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High-Resolution Optical Observations of Diffuse Clouds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Daniel Welty
Daniel Welty*
Affiliation:
University of Chicago, Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, USA

Abstract

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We describe results from high-resolution (Δv = 0.3-1.5 km s−1) observations of absorption lines due to interstellar Na I, Ca II, K I, Ca I, and Ti II. At those resolutions, we can identify and characterize many (but not all) of the individual clouds along a given line of sight; complex spatial and/or velocity structure appears to be the norm. Both the spectra and the statistics of individual cloud properties derived from fits to the observed line profiles suggest that: 1) the five species are not entirely coextensive in the neutral ISM; 2) the typical separation between adjacent components (in Na I and Ca II) is ~1.2 km s−1; 3) the median line widths (FWHM) for components in Na I, K I, and Ca I are ≾ 1.2 km s−1; 4) larger line widths for Ca II, even for “corresponding” components at similar velocities, suggest that Ca II is more widely distributed; 5) line widths for clouds in the Galactic halo and in the local ISM (within 100 pc) are generally somewhat larger than for clouds in the general Galactic disk; and 6) components with very different properties (line width, relative abundances, overall column densities) are often separated by only several km s−1. Observations of multiple systems and lines of sight in restricted regions reveal complex spatial structure and velocity coincidences even within 100 pc. These high-resolution optical spectra can be used to model lower resolution UV spectra of many other neutral and singly ionized species, enabling abundances and physical properties to be derived for individual interstellar clouds.

Type
Part IV Clouds, Ionized Gas, and Particles in the Local ISM
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 166: The Local Bubble and Beyond , 1997 , pp. 149 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © Springer-Verlag 1998

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