Exceptionally vacant line of sight to Beta Canis Majoris

Journal Article · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985 · Astrophys. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/163477· OSTI ID:5525178

Gry, C; York, D G; Vidal-Madjar, A

Copernicus UV data on interstellar lines in the spectrum of Beta CMa are analyzed to study the physical conditions in the (nearby) interstellar medium in this direction. The derived abundances indicate a very weak neutral component which, from comparison with other results concerning the nearby ISM, appears to be confined to the first few parsecs, with a density of 0.1 per cu cm. Furthermore, the ionized gas appears to be more abundant than the neutral gas. It has a density also around 0.1 per cu cm (derived from the excited level of C II) and ionization ratios consistent with a collisional equilibrium temperature of 25,000 K, filling 20-45 percent of the line of sight. A marginal detection of O VI indicates the presence of very diffuse coronal gas. The location of the ionized phases as well as the ionizing mechanisms are not yet clear and need to be further discussed through model comparisons. 27 references.

• Research Organization: International Ultraviolet Explorer Observatory, Madrid, Spain; Chicago Univ., IL; CNRS, Institut d'Astrophysique, Paris, France
• OSTI ID: 5525178
• Journal Information: Astrophys. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Astrophys. J.; (United States) Vol. 296; ISSN ASJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640105* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ABUNDANCE
COSMIC GASES
DENSITY
FLUIDS
GASES
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
LEAST SQUARE FIT
MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD FIT
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OSCILLATOR STRENGTHS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SPACE
SPECTRA
ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA