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The X-Ray Opacity of the Interstellar Medium+

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2017

S.K. Ride
Affiliation:
Institute for Plasma Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California, U.S.A.
A.B.C. Walker Jr.
Affiliation:
Institute for Plasma Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California, U.S.A.

Extract

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In order to interpret soft X-ray spectra of cosmic X-ray sources, it is necessary to know the photoabsorption cross-section of the intervening interstellar material. Current models suggest that the interstellar medium contains two phases which make a substantial contribution to the X-ray opacity: cool, relatively dense clouds that exist in pressure equilibrium with hot, tenuous intercloud regions. We have computed the soft X-ray photoabsorption cross-section of each of these two phases. The calculations are based on a model of the interstellar medium which includes chemical evolution of the galaxy, the formation of molecules and grains, and the ionization structure of each phase.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Crown Research Institutes 1977

Footnotes

*

Also Department of Physics.

**

Also Department of Applied Physics.

+

Paper will be presented by A.B.C. Walker, Jr.

References

+ Paper will be presented by A.B.C. Walker, Jr.