydrogen ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Galactic Rotation ◽  
Velocity Pattern ◽  
Tidal Interactions ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
High Velocity Clouds

A review is given of the observations of neutral hydrogen high velocity clouds (|ν| > 80 km s−1) in and near the Galaxy. The positive and negative clouds are seen to have different distributions in the sky, following roughly the velocity pattern of galactic rotation. A characteristic of the majority of the clouds is their distribution in elongated bands or strings. The various theories of origin of HVCs are discussed; the possible role of the tidal interactions between the Magellanic Clouds and the Galaxy is emphasized. Tests are suggested to distinguish between the Oort theory of the infall of intergalactic material and theories which envisage the HVCs as originating in the outermost spiral structure.

scholarly journals Abundances in the Gaseous Galactic Halo

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-89
Author(s):  
Ulysses J. Sofia
Keyword(s):  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
High Velocity ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Solar Neighborhood ◽  
Local Interstellar Medium ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Metal Abundances ◽  
High Velocity Clouds

Abstract The well measured gas-phase abundances in the low halo suggest that this region of the Galaxy has total (gas plus dust) metal abundances which are close to those in the solar neighborhood. The gas-phase abundances in the halo are generally higher than those seen in the disk, however, this affect is likely due to the destruction of dust in the halo clouds. Observations of high velocity clouds (HVCs) in the halo suggest that these clouds have metal abundances which are substantially lower than those measured for the local interstellar medium. These determinations, however, are often of lower quality than those for the low halo because of uncertainties in the hydrogen abundances along the sightlines, in the incorporation of elements into dust, and in the partial ionization of the clouds.

scholarly journals Analysis of Low-and High-Resolution Observations of High-Velocity Clouds

1989 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 416-423
Author(s):  
Bart P. Wakker
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Neutral Hydrogen ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Galactic Rotation ◽  
Single Model ◽  
Neutral Gas ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
High Velocity Clouds ◽  
Distance Problem

For almost three decades neutral hydrogen moving at velocities unexplicable by galactic rotation has been observed. These so-called high-velocity clouds (HVCs) have been invoked as evidence for infall of neutral gas to the galaxy, as manifestations of a galactic fountain, as energy source for the formation of supershells, etc. No general consensus about their origin has presently been reached. However, it is becoming clear that no single model will suffice to explain all HVCs. A number of clouds may consist of material streaming toward the galactic center, as Mirabel (this conference) has advocated for several years, though their origin still remains unclear. A better understanding is mainly hampered by the fact that the distance remains unknown. An overview of the current status of the distance problem is given by van Woerden elsewhere in this volume.

scholarly journals The Wisconsin Hα Mapper (WHAM): A Brief Review of Performance Characteristics and Early Scientific Results

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Reynolds ◽  
S. L. Tufte ◽  
L. M. Haffner ◽  
K. Jaehnig ◽  
J. W. Percival
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Optical Emission ◽  
Emission Lines ◽  
Spectral Window ◽  
Sky Surveys ◽  
Early Results ◽  
Fabry Perot ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
High Velocity Clouds ◽  
Scientific Results

Abstract. The Wisconsin Hα Mapper (WHAM) is a recently completed facility for the detection and study of faint optical emission lines from diffuse ionised gas in the disk and halo of the Galaxy. WHAM consists of a 15 cm diameter Fabry–Perot spectrometer coupled to a 0·6 m ‘telescope’, which provide a 1° diameter beam on the sky and produce a 12 km s−1 resolution spectrum within a 200 km s−1 spectral window. This facility is now located at Kitt Peak in Arizona and operated remotely from Madison, Wisconsin, 2400 km distant. Early results include a velocity-resolved Hα map of a 70° × 100° region of the sky near the Galactic anticentre, the first detections of Hα emission from the M I and A high velocity clouds, and the first detections of [O I] λ6300 and other faint ‘diagnostic’ lines from the warm ionised medium. Through the summer of 1998, WHAM will be devoted almost exclusively to a survey of the northern sky, which will provide maps of the distribution and kinematics of the diffuse HII through the optical Hα line in a manner that is analogous to earlier sky surveys of the HI made through the 21 cm line.

scholarly journals Hα Distances to High Velocity Clouds

2004 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Joss Bland-Hawthorn ◽  
Mary Putman
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Local Group ◽  
Solid Angle ◽  
Galactic Disk ◽  
Distance Constraint ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Ionization Model ◽  
High Velocity Clouds ◽  
Magellanic Stream

Several observing teams have now obtained deep Hα spectroscopy towards high-velocity clouds (HVCs) which vary in structure from compact (CHVCs) to the Magellanic Stream. Our team has observed clouds which range from being bright (~640 mR) to having upper limits on the order of 30 to 70 mR. The Hα measurements can be interpreted as a distance constraint if we adopt a halo ionization model based on fesc ≈ 6% of the ionizing photons escaping normal to the Galactic disk (fesc ≈ 1 − 2% when averaged over solid angle). The results suggest that many HVCs and CHVCs are within a ~40 kpc radius from the Galaxy and are not members of the Local Group at megaparsec distances. We refer the reader to Putman et al. (2003) for the full version of the paper presented here.

Maser effects in the interstellar hydrogen clouds of the galactic halo

1967 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 291-293
Author(s):  
I. S. Šklovskij
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Population Inversion ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Neutral Hydrogen ◽  
Collisional Excitation ◽  
Hydrogen Atoms ◽  
Hydrogen Density ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
High Velocity Clouds

It is suggested that the neutral hydrogen atoms in clouds with high negative velocities observed at high galactic latitudes may, when moving towards a galactic H 11 region, be excited by radiation in the red wing of the Lyman-α profile. The steepness of this wing may cause a population inversion of the hyperfine-structure levels. Consequently, estimates of the hydrogen density in the high-velocity clouds, and of the flow of matter towards the galactic plane (or into the Galaxy), when based on the assumption of collisional excitation, may be too high by two orders of magnitude.

scholarly journals Ionised Hydrogen at Large Galactocentric Distances

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bland-Hawthorn
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
High Velocity ◽  
Mass Fraction ◽  
Radio Telescopes ◽  
Cluster Galaxies ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
High Velocity Clouds ◽  
Baryonic Mass ◽  
Magellanic Stream

AbstractWe summarise recent attempts to detect warm ionised gas at large galactocentric distances. This includes searches for gas at the edges of spirals, in between cluster galaxies, towards extragalactic HI clouds, and towards high-velocity clouds and the Magellanic Stream in the Galaxy. With the exception of extragalactic HI clouds, all of these experiments have proved successful. Within each class, we have only observed a handful of objects. It is premature to assess what fraction of the missing baryonic mass fraction might be in the form of ionised gas. But, in most cases, the detections provide a useful constraint on the ambient ionising flux, and, in the case of spiral edges, can even trace dark matter haloes out to radii beyond the reach of radio telescopes.

scholarly journals High Velocity Clouds in the Galaxy

1995 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 129-132
Author(s):  
Felix J. Lockman
Keyword(s):  
High Velocity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Spectral Lines ◽  
Galactic Rotation ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
High Velocity Clouds ◽  
Major Review ◽  
Lower Limits

Early observers measuring 21 cm HI profiles away from the Galactic plane found not only the emission near zero velocity expected from gas in the immediate vicinity of the Sun, but also occasional emission at velocities reaching several hundred km s−1. It seemed unlikely that these spectral lines could come from gas in normal galactic rotation (they are sometimes found at |b| > 45°), and so began the puzzle of “high-velocity clouds” (HVCs). The early result that all HVCs had negative velocity implying that they were infalling was soon shown to be incorrect with the discovery of many positive velocity clouds in the southern hemisphere. Attempts to determine the distance to HVCs by searching for them in absorption against stars yielded only lower limits, typically > 1 kpc. By 1984 several large-scale surveys had established that a significant fraction of the sky was covered with high velocity HI (e.g., Oort, 1966; Giovanelli, 1980). A recent major review is by Wakker (1991a; see also van Woerden, 1993). For this brief presentation to a specialized audience, I will concentrate on issues that may be relevant to the topic of stellar populations.

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