scholarly journals The Problem of the UV Interstellar Absorption Band at 2200A

1977 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 26-26
Author(s):  
D.J. Carnochan ◽  
K. Nandy ◽  
A.J. Willis ◽  
R. Wilson

The ultraviolet interstellar extinction curve from 2740Å to 1350Å has been obtained using data from the S2/68 satellite experiment. The extinction increases into the ultraviolet and shows a pronounced peak at 2200Å. This is interpreted as a general scattering continuum with a strong absorption feature superposed on it at 2200Å. The profile of the feature appears to be symmetrical and has a half-width of 360Å. There is a strong correlation between the strength of the feature and the scattering part of the curve in both the ultraviolet and the visible. On a broad scale the shape of the extinction curve is constant showing no variation with distance from the sun, direction around the galaxy, and height above the galactic plane.

1981 ◽  
Vol 95 ◽  
pp. 439-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice K. Harding

The distribution of pulsars in galactocentric radius and z distance has been determined for opposite halves of the Galaxy, using data on 328 pulsars from three surveys. The distributions in galactocentric radius are found to be significantly different at positive and negative longitudes, although both show strong peaks between 5 and 6 kpc. There is also some indication that pulsars are located preferentially along spiral arms. Distributions in the z component of dispersion measure above and below the galactic plane also show asymmetry, with higher dispersion occurring at negative z. This may imply the existence of a narrow (~ 100 pc), high electron density layer below the plane of the Sun in the inner galaxy.


1984 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 175-190
Author(s):  
Bambang Hidayat ◽  
A. Gunawan Admiranto ◽  
Karel A. Van Der Hucht

AbstractOn the basis of the most recent data, the fraction of known Wolf-Rayet binaries is 0.22. In the solar neighbourhood (d < 2.5 kpc) this fraction is 0.34In order to assess the relative importance of massive binary evolution as one of the ways to produce WR stars, the galactic distribution of WR binaries is compared with that of single WR stars using improved intrinsic parameters and new data for the fainter WR stars.In the galactic plane the increase of the binary frequency with galactocentric distance is confirmed.In a direction perpendicular to the galactic plane it is demonstrated at all distances from the Sun that the single-line spectroscopic WR binaries with small mass functions have definitely larger |z|-distances than the ‘single’ WR stars and the WR binaries with massive companions. This is consistent with the evolutionary scenario for massive binaries summarized by van den Heuvel (1976). Among the ‘single’ WR stars the fraction of those with large |z|-distances is increasing with galactocentric distance, like the fraction of the known binaries. This implies that among the high-ļzļ ‘single’ WR stars as well as among the WR stars with lower |z|-values many binaries are still to be discovered.The total WR binary frequency in the Galaxy could be well above 50 %.


If we are asked why we want to use the infrared to observe gaseous nebulae, we might reply with George Mallory, who was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, ‘Because its there’. More specifically, one reason is the very great space penetration possible in the infrared. Diffuse nebulae characteristically are close to the galactic plane, and interstellar extinction therefore prevents the observation of distant objects. At MATHS FORMULA the mean range to which diffuse nebulae can easily be observed is about 1500 parsecs (pc), while many of these nebulae are so reddened as to be nearly unobservable at Hβ. It is for this reason that at present the observation of diffuse nebulae is almost entirely limited to our own spiral arm and its immediate neighbours. However, because of the decrease of interstellar extinction to longer wavelengths, at 1 μm the range of observation would be about 3000 pc; at 2 μm about 10 000 pc, comparable with the distance to the centre of the Galaxy; and at 10μm, about 100 000 pc, far larger than the diameter of the Galaxy. (The form of the interstellar reddening curve is from Whitford 1958.)


1990 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 21-34
Author(s):  
Gary N. Toller

A historical review of integrated starlight, diffuse galactic light, and extragalactic light studies is presented. Together, these components compose the “background light.” Methods ranging from star counts to space-based photometric surveys have succeeded in quantifying the contribution of each component of the background. Integrated starlight is the dominant component. The contribution of diffuse galactic light in the general interstellar medium peaks slightly off the galactic plane and declines toward higher latitudes. The extragalactic light has been determined from both galaxy counts and photometric methods. The blue and red intensity and B–R color distribution of background light have been mapped. The relation between galactic structure and background light measurements is established. The distribution of interstellar extinction is the primary regulator of the brightness. However, spiral arm and stellar distribution effects are discerned in Carina and Sagittarius. The sun lies 13 pc north of the galactic plane as defined by brightness and dust distributions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S251) ◽  
pp. 73-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Muthumariappan ◽  
G. Maheswar ◽  
C. Eswaraiah ◽  
A. K. Pandey

AbstractTAUVEX is an Indo-Israeli collaborative mission to make photometric observations in the UV region. Using the narrowband filters positioned near 2175 Å feature, we plan to construct the UV bump in the extinction curve towards B type stars brighter than mv = 14. Archival data of TD1, Galex missions are used for stars brighter than mv = 10. We sample the distance to obtain the extintion at different location of the local ISM upto 2 kpc. Using a dust model having silicate, graphite and PAH as components, the extinction curve at different location of the Galaxy is fitted to constrain the dust characteristics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A50 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Grosbøl ◽  
G. Carraro

Context. The location of young sources in the Galaxy suggests a four-armed spiral structure, whereas tangential points of spiral arms observed in the integrated light at infrared and radio wavelengths indicate that only two arms are massive. Aims. Variable extinction in the Galactic plane and high light-to-mass ratios of young sources make it difficult to judge the total mass associated with the arms outlined by such tracers. The current objective is to estimate the mass associated with the Sagittarius arm by means of the kinematics of the stars across it. Methods. Spectra of 1726 candidate B- and A-type stars within 3◦ of the Galactic center (GC) were obtained with the FLAMES instrument at the VLT with a resolution of ≈6000 in the spectral range of 396–457 nm. Radial velocities were derived by least-squares fits of the spectra to synthetic ones. The final sample was limited to 1507 stars with either Gaia DR2 parallaxes or main-sequence B-type stars having reliable spectroscopic distances. Results. The solar peculiar motion in the direction of the GC relative to the local standard of rest (LSR) was estimated to U⊙ = 10.7 ± 1.3kms−1. The variation in the median radial velocity relative to the LSR as a function of distance from the sun shows a gradual increase from slightly negative values near the sun to almost 5 km s−1 at a distance of around 4 kpc. A sinusoidal function with an amplitude of 3.4 ± 1.3kms−1 and a maximum at 4.0 ± 0.6 kpc inside the sun is the best fit to the data. A positive median radial velocity relative to the LSR around 1.8 kpc, the expected distance to the Sagittarius arm, can be excluded at a 99% level of confidence. A marginal peak detected at this distance may be associated with stellar streams in the star-forming regions, but it is too narrow to be associated with a major arm feature. Conclusions. A comparison with test-particle simulations in a fixed galactic potential with an imposed spiral pattern shows the best agreement with a two-armed spiral potential having the Scutum–Crux arm as the next major inner arm. A relative radial forcing dFr ≈ 1.5% and a pattern speed in the range of 20–30 km s−1 kpc−1 yield the best fit. The lack of a positive velocity perturbation in the region around the Sagittarius arm excludes it from being a major arm. Thus, the main spiral potential of the Galaxy is two-armed, while the Sagittarius arm is an inter-arm feature with only a small mass perturbation associated with it.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (H15) ◽  
pp. 809-809
Author(s):  
A. Lutovinov ◽  
M. Revnivtsev ◽  
R. Krivonos

AbstractWe study the structure of the Galaxy in the hard X-ray energy band (¿20 keV) using data from the INTEGRAL observatory. The increased sensitivity of the survey and the very deep observations performed during six years of the observatory operation allow us to detect about a hundred new sources. This significantly enlarges the sample of hard X-ray sources in the Galactic disk and bulge in a comparison with the previous studies.


1995 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 129-132
Author(s):  
Felix J. Lockman

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 641 ◽  
pp. A141
Author(s):  
F. Nogueras-Lara ◽  
R. Schödel ◽  
N. Neumayer ◽  
E. Gallego-Cano ◽  
B. Shahzamanian ◽  
...  

Context. The characterisation of the extinction curve in the near-infrared (NIR) is fundamental to analysing the structure and stellar population of the Galactic centre (GC), whose analysis is hampered by the extreme interstellar extinction (AV ~ 30 mag) that varies on arc-second scales. Recent studies indicate that the behaviour of the extinction curve might be more complex than previously assumed, pointing towards a variation of the extinction curve as a function of wavelength. Aims. We aim to analyse the variations of the extinction index, α, with wavelength, line-of-sight, and absolute extinction, extending previous analyses to a larger area of the innermost regions of the Galaxy. Methods. We analysed the whole GALACTICNUCLEUS survey, a high-angular resolution (~0.2″) JHKs NIR survey specially designed to observe the GC in unprecedented detail. It covers a region of ~6000 pc2, comprising fields in the nuclear stellar disc, the inner bulge, and the transition region between them. We applied two independent methods based on red clump (RC) stars to constrain the extinction curve and analysed its variation superseding previous studies. Results. We used more than 165 000 RC stars and increased the size of the regions analysed significantly to confirm that the extinction curve varies with the wavelength. We estimated a difference Δα = 0.21 ± 0.07 between the obtained extinction indices, αJH = 2.44 ± 0.05 and αHKs = 2.23 ± 0.05. We also concluded that there is no significant variation of the extinction curve with wavelength, with the line-of-sight or the absolute extinction. Finally, we computed the ratios between extinctions, AJ∕AH = 1.87 ± 0.03 and AH/AKs = 1.84 ± 0.03, consistent with all the regions of the GALACTICNUCLEUS catalogue.


Data from the COS-B satellite have enabled discrete sources of cosmic y-rays to be identified. We wish to estimate the contribution that such sources make to the y-ray luminosity of the Galaxy (see Protheroe et al . 1979; Rothenflug & Caraveo 1980). Since only the brightest, and hence relatively near, sources are known, only the contribution of sources to the local y-ray emissivity can be determined from them. The distances to most of the sources in the second COS-B catalogue (Hermsen 1980) are not known so that neither their mean luminosity, nor their surface density, on the galactic plane can be determined accurately. The latitude distribution of sources indicates that their distance from the Sun, r , is much greater than their distance from the galactic plane, z . We can therefore calculate the product without knowing the distances of the sources.


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