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Register a new userA Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of Interstellar Molecular Hydrogen in the Galactic Disk
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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$^{-1}$.
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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.
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 present the far-ultraviolet (FUV) fluorescent molecular hydrogen (H_2) emission map of the Milky Way Galaxy obtained with FIMS/SPEAR covering ~76% of the sky. The extinction-corrected intensity of the fluorescent H_2 emission has a strong linear correlation with the well-known tracers of the cold interstellar medium (ISM), including color excess E(B-V), neutral hydrogen column density N(H I), and H_alpha emission. The all-sky H_2 column density map was also obtained using a simple photodissociation region model and interstellar radiation fields derived from UV star catalogs. We estimated the fraction of H2 (f_H2) and the gas-to-dust ratio (GDR) of the diffuse ISM. The f_H2 gradually increases from <1% at optically thin regions where E(B-V) < 0.1 to ~50% for E(B-V) = 3. The estimated GDR is ~5.1 x 10^21 atoms cm^-2 mag^-1, in agreement with the standard value of 5.8 x 10^21 atoms cm^-2 mag^-1.
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.
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