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Register a new userThe Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of OVI Absorption in the Disk of the Milky Way
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To probe the distribution and physical characteristics of interstellar gas at temperatures T ~ 3e5 K in the disk of the Milky Way, we have used the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) to observe absorption lines of OVI toward 148 early-type stars situated at distances 1 kpc. After subtracting off a mild excess of OVI arising from the Local Bubble, combining our new results with earlier surveys of OVI, and eliminating stars that show conspicuous localized X-ray emission, we find an average OVI mid-plane density n_0 = 1.3e-8 cm^-3. The density decreases away from the plane of the Galaxy in a way that is consistent with an exponential scale height of 3.2 kpc at negative latitudes or 4.6 kpc at positive latitudes. Average volume densities of OVI 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 and density, but instead is distributed in regions that have a very broad range of column densities, with the more strongly absorbing clouds having a lower space density. Line widths and centroid velocities are much larger than those expected from differential Galactic rotation, but they are nevertheless correlated with distance and N(OVI), which reinforces our picture of a diverse population of hot plasma regions that are ubiquitous over the entire Galactic disk. The velocity extremes of the OVI profiles show a loose correlation with those of very strong lines of less ionized species, supporting a picture of a turbulent, multiphase medium churned by shock-heated gas from multiple supernova explosions.
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We report results from a FUSE survey of interstellar molecular hydrogen (H2) in the Galactic disk toward 139 O-type and early B-type stars at Galactic latitudes $|b| < 10^{circ}$, with updated photometric and parallax distances. The H2 absorption is measured using the far-ultraviolet Lyman and Werner bands, including strong R(0), R(1), and P(1) lines from rotational levels $J = 0$ and $J = 1$ and excited states up to $J = 5$ (sometimes $J = 6$ and 7). For each sight line, we report column densities $N_{H2}$, $N_{HI}$, $N(J)$, $N_H = N_{HI} + 2N_{H2}$, and molecular fraction, $f_{H2} = 2N_{H2}/N_H$. Our survey extends the 1977 Copernicus H2 survey up to $N_H sim 5times10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$. The lowest rotational states have mean excitation temperatures and rms dispersions, $T_{01} = 88pm 20$ K and $T_{02} = 77pm18$ K, suggesting that J = 0,1,2 are coupled to the gas kinetic temperature. Populations of higher-J states exhibit mean excitation temperatures, $T_{24} = 237pm91$ K and $T_{35} = 304pm108$ K, produced primarily by UV radiative pumping. Correlations of $f_{H2}$ with E(B-V) and N_H show a transition to $f_{H2} geq 0.1$ at $N_ H geq 10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$ and $E(B-V) > 0.2$, interpreted with an analytic model of H2 formation-dissociation equilibrium and attenuation of the far-UV radiation field by self-shielding and dust opacity. Results of this disk survey are compared to previous FUSE studies of H2 in translucent clouds, at high Galactic latitudes, and in the Magellanic Clouds. Using updated distances to the target stars, we find average sight-line values $langle f_{H2} rangle geq 0.20$ and $langle N_H/E(B-V) rangle = (6.07pm1.01)times10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$ mag$^{-1}$.
We outline the results from a FUSE Team program designed to characterize OVI absorption in the disk of the Milky Way. We find that OVI absorption occurs throughout most of the Galactic plane, at least out to several kpc from the Sun, and that it is distributed smoothly enough for the column density to decline with height above the disk and with distance in the plane. However, the OVI absorbing gas is clumpy, and moves at peculiar velocities relative to that expected from Galactic rotation. We conclude that the observed absorption is likely to be a direct indicator of the structures formed when violent, dynamical processes heat the ISM, such as blowout from multiple supernovae events.
Launch of the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) has been followed by an extensive period of calibration and characterization as part of the preparation for normal satellite operations. Major tasks carried out during this period include initial coalignment, focusing and characterization of the four instrument channels, and a preliminary measurement of the resolution and throughput performance of the instrument. We describe the results from this test program, and present preliminary estimates of the on-orbit performance of the FUSE satellite based on a combination of this data and prelaunch laboratory measurements.
The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) has surveyed a large sample (> 100) of active galactic nuclei in the low-redshift universe (z < 1). Its response at short wavelengths makes it possible to measure directly the far ultraviolet spectral properties of quasistellar objects (QSOs) and Seyfert 1 galaxies at z < 0.3. Using archival FUSE spectra, we form a composite extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum of QSOs at z < 0.67. After consideration of many possible sources of systematic error in our analysis, we find that the spectral slope of the FUSE composite spectrum, alpha= -0.56^+0.38_-0.28 for F_ u propto u^alpha, is significantly harder than the EUV (lambda lesssim 1200 A) portion of the composite spectrum of QSOs with z > 0.33 formed from archival Hubble Space Telescope spectra, alpha=-1.76 pm 0.12. We identify several prominent emission lines in the fuse composite and find that the high-ionization O VI and Ne VIII emission lines are enhanced relative to the HST composite. Power law continuum fits to the individual FUSE AGN spectra reveal a correlation between EUV spectral slope and AGN luminosity in the FUSE and FUSE + HST samples in the sense that lower luminosity AGNs show harder spectral slopes. We find an anticorrelation between the hardness of the EUV spectral slope and AGN black hole mass, using estimates of this quantity found in the literature. We interpret these results in the context of the well-known anticorrelation between AGN luminosity and emission line strength, the Baldwin effect, given that the median luminosity of the FUSE AGN sample is an order of magnitude lower than that of the HST sample.
We report a Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellite observation of the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, covering the 905 -- 1187 A spectral region. A 30 square aperture was used, resulting in a velocity resolution of ~100 km/s. The purpose of the observation was to examine several bright emission lines expected from earlier work and to demonstrate diffuse source sensitivity by searching for faint lines never seen previously in extragalactic supernova remnant UV spectra. Both goals were accomplished. Strong emission lines of O VI 1031.9 A, 1037.6 A and C III 977.0 A were seen, Doppler broadened to +/- 225 km/s and with centroids red-shifted to 350 km/s, consistent with the LMC. Superimposed on the emission lines are absorptions by C III and O VI 1031.9 at +260 km/s, which are attributed to warm and hot gas (respectively) in the LMC. The O VI 1037.6 A line is more severely affected by overlying interstellar and H2 absorption from both the LMC and our galaxy. N III 989.8 A is not seen, but models indicate overlying absorption severely attenuates this line. A number of faint lines from hot gas have also been detected, many of which have never been seen in an extragalactic supernova remnant spectrum.
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