An Optical Spectrum of the Diffuse Galactic Light from BOSS and IRIS

Chellew, Blake; Brandt, Timothy D.; Hensley, Brandon S.; Draine, Bruce T.; Matthaey, Eve

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac6efc

An Optical Spectrum of the Diffuse Galactic Light from BOSS and IRIS

Journal Article · Wed Jun 22 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · The Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac6efc· OSTI ID:1983270

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[3]; Matthaey, Eve ^[3]

Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

We present a spectrum of the diffuse Galactic light (DGL) between 3700 and 10,000 Å, obtained by correlating optical sky intensity with far-infrared dust emission. We use nearly 250,000 blank-sky spectra from BOSS/SDSS-III together with IRIS-reprocessed maps from the IRAS satellite. The larger sample size compared to SDSS-II results in a factor-of-2 increase in signal to noise. We combine these data sets with a model for the optical/far-infrared correlation that accounts for self-absorption by dust. The spectral features of the DGL agree remarkably well with the features present in stellar spectra. There is evidence for a difference in the DGL continuum between the regions covered by BOSS in the northern and southern Galactic hemispheres. We interpret the difference at red wavelengths as the result of a difference in stellar populations, with mainly old stars in both regions, but a higher fraction of young stars in the south. There is also a broad excess in the southern DGL spectrum over the prediction of a simple radiative transfer model, without a clear counterpart in the north. We interpret this excess, centered at ~6500 Å, as evidence for luminescence in the form of extended red emission. The observed strength of the 4000 Å break indicates that at most ~7% of the dust-correlated light at 4000 Å can be due to blue luminescence. Our DGL spectrum provides constraints on dust scattering and luminescence, independent of measurements of extinction.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington, DC (United States). Office of Science, Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)

Sponsoring Organization:: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC)

OSTI ID:: 1983270

Journal Information:: The Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 932; ISSN 0004-637X

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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