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A Compilation of Interstellar Column Densities
We have collated absorption line data toward 3008 stars in order tocreate a unified database of interstellar column densities. These datahave been taken from a number of different published sources and includemany different species and ionizations. The preliminary results from ouranalysis show a tight relation [N(H)/E(B - V) = 6.12 ×1021] between N(H) and E(B - V). Similar plots havebeen obtained with many different species, and their correlations alongwith the correlation coefficients are presented.
| New Hα stars. Cyg OB7 region. I.
Preliminary results from a search for emission stars in the neighborhoodof Cyg OB7 are reported. A new region of size 14×14 arc min lies12 arc min to the south of HH 448. 17 new objects have been found, ofwhich one is related to a nebula with an interesting shape and,apparently, the characteristics of a cometary nebula. Inside the nebulathere are 4 faint, compact formations with very high proper motions. Thespectrum of a star shows that it is of spectral class K9-M0 and is a TTau type star at a distance of 220 pc. Most of the discovered stars witha strong or intermediate Ha emission line intensity are presumably alsoT Tau stars. This region appears to be a continuation of the Tassociation around HH 448.
| StarCAT: A Catalog of Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Ultraviolet Echelle Spectra of Stars
StarCAT is a catalog of high resolution ultraviolet spectra of objectsclassified as "stars," recorded by Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph(STIS) during its initial seven years of operations (1997-2004). StarCATis based on 3184 echelle observations of 545 distinct targets, with atotal exposure duration of 5.2 Ms. For many of the objects, broadultraviolet coverage has been achieved by splicing echellegrams taken intwo or more FUV (1150-1700 Å) and/or NUV (1600-3100 Å)settings. In cases of multiple pointings on conspicuously variablesources, spectra were separated into independent epochs. Otherwise,different epochs were combined to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio(S/N). A post-facto correction to the {\sf calstis} pipeline data setscompensated for subtle wavelength distortions identified in a previousstudy of the STIS calibration lamps. An internal "fluxing" procedureyielded coherent spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for objects withbroadly overlapping wavelength coverage. The best StarCAT materialachieves 300 m s-1 internal velocity precision;absolute accuracy at the 1 km s-1 level; photometricaccuracy of order 4%; and relative flux precision several times better(limited mainly by knowledge of SEDs of UV standard stars). WhileStarCAT represents a milestone in the large-scale post-processing ofSTIS echellegrams, a number of potential improvements in the underlying"final" pipeline are identified.
| A FUSE Survey of the Rotation Rates of Very Massive Stars in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds
We present projected rotational velocity values for 97 Galactic, 55 SMC,and 106 LMC O-B type stars from archival FUSE observations. The evolvedand unevolved samples from each environment are compared through theKolmogorov-Smirnov test to determine if the distribution of equatorialrotational velocities is metallicity dependent for these massiveobjects. Stellar interior models predict that massive stars with SMCmetallicity will have significantly reduced angular momentum loss on themain sequence compared to their Galactic counterparts. Our results findsome support for this prediction but also show that even at Galacticmetallicity, evolved and unevolved massive stars have fairly similarfractions of stars with large Vsin i values. Macroturbulent broadeningthat is present in the spectral features of Galactic evolved massivestars is lower in the LMC and SMC samples. This suggests the processesthat lead to macroturbulence are dependent upon metallicity.
| 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.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| 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.
| Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Snapshot Survey of O VI Variability in the Winds of 66 OB-Type Stars
We have used the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer to conduct asnapshot survey of O VI variability in the winds of 66 OB-type stars inthe Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. These time series consist of twoor three observations separated by intervals ranging from a few days toseveral months. Although these time series provide the bare minimum ofinformation required to detect variations, this survey demonstrates thatthe O VI doublet in the winds of OB-type stars is variable on variousscales in both time and velocity. For spectral types from O3 to B1, 64%vary in time. At spectral types later than B1, no wind variability isobserved. In view of the limitations of this survey, this fractionrepresents a lower limit on the true incidence of variability in the OVI wind lines, which is very common and probably ubiquitous. Incontrast, for S IV and P V, only a small percentage of the whole sampleshows wind variations, although this may be principally due to selectioneffects. The observed variations extend over several hundreds ofkilometers per second of the wind profile and can be strong. The widthover which the wind O VI profile varies is only weakly correlated withthe terminal velocity (v&infy;), but a significantcorrelation (close to a 1:1 relationship) is derived between the maximumvelocity of the variation and v&infy;. High-velocity O VIwind absorption features (possibly related to the discrete absorptioncomponents seen in other wind lines) are also observed in 46% of thecases for spectral types from O3 to B0.5. These features are variable,but the nature of their propagation cannot be determined from thissurvey. If X-rays can produce sufficient O VI by Auger ionization of OIV and the X-rays originate from strong shocks in the wind, this studysuggests that stronger shocks occur more frequently nearv&infy;, causing an enhancement of O VI nearv&infy;.
| 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.
| Highly Ionized Gas in the Galactic Halo: A FUSE Survey of O VI Absorption toward 22 Halo Stars
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectra of 22 Galactichalo stars are studied to determine the amount of O VI in the Galactichalo between ~0.3 and ~10 kpc from the Galactic midplane. Strong O VIλ1031.93 absorption was detected toward 21 stars, and a reliable3 σ upper limit was obtained toward HD 97991. The weaker member ofthe O VI doublet at 1037.62 Å could be studied toward only sixstars because of stellar and interstellar blending problems. Themeasured logarithmic total column densities vary from 13.65 to 14.57with =14.17+/-0.28 (1 σ). The observed columns arereasonably consistent with a patchy exponential O VI distribution with amidplane density of 1.7×10-8 cm-3 and scaleheight between 2.3 and 4 kpc. We do not see clear signs of stronghigh-velocity components in O VI absorption along the Galactic sightlines, which indicates the general absence of high-velocity O VI within2-5 kpc of the Galactic midplane. This result is in marked contrast tothe findings of Sembach et al., who reported high-velocity O VIabsorption toward ~60% of the complete halo sight lines observed byFUSE. The line centroid velocities of the O VI absorption do not reflectGalactic rotation well. The O VI velocity dispersions range from 33 to78 km s-1, with an average of =45+/-11 kms-1 (1 σ). These values are much higher than the valueof ~18 km s-1 expected from thermal broadening for gas atT~3×105 K, the temperature at which O VI is expected toreach its peak abundance in collisional ionization equilibrium.Turbulence, inflow, and outflow must have an effect on the shape of theO VI profiles. Kinematical comparisons of O VI with Ar I reveal thateight of 21 sight lines are closely aligned in LSR velocity(|ΔVLSR|<=5 km s-1), while nine of 21exhibit significant velocity differences(|ΔVLSR|>=15 km s-1). This dual behaviormay indicate the presence of two different types of O VI-bearingenvironments toward the Galactic sight lines. The correlation betweenthe H I and O VI intermediate-velocity absorption is poor. We couldidentify the known H I intermediate-velocity components in the Ar Iabsorption but not in the O VI absorption in most cases. Comparison of OVI with other highly ionized species suggests that the high ions areproduced primarily by cooling hot gas in the Galactic fountain flow andthat turbulent mixing also has a significant contribution. The role ofturbulent mixing varies from negligible to dominant. It is mostimportant toward sight lines that sample supernova remnants like Loops Iand IV. The average N(C IV)/N(O VI) ratios for the nearby halo (thiswork) and complete halo (Savage et al.) are similar (~0.6), but thedispersion is larger in the sample of nearby halo sight lines. We areable to show that the O VI enhancement toward the Galactic center regionthat was observed in the FUSE survey of complete halo sight lines(Savage et al.) is likely associated with processes occurring near theGalactic center by comparing the observations toward the nearby HD177566 sight line to those toward extragalactic targets.
| IUE Absorption-Line Observations of the Moderately and Highly Ionized Interstellar Medium toward 164 Early-Type Stars
We present measurements of Galactic interstellar Al III, Si IV, and C IVabsorption recorded in high-resolution archival ultraviolet spectra of164 hot early-type stars observed by the International UltravioletExplorer (IUE) satellite. The objects studied were drawn from the listof hot stars scheduled to be observed with the Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite as part of observing programsdesigned to investigate absorption by O VI in the Galactic disk andhalo. Multiple IUE echelle-mode integrations have been combined toproduce a single ultraviolet (1150-1900 Å) spectrum of each starwith a spectral resolution of ~25 km s-1 (FWHM). Selectedabsorption-line profiles are presented for each star along with plots ofthe apparent column density per unit velocity for each line of the AlIII, Si IV, and C IV doublets. We report absorption-line equivalentwidths, absorption velocities, and integrated column densities based onthe apparent optical depth method of examining interstellar absorptionlines. We also determine column densities and Doppler parameters fromsingle-component curve-of-growth analyses. The scientific analysis ofthese observations will be undertaken after the FUSE satellite producessimilar measurements for absorption by interstellar O IV, Fe III, S III,and other ions. Based on archival data from observations obtained withthe International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite sponsored byNASA, SERC, and ESA.
| UBV beta Database for Case-Hamburg Northern and Southern Luminous Stars
A database of photoelectric UBV beta photometry for stars listed in theCase-Hamburg northern and southern Milky Way luminous stars surveys hasbeen compiled from the original research literature. Consisting of over16,000 observations of some 7300 stars from over 500 sources, thisdatabase constitutes the most complete compilation of such photometryavailable for intrinsically luminous stars around the Galactic plane.Over 5000 stars listed in the Case-Hamburg surveys still lackfundamental photometric data.
| Cross-correlation characteristics of OB stars from IUE spectroscopy
We present a catalogue of homogeneous measures of the linewidthparameter, v_esin i, for 373 O-type stars and early B supergiants(including the separate components of 25 binary and three triplesystems), produced by cross-correlating high-resolution,short-wavelength IUE spectra against a `template' spectrum of tauSco. Wealso tabulate terminal velocities. There are no O supergiants in oursample with v_esin i<65 km s^-1, and only one supergiant earlier thanB5 has v_esin i<50 km s^-1, confirming that an important linebroadening mechanism in addition to rotation must be present in theseobjects. A calibration of the area under the cross-correlation peakagainst spectral type is used to obtain estimates of continuum intensityratios of the components in 28 spectroscopically binary or multiplesystems. At least seven SB2 systems show evidence for the `Struve-Sahadeeffect', a systematic variation in relative line strength as a functionof orbital phase. The stellar wind profiles of the most rapid rotator inour sample, the O9III:n* star HD 191423 (v_esin i=436km s^-1), show itto have a `wind-compressed disc' similar to that of HD 93521; this starand other rapid rotators are good candidates for studies of non-radialpulsation.
| The distribution of neutral hydrogen in the interstellar medium. 1: The data
We compile, from the existing literature, the largest sample to date(842 data points) of hydrogen column density measurements, N(H I), ofthe gas in the interstellar medium. We include only results obtainedfrom absorption measurements toward individual stars (594 in our sample)in an effort to construct a three-dimensional picture of theinterstellar gas. We derive hydrogen column densities toward a fractionof the stars in the sample from published column density measurements ofmetal ions. A three-dimensional physical model derived from this dataset will be presented in a companion paper. The observed stars spandistances from a few parsecs to a few thousand parsecs, and more thanhalf of the sample serves to describe the local interstellar mediumwithin a few hundred parsecs of the Sun. Hydrogen column densities rangefrom 1017 to 1022/sq cm. We describe here thevarious observational methods used to estimate the hydrogen columndensities and present the table with the stellar and hydrogen columndensity data. The provided table is intended as a global reference work,not to introduce new results.
| An IUE survey of interstellar H I LY alpha absorption. 1: Column densities
We measure Galactic interstellar neutral hydrogen column densities byanalyzing archival interstellar Ly alpha absorption line data toward 554B2 and hotter stars observed at high resolution with the IUE satellite.This study more than doubles the number of lines of sight with measuresof N(H I) based on Ly alpha. We have included the scattered lightbackground correction algorithm of Bianchi and Bohlin in our datareduction. We use the correlation between the Balmer discontinuity(c1) index and the stellar Ly alpha absorption in order toassess the effects of stellar Ly alpha contamination. Approximately 40%of the B stars with measured (c1) index, exhibit seriousstellar Ly alpha contamination. One table contains the derived values ofthe interstellar N(H I) for 393 stars with at most small amounts ofstellar contamination. Another lists the observed values of total N(H I)for 161 stars with suspected stellar Ly alpha contamination and/oruncertain stellar parameters.
| Intrinsic colour indices of O- and B- type stars in the Vilnius photometric system.
Not Available
| Photoelectric photometry of OB stars in the Vilnius system
Not Available
| Constraints on astronomical silicate dust
Numerical radiative-transfer models are used to discuss the propertiesof circumstellar dust grains around the premain-sequence star AB Aur (HD31293). It is assumed that the dust consists of a silicate-graphitemixture with Draine and Lee (1984) optical properties. The modelingtechnique is to match the observed FUV through FIR energy distributionwith the spectral energy distribution predicted for a spherical dustshell around a luminous hot star. Special attention is given to matchingthe observed 10-micron silicate emission feature and the observedcircumstellar absorption curve at UV wavelengths, making it possible tostrengthen constraints on dust-grain opacity and chemical composition.It is concluded that, although silicate grains can explain the observed10-micron emission feature, the Draine and Lee silicate-graphite mixturecannot explain the observed FUV circumstellar absorption at the sametime. The dust shell around AB Aur contains an additional population ofsmall particles, the most likely candidate being amorphous carbon grainsin a nonhydrogenated form.
| The distribution of interstellar AL III away from the Galactic plane
IUE spectra are analyzed to study the density distribution ofinterstellar Al III away from the Galactic plane. In most cases, themeasured values of the relative line strengths are consistent with onlymodest levels of line saturation. Al III is found to have an exponentialscale height and 1 sigma errors of 1.02(+0.36, -0.24) kpc. For the sameset of 70 stars, the scale height and 1 sigma errors for H I are0.67(+0.21, -0.16) kpc. The Al III scale height is similar to the valueobtained for free electrons from pulsar dispersion measures. The ionizedgas traced by Al III is somewhat more extended than the neutral gastraced by H I but less extended than the very highly ionized gas tracedby Si IV, C IV, and N V.
| The density distribution of refractory elements away from the Galactic plane
The density distributions of the three refractory elements Ti II, Ca II,and Fe II away from the Galactic plane are compared with thedistribution of hydrogen and dust by examining plots of N s in b versusz. It is found that Ti II and Ca II are considerably more extended in zthan the H I and dust and that Fe II has an intermediate extension.Although the results are strongly influenced by sample bias, theindicated exponential scale heights for the data sample are h(Ti II) notless than 2 kpc, h(Ca II) = 1 kpc, h(Fe II) = 0.5 kpc, H(H I) = 0.3 kpc,and h(E/B-V) = 0.1 kpc. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that Ti II andCa II are much more smoothly distributed in space than the hydrogen ordust. The large scale heights for Ti II and Ca II and their smoothdistributions are most easily understood as the effect of a mixturealong the line of sight of two H I phases namely, a diffuse cloud phase,in which nearly all of the Ti and Ca are tied up in dust, and anintercloud medium, where refractory elements are less depleted. It isfound that Ti II and Ca II mostly trace the smoothly distributedintercloud medium. The smoothness of the distributions of Ti II and CaII makes them candidates for use as distance indicators.
| An optical spiral arm beyond the Perseus arm
In the second galactic quadrant, optical spiral arm tracers have beencollected in a systematic literature search. A uniform reduction of thedata led to the detection of a distinct structure (probably a spiralarm) beyond the Perseus arm that is separated by a statisticallysignificant gap from the latter.
| Highly ionized interstellar gas located in the Galactic disk and halo
High-resolution IUE absorption line spectra have been obtained for 40distant stars in order to study the distribution of interstellar H I, SiIV, C IV, and N V in the Galactic disk and lower halo. Respectivemidplane densities of 2 x 10 to the -9th, 7 x 10 to the -9th, and 3 x 10to the -9th are found for Si IV, C IV, and Ni V. Both column density andvelocity data indicate that the highly ionized gas (HIG) is considerablymore extended in directions away from the Galactic plane than is H I orSi II. The absorption-line velocities for the halo HIG are consistentwith the notion that halo gas in the inner Galaxy rotates more slowlythan gas in the underlying disk. The derived column densities suggest anexponential scale height for the HIG of about 3 kpc; however, a simpleexponential distribution is a poor representation of the distribution ofthe gas. It is concluded that a full explanation of the origin of thehalo HIG will probably require a blending of ideas from the Galacticfountain and the photoionized halo models.
| A catalog of ultraviolet interstellar extinction excesses for 1415 stars
Ultraviolet interstellar extinction excesses are presented for 1415stars with spectral types B7 and earlier. The excesses with respect to Vare derived from Astronomical Netherlands Satellite (ANS) 5-channel UVphotometry at central wavelengths of approximately 1550, 1800, 2500, and3300 A. A measure of the excess extinction in the 2200-A extinction bumpis also given. The data are valuable for investigating the systematicsof peculiar interstellar extinction and for studying the character of UVinterstellar extinction in the general direction of stars for which theextinction-curve shape is unknown.
| Radial velocities and distances of OB stars at the solar distance to the galactic centre.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1976MNRAS.176..683C
| The space distribution and kinematics of supergiants
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1970AJ.....75..602H&db_key=AST
| Photoelectric 4430 A observations of 506 O, B and A stars.
Not Available
| Studies in Galactic STRUCTURE.II.LUMINOSITY Classification for 1270 Blue Giant Stars.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1955ApJS....2...41M&db_key=AST
| Polarization of Stellar Radiation. III. The Polarization of 841 Stars.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1951ApJ...114..241H&db_key=AST
| A Finding List of O and B Stars of High Luminosity.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1951ApJ...113..141N&db_key=AST
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Κύκνος |
| Right ascension: | 21h36m15.89s |
| Declination: | +49°20'56.8" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.692 |
| Distance: | 1265.823 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -2.5 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -2.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 8.835 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.704 |
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