HYDROXYL AS A TRACER OF H{sub 2} IN THE ENVELOPE OF MBM40

Journal Article · Sat Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2012 · Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/144/6/163· OSTI ID:22089806

Cotten, David L.; Magnani, Loris ^[1]; Wennerstrom, Elizabeth A. ^[2]; Douglas, Kevin A. ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 (United States)
2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201 (United States)
3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

We observed 51 positions in the OH 1667 MHz main line transitions in the translucent high latitude cloud MBM40. We detected OH emission in 8 out of 8 positions in the molecular core of the cloud and 24 out of 43 in the surrounding, lower extinction envelope and periphery of the cloud. Using a linear relationship between the integrated OH line intensity and E(B - V), we estimate the mass in the core, the envelope, and the periphery of the cloud to be 4, 8, and 5 M{sub Sun }, respectively. As much as a third of the total cloud mass may be found in the periphery (E(B - V) < 0.12 mag) and about a half in the envelope (0.12 {<=} E(B - V) {<=} 0.17 mag). If these results are applicable to other translucent clouds, then the OH 1667 MHz line is an excellent tracer of gas in very low extinction regions and high-sensitivity mapping of the envelopes of translucent molecular clouds may reveal the presence of significant quantities of molecular mass.

• OSTI ID: 22089806
• Journal Information: Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Journal Name: Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online) Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 144; ISSN 1538-3881
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
EMISSION SPECTRA
GIANT STARS
HYDROGEN
HYDROXIDES
MAPPING
MASS
MHZ RANGE
MOLECULES
SENSITIVITY