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A Unified Representation of Gas-Phase Element Depletions in the Interstellar Medium
A study of gas-phase element abundances reported in the literature for17 different elements sampled over 243 sight lines in the local part ofour Galaxy reveals that the depletions into solid form (dust grains) areextremely well characterized by trends that employ only three kinds ofparameters. One is an index that describes the overall level ofdepletion applicable to the gas in any particular sight line, and theother two represent linear coefficients that describe how to derive eachelement's depletion from this sight-line parameter. The information fromthis study reveals the relative proportions of different elements thatare incorporated into dust at different stages of grain growth. Anextremely simple scheme is proposed for deriving the dust contents andmetallicities of absorption-line systems that are seen in the spectra ofdistant quasars or the optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts. Contraryto presently accepted thinking, the elements sulfur and krypton appearto show measurable changes in their depletions as the general levels ofdepletions of other elements increase, although more data are needed toascertain whether or not these findings are truly compelling. Nitrogenappears to show no such increase. The incorporation of oxygen into solidform in the densest gas regions far exceeds the amounts that can takethe form of silicates or metallic oxides; this conclusion is based ondifferential measurements of depletion and thus is unaffected byuncertainties in the solar abundance reference scale.Based in large part on published observations from (1) the NASA/ESAHubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute, which is operated by the Association of Universities forResearch in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555, (2) theFar Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission operated by JohnsHopkins University, supported by NASA contract NAS5-32985, and (3) TheCopernicus satellite, supported by NASA grant NAGW-77 to PrincetonUniversity.
| Ultraviolet Survey of CO and H2 in Diffuse Molecular Clouds: The Reflection of Two Photochemistry Regimes in Abundance Relationships
We carried out a comprehensive far-UV survey of 12CO andH2 column densities along diffuse molecular Galactic sightlines. This sample includes new measurements of CO from HST spectraalong 62 sight lines and new measurements of H2 from FUSEdata along 58 sight lines. In addition, high-resolution optical datawere obtained at the McDonald and European Southern Observatories,yielding new abundances for CH, CH+, and CN along 42 sightlines to aid in interpreting the CO results. These new sight lines wereselected according to detectable amounts of CO in their spectra andprovide information on both lower density (<=100 cm-3) andhigher density diffuse clouds. A plot of logN(CO) versuslogN(H2) shows that two power-law relationships are neededfor a good fit of the entire sample, with a break located atlogN(CO,cm-2)=14.1 and logN(H2)=20.4,corresponding to a change in production route for CO in higher densitygas. Similar logarithmic plots among all five diatomic molecules revealadditional examples of dual slopes in the cases of CO versus CH (breakat logN=14.1, 13.0), CH+ versus H2 (13.1, 20.3),and CH+ versus CO (13.2, 14.1). We employ both analytical andnumerical chemical schemes in order to derive details of the molecularenvironments. In the denser gas, where C2 and CN moleculesalso reside, reactions involving C+ and OH are the dominantfactor leading to CO formation via equilibrium chemistry. In thelow-density gas, where equilibrium chemistry studies have failed toreproduce the abundance of CH+, our numerical analysis showsthat nonequilibrium chemistry must be employed for correctly predictingthe abundances of both CH+ and CO.
| Interstellar Krypton Abundances: The Detection of Kiloparsec-scale Differences in Galactic Nucleosynthetic History
We present an analysis of Kr I λ1236 line measurements from 50sight lines in the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope ImagingSpectrograph and Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph data archives thathave sufficiently high resolution and signal-to-noise ratio to permitreliable krypton-to-hydrogen abundance ratio determinations. Thedistribution of Kr/H ratios in this sample is consistent with a singlevalue for the ISM within 5900 pc of the Sun, log10(Kr/H)=-9.02+/-0.02,apart from a rough annulus from between ~600 and 2500 pc distant. TheKr/H ratio toward stars within this annulus is elevated by approximately0.11 dex, similar to previously noted elevations of O/H and Cu/Hgas-phase abundances beyond ~800 pc. A significant drop in the gas-phaseN/O ratio in the same region suggests that this is an artifact ofnucleosynthetic history. Since the physical scale of the annulus' inneredge is comparable to the radius of the Gould Belt and the outer limitof heliocentric distances where the D/H abundance ratio is highlyvariable, these phenomena may be related to the Gould Belt's origins.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) andthe NASA-CNES-CSA Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). HSTspectra were obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555 FUSE is operated for NASA by theJohn Hopkins University under NASA contract NAS-32985.
| Observational Constraints on Interstellar Grain Alignment
We present new multicolor photopolarimetry of stars behind the SouthernCoalsack. Analyzed together with multiband polarization data from theliterature, probing the Chamaeleon I, Musca, ? Opiuchus, R CrA, andTaurus clouds, we show that the wavelength of maximum polarization(?max) is linearly correlated with the radiationenvironment of the grains. Using far-infrared emission data, we showthat the large scatter seen in previous studies of?max as a function of AV is primarily dueto line-of-sight effects causing some AV measurements to notbe a good tracer of the extinction (radiation field strength) seen bythe grains being probed. The derived slopes in ?maxversus AV, for the individual clouds, are consistent with acommon value, while the zero intercepts scale with the average values ofthe ratios of total to selective extinction (RV) for theindividual clouds. Within each cloud we do not find direct correlationsbetween ?max and RV. The positive slope isconsistent with recent developments in theory and indicating alignmentdriven by the radiation field. The present data cannot conclusivelydifferentiate between direct radiative torques and alignment driven byH2 formation. However, the small values of?max(AV=0), seen in several clouds, suggesta role for the latter, at least at the cloud surfaces. The scatter inthe ?max versus AV relation is found to beassociated with the characteristics of the embedded YSOs in the clouds.We propose that this is partially due to locally increased plasmadamping of the grain rotation caused by X-rays from the YSOs.
| New Estimates of the Solar-Neighborhood Massive Star Birthrate and the Galactic Supernova Rate
The birthrate of stars of masses >=10 Msolar is estimatedfrom a sample of just over 400 O3-B2 dwarfs within 1.5 kpc of the Sunand the result extrapolated to estimate the Galactic supernova ratecontributed by such stars. The solar-neighborhood Galactic-plane massivestar birthrate is estimated at ~176 stars kpc-3Myr-1. On the basis of a model in which the Galactic stellardensity distribution comprises a ``disk+central hole'' like that of thedust infrared emission (as proposed by Drimmel and Spergel), theGalactic supernova rate is estimated at probably not less than ~1 normore than ~2 per century and the number of O3-B2 dwarfs within the solarcircle at ~200,000.
| A Hot Envelope around the Southern Coalsack: X-Ray and Far-Ultraviolet Observations
We present Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer and ROSAT X-rayobservations toward the Southern Coalsack. An almost complete X-ray halocan be seen around the cloud in the 0.75 and 1.5 keV images, and most ofthe observed stars show O VI absorption. Both the cloud and the starshave highly accurate distance determinations, allowing us to reliablyplace the stars and the cloud relative to each other. Using thesedistance determinations, we find no O VI-bearing gas in the foregroundof the Coalsack, while for stars in the background of the cloud, O VIabsorption is the norm. The column density of O VI correlates with the0.75 and 1.5 keV intensities. These results suggest that theX-ray-emitting hot plasma is associated with the dense cloud. We proposethat the heating of the Coalsack envelope is due to the hot gas in theinterior of the Upper Cen-Lup superbubble. The Coalsack interactionregion provides a nearby example of the hot-cold gas interfaces thoughtto be responsible for the O VI absorptions seen on many sight linesthroughout the Galaxy.
| Catalog of Galactic OB Stars
An all-sky catalog of Galactic OB stars has been created by extendingthe Case-Hamburg Galactic plane luminous-stars surveys to include 5500additional objects drawn from the literature. This work brings the totalnumber of known or reasonably suspected OB stars to over 16,000.Companion databases of UBVβ photometry and MK classifications forthese objects include nearly 30,000 and 20,000 entries, respectively.
| Ultra-high-resolution observations of CH in Southern Molecular Cloud envelopes
We present a mini-survey of ultrahigh-resolution spectroscopy (UHRS) ofCH towards three southern molecular cloud envelopes. The sightlines areselected to probe physically similar gas in different Galacticenvironments. With a velocity resolution of ~0.5kms-1(R=575000) these observations resolve most kinematic components of theabsorption lines. We do, however, detect one line component in the Lupusregion, which is not resolved and for which an upper limit ofb<0.3kms-1 is found. We find a correlation betweendistance of the absorbing gas from the Galactic mid-plane and thefractional abundance of CH. We show that this correlation can beexplained as being a result of a fall-off in the ultraviolet radiationfield intensity and propose that CH observations in carefully selectedsightlines might allow a mapping of the variations in the interstellarradiation field.
| Autocorrelation Analysis of Hipparcos Photometry of Short-Period Be Stars
We have used Hipparcos epoch photometry and a form of autocorrelationanalysis to investigate the amplitude and timescale of the short-periodvariability of 82 Be stars, including 46 Be stars that were analyzed byHubert & Floquet using Fourier and CLEAN analysis and 36 other Bestars that were suspected of short-period variability. Our method hasgiven useful information for about 84% of these stars; for the rest, thetime distribution of the Hipparcos epoch photometry limits thecapability of our technique.
| Statistical analysis of intrinsic polarization, IR excess and projected rotational velocity distributions of classical Be stars
We present the results of statistical analyses of a sample of 627 Bestars. The parameters of intrinsic polarization (p*),projected rotational velocity (v sin i), and near IR excesses have beeninvestigated. The values of p* have been estimated for a muchlarger and more representative sample of Be stars (~490 objects) thanpreviously. We have confirmed that most Be stars of early spectral typehave statistically larger values of polarization and IR excesses incomparison with the late spectral type stars. It is found that thedistributions of p* diverge considerably for the differentspectral subgroups. In contrast to late spectral types (B5-B9.5), thedistribution of p* for B0-B2 stars does not peak at the valuep*=0%. Statistically significant differences in the meanprojected rotational velocities (/line{vsin i}) are found for differentspectral subgroups of Be stars in the sense that late spectral typestars (V luminosity class) generally rotate faster than early types, inagreement with previously published results. This behaviour is, however,not obvious for the III-IV luminosity class stars. Nevertheless, thecalculated values of the ratio vt/vc of the truerotational velocity, vt, to the critical velocity forbreak-up, vc, is larger for late spectral type stars of allluminosity classes. Thus, late spectral type stars appear to rotatecloser to their break-up rotational velocity. The distribution of nearIR excesses for early spectral subgroups is bi-modal, the position ofthe second peak displaying a maximum value E(V-L)~ 1 . m 3for O-B1.5 stars, decreasing to E(V-L)~0. m8 for intermediatespectral types (B3-B5). It is shown that bi-modality disappears for latespectral types (B6-B9.5). No correlations were found betweenp* and near IR excesses and between E(V-L) and vsin i for thedifferent subgroups of Be stars. In contrast to near IR excesses, arelation between p* and far IR excesses at 12 mu m is clearlyseen. A clear relation between p* and vsin i (as well asbetween p* and /line{vsin i}/vc) is found by thefact that plots of these parameters are bounded by a ``triangular"distribution of p*: vsin i, with a decrease of p*towards very small and very large vsin i (and /line{vsini}/vc) values. The latter behaviour can be understood in thecontext of a larger oblateness of circumstellar disks for the stars witha rapid rotation. From the analysis of correlations between differentobservational parameters we conclude that circumstellar envelopes forthe majority of Be stars are optically thin disks with the range of thehalf-opening angle of 10degr
| The 74th Special Name-list of Variable Stars
We present the Name-list introducing GCVS names for 3153 variable starsdiscovered by the Hipparcos mission.
| Investigation of the variability of bright Be stars using HIPPARCOS photometry
The high accuracy and the homogeneity of Hipparcos data for bright starshave allowed us to quantify the degree of variability of Be stars. Thisdegree has been found to be highly dependent on the temperature of thestar. Rapid variability is the main feature of the 86% of early Be andless than 20% of late Be stars taking into account the limit ofdetection considered. In addition to Be stars reported in the Hipparcoscatalogue (ESA 1997) as short-period variables, we have been able toenlarge the number of detections as well as to confirm periodspreviously determined. Be stars that show larger amplitude rapidvariations are proposed as candidates for a search of multiperiodicityi.e. as non-radial pulsators. We have also searched for the presence ofoutbursts and fading events in the Hipparcos data. Outbursts have beenfrequently and preferentially detected in early Be stars with rather lowto moderate v sini while fading events seem to be more conspicuous instars with higher v sini. Mid-term and long-term variations have alsobeen investigated. Several stars have shown some evidence of temporaryquasi-periodic oscillations ranging between 10 and 200 days. Finallyinformation concerning long-term variations is reported. Cycles shorterthan or equal to the Hipparcos mission have mainly been detected instars earlier than B6. Long-term time scales of late Be stars areconfirmed to be longer by far. Tables 1 and 2 are only available inelectronic form at CDS via ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Stromgren and H-beta photometry of stars earlier than G0 in the Southern Coalsack direction
Four-color and H-beta photometry have been obtained for 236 starsearlier than G0 in order to study the color excess distribution in theSouthern Coalsack direction. The beta histogram of the stars reveals arelative absence of stars in the range of A4 to A9. The (b-y)distribution for B-type stars suggests the existence of three differenttypes of stars located at different distances.
| UBV photometry for southern OB stars
New UBV photometry of 1227 OB stars in the southern Milky Way ispresented. For 1113 of these stars, MK spectral types have been reportedpreviously in a comprehensive survey to B = 10.0 mag.
| Catalog of Luminous Stars in the Southern Coalsack Zone
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1982RMxAA...5..183M&db_key=AST
| A Catalogue of Be-Stars
Not Available
| MK spectral classifications for southern OB stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1977ApJS...35..111G&db_key=AST
| Five-channel photometry of cepheids and supergiants in the southern Milky Way.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1976A&AS...24..413P&db_key=AST
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Centaurus |
| Right ascension: | 13h01m34.90s |
| Declination: | -60°40'17.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.383 |
| Distance: | 335.57 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -10.6 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -4.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 7.427 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.387 |
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INHABITED SKY
