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Observations of O VI Emission from the Diffuse Interstellar Medium

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and

© 2001. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
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1 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218

2 Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 3818, Charlottesville, VA 22903

3 Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450

4 ISO Data Center, European Space Agency, Astrophysics Division, P.O. Box 50727, 28080 Madrid, Spain

5 Laboratoir d'Astronomie Spatiale, B.P. 8, 13376 Marseille Cedex 12, France

6 Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001

7 Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy and Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Campus Box 389, Boulder, CO 80309

8 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics, Code 681, Greenbelt, MD 20771

9 Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

10 Gemini Observatory, 670 North Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720

11 Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin at Madison, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706

12 Also at JILA, University of Colorado, and National Institute of Standards and Technology

13 Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 92 bis, Blvd. Arago, Paris 7504, France

14 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637

Dates

Received 2000 October 18
Accepted 2001 May 8

Citation

R. L. Shelton et al 2001 ApJ 560 730

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/322478

Keywords

Galaxy: general; Galaxy: halo; ISM: general; ISM: structure; ultraviolet: ISM

Journal RSS feed

0004-637X/560/2/730

Abstract

We report the first Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer measurements of diffuse O VI (λλ1032, 1038) emission from the general diffuse interstellar medium outside of supernova remnants or superbubbles. We observed a 30'' × 30'' region of the sky centered at l = 315fdg0 and b = -41fdg3. From the observed intensities (2930 ± 290 [random] ± 410 [systematic] and 1790 ± 260 [random] ± 250 [systematic] photons cm-2 s-1 sr-1 in λλ1032 and 1038, respectively), derived equations, and assumptions about the source location, we calculate the intrinsic intensity, electron density, thermal pressure, and emitting depth. The intensities are too large for the emission to originate solely in the Local Bubble. Thus, we conclude that the Galactic thick disk and lower halo also contribute. High-velocity clouds are ruled out because there are none near the pointing direction. The calculated emitting depth is small, indicating that the O VI-bearing gas fills a small volume. The observations can also be used to estimate the cooling rate of the hot interstellar medium and to constrain models. The data also yield the first intensity measurement of the C II 3s 2S1/2-2p 2P3/2 emission line at 1037 Å and place upper limits on the intensities of ultraviolet line emission from C I, C III, Si II, S III, S IV, S VI, and Fe III.

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