FUSE survey of H_2_ in the Galactic disk Virtual Observatory Resource

Authors
  1. Shull J.M.
  2. Danforth C.W.
  3. Anderson K.L.
  4. Published by
    CDS
Abstract

We report results from a Far Ultraviolet Spectrographic Explorer (FUSE) survey of interstellar molecular hydrogen (H_2_) in the Galactic disk toward 139 O-type and early B-type stars at Galactic latitudes |b|<=10{deg}, with updated photometric and parallax distances. H_2_ absorption is measured using the far-UV 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), and N_H_=N_HI_+2N_H2_ and the molecular fraction f_H2_=2N_H2_/N_H_. Our survey extends the 1977 Copernicus H_2_ survey up to N_H_~5x10^21^cm^-2^. The lowest rotational states have excitation temperatures and rms dispersions <T_01_>=88+/-20K and <T_02_>=77+/-18K, suggesting that J=0, 1, 2 are coupled to the gas kinetic temperature. Populations of higher-J states exhibit mean excitation temperatures <T_24_>=237+/-91K and <T_35_>=304+/-108K, produced primarily by UV radiative pumping. Correlations of f_H2_ with E(B-V) and N_H_ show a transition to f_H2_>=0.1 at N_H_>~10^21^cm^-2^ and E(B-V)>~0.2, interpreted with an analytic model of H_2_ 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 H_2_ 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 <f_H2_>=0.20 and <N_H_/E(B-V)>=6.07x10^21^cm^-2^/mag.

Keywords
  1. ob-stars
  2. ultraviolet-astronomy
  3. surveys
  4. milky-way-galaxy
  5. extinction
  6. molecular-physics
  7. interstellar-medium
  8. h-i-line-emission
Bibliographic source Bibcode
2021ApJ...911...55S
See also HTML
https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/911/55
IVOA Identifier IVOID
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/911/55
Document Object Identifer DOI
doi:10.26093/cds/vizier.19110055

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History

2022-11-09T10:37:31Z
Resource record created
2022-11-09T10:37:31Z
Created
2022-11-16T06:18:58Z
Updated

Contact

Name
CDS support team
Postal Address
CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
E-Mail
cds-question@unistra.fr