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A Sensitive Spectral Survey of Interstellar Features in the Near-UV [3040-3700Å]

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2014

N. H. Bhatt  and
J. Cami
N. H. Bhatt
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada email: [email protected]
J. Cami
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada email: [email protected] SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Avenue, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
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Abstract

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We present a comprehensive and sensitive unbiased survey of interstellar features in the near-UV range (3040-3700 Å). We combined a large number of VLT/UVES archival observations of a sample of highly reddened early type stars – typical diffuse interstellar band (DIB) targets. We stacked the individual observations to obtain a spectrum with a signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 1500. Careful inspection of this spectrum reveals tens of absorption features of interstellar nature, most of which can be identified with various atomic and molecular features. We furthermore detect four weak unidentified features, but we cannot establish their interstellar nature. Our sensitivity is limited by telluric and instrumental residuals; this precludes us from detecting broader features (e.g. DIBs). For each detected feature, we measured fundamental parameters (radial velocities, line widths, and equivalent widths). We also compare our co-added spectrum to cold gas-phase laboratory measurements of small, neutral polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules.

Keywords

ISM: atomsISM: moleculesISM: lines and bands
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 9 , Symposium S297: The Diffuse Interstellar Bands , May 2013 , pp. 58 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2014 

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