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Register a new userFUSE Observations of Interstellar Gas toward the SMC Star Sk 108
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We discuss the interstellar absorption lines found in FUSE spectra of the Wolf-Rayet binary Sk 108, located in the northeastern part of the main ``bar of the Small Magellanic Cloud. The spectra cover the wavelength range 988-1187 Angstroms, at a resolution of about 12,000 and S/N of 20--40. We use detailed component information from higher resolution near-UV and optical spectra to model the far-UV lines of similarly distributed species. Both the Galactic and SMC gas toward Sk 108 seem to be predominantly neutral, though a significant fraction of the SMC gas is ionized. The column densities of P II, S II, and Ar I are consistent with essentially solar ratios, relative to N(Zn II), in both the Galactic and SMC gas; the column density of N I remains somewhat uncertain. Molecular hydrogen is present in the Galactic gas, with properties similar to those found in low mean density Galactic lines of sight and in the Galactic gas toward several other LMC and SMC stars. We report a tentative detection of H_2 in the SMC gas for J = 1 and 3, with rotational level populations consistent with an excitation temperature of order 1000 K -- similar to the H_2 found in diffuse Galactic gas toward zeta Pup. Strong absorption from N III, S III, and Fe III has revealed a significant ionized component, particularly in the SMC; O VI is present, but relatively weak, especially in the Galactic gas. The N(C IV)/N(O VI) ratio varies somewhat within the SMC --- suggesting that several processes may contribute to the observed high ion abundances.
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We describe a moderate-resolution FUSE mini-survey of H2 in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds, using four hot stars and four AGN as background sources. FUSE spectra of nearly every stellar and extragalactic source exhibit numerous absorption lines from the H2 Lyman and Werner bands between 912 and 1120 A. One extragalactic sightline, PKS 2155-304, with low N(HI) shows no detectable H2 and could be the Lockman Hole of molecular gas, of importance for QSO absorption-line studies. We measure H2 column densities in low rotational states (J = 0 and 1) to derive rotational and/or kinetic temperatures of diffuse interstellar gas. The higher-J abundances can constrain models of the UV radiation fields and gas densities. In three optically thick clouds toward extragalactic sources, we find n(H) ~ 30-50 cm(-3) and cloud thicknesses of 2-3 pc. The rotational temperatures for H2 at high Galactic latitude, <T_01> = 107 +/- 17 K (seven sightlines) and 120 +/- 13 K (three optically thick clouds), are higher than those in the Copernicus sample composed primarily of targets in the disk. We find no evidence for great differences in the abundance or state of excitation of H2 between sight lines in the Galaxy and those in the SMC and LMC. In the future, we will probe the distribution and physical parameters of diffuse molecular gas in the disk and halo and in the lower-metallicity environs of the LMC and SMC.
High-quality Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) observations at 20 km /s resolution of interstellar and intergalactic absorption from 910 to 1187 A are presented for the X-ray bright BL Lac object Mrk 421. In this study we consider the O VI absorption between -140 to 165 km /s and its relationship to the lower ionization absorption and to the strong absorption produced by O VII and O VIII at X-ray wavelengths. The O VI absorption extending from -140 to 60 km /s is associated with strong low ionization gas absorption and originates in the Galactic thick disk / halo. This O VI appears to be produced by a combination of processes, including conductive interfaces between warm and hot gas and possibly cooling Galactic Fountain gas and hot halo gas bubbles. The O VI absorption extending from 60 to 165 km /s has unusual ionization properties in that there is very little associated low ionization absorption, with the exception of C III. This absorption is not observed toward two foreground halo stars, implying that it occurs in gas more distant than 3.5 kpc from the Galactic disk. Over the 60 to 165 km/s velocity range, O VI and C III absorption have the same kinematic behavior. N(O VI)/N(C III) = 10+/-3 over the 60 to 120 km/s velocity range. Given the association of O VI with C III, it is unlikely that the high velocity O VI co-exists with the hotter gas responsible for the O VII and O VIII absorption. The O VI positive velocity absorption wing might be tracing cooler gas entrained in a hot Galactic Fountain outflow. The O VII and O VIII absorption observed by Chandra and XMM-Newton may trace the hot gas in a highly extended (~100 kpc) Galactic corona or hot gas in the Local Group.
We report results from a FUSE survey of interstellar molecular hydrogen (H2) along 45 sight lines to AGN at high Galactic latitudes (|b| > 20 degrees). Most (39 of 45) of the sight lines show detectable Galactic H2 absorption from Lyman and Werner bands between 1000 and 1126 A, with column densities ranging from N(H2) = 10^(14.17-19.82) cm^-2. In the northern Galactic hemisphere, we identify many regions of low column, N(H2) < 10^15 cm^-2, between longitude l = 60-180 degrees and at b > 54 degrees. These `H2 holes provide valuable, uncontaminated sight lines for extragalactic UV spectroscopy, and a few may be related to the Northern Chimney (low Na I absorption) and Lockman Hole with low N(HI). A comparison of high-latitude H2 with 139 OB-star sight lines surveyed in the Galactic disk suggests that high-latitude and disk H2 clouds may have different rates of heating, cooling, and UV excitation. For rotational states J = 0 and 1, the mean excitation temperature at high latitude, <T_01(high)> = 124 +/- 8 K, is somewhat above that in the Galactic disk, <T_01(disk)> = 86 +/- 20 K. For J = 2-4, the <T_exc> = 498 +/- 28 K, and the column-density ratios, N(3)/N(1), N(4)/N(0), and N(4)/N(2), indicate a comparable degree of UV excitation in the disk and low halo for sight lines with N(H2) > 10^18. The distribution of molecular fractions at high latitude shows a transition at lower total hydrogen column density, log N_H = 20.38 +/- 0.13, than in the Galactic disk, log N_H(disk) = 20.7. If the FUV radiation fields are similar in disk and low halo, this suggests an enhanced (dust-catalyzed) H2 formation rate in higher-density, compressed clouds, which could be detectable as high-latitude, sheetlike infrared cirrus.
We present new results from our survey of diffuse O VI-emitting gas in the interstellar medium with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Background observations obtained since 2005 have yielded eleven new O VI detections of 3-sigma significance, and archival searches have revealed two more. An additional 15 sight lines yield interesting upper limits. Combined with previous results, these observations reveal the large-scale structure of the O VI-bearing gas in the quadrant of the sky centered on the Magellanic Clouds. The most prominent feature is a layer of low-velocity O VI emission extending more than 70 degrees from the Galactic plane. At low latitudes (|b| < 30 degrees), the emission comes from narrow, high-density conductive interfaces in the local ISM. At high latitudes, the emission is from extended, low-density regions in the Galactic halo. We also detect O VI emission from the interface region of the Magellanic System, a structure recently identified from H I observations. These are the first detections of emission from high-ionization species in the Magellanic System outside of the Clouds themselves.
The source of fluorine is not well understood, although core-collapse supernovae, Wolf-Rayet stars, and asymptotic giant branch stars have been suggested. A search for evidence of the nu process during Type II supernovae is presented. Absorption from interstellar F I is seen in spectra of HD 208440 and HD 209339A acquired with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. In order to extract the column density for F I from the line at 954 A, absorption from H2 has to be modeled and then removed. Our analysis indicates that for H2 column densities less than about 3 x 10^20 cm^-2, the amount of F I can be determined from lambda 954. For these two sight lines, there is no clear indication for enhanced F abundances resulting from the nu process in a region shaped by past supernovae.
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