Diffuse interstellar bands in low E (B – V) objects

We analyse spectra of slightly reddened, early-type stars in which the major diffuse interstellar bands at 5870 and 5797 Å are either strong or weak in relation to E(B – V) . It is demonstrated that among the low E(B – V) objects one can find stars obscured by 'sigma' as well as 'zeta' type clouds. The profiles of the diffuse bands seem not to be dependent on the total opacities of the interstellar clouds. We also discuss the physical conditions leading to the formation of the diffuse band carriers in low-opacity interstellar clouds; the carriers are apparently formed in media in which one can observe complex velocity fields.     

The 10-μm profile of molecular-cloud and diffuse ISM silicate dust

High signal-to-noise ratio spectra are presented of the 10-μm silicate absorption feature in lines of sight towards Elias 16 and 18 in the Taurus dark cloud, and towards the heavily reddened supergiant Cyg OB2 no. 12. The observations are fitted with laboratory and astronomical spectra to produce intrinsic absorption profiles. These features, which represent molecular-cloud and diffuse ISM dust respectively, are better fitted with emissivity spectra of the Trapezium and μ Cephei than they are with those of laboratory, terrestrial, or other observations of circumstellar silicates. The difference in width between the silicate band in the two environments can be almost entirely ascribed to a broad excess absorption in the long-wavelength wing of the profiles, which is much stronger in the molecular-cloud lines of sight, and possibly reflects grain growth in the denser environment. Limits are placed on the strength of fine spectral structure; if there is a crystalline silicate component in these spectra, it is most likely to be serpentine. Column-density upper limits for methanol and the photolysis product hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) are less than a few per cent of those of water ice and silicates.     

On the identification of the C60+ interstellar features

The identity of the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) is one of the most fascinating puzzles of modern spectroscopy. Over the last few years the number of known DIBs has grown substantially. In this paper we discuss the two recently discovered near-infrared weak interstellar features which have already been proposed as fingerprints of the buckminsterfullerene We present and discuss measurements of the two related DIBs within a larger sample of reddened targets, observed with different spectrometers, telescopes and site conditions. We provide additional arguments in favour of the interstellar origin of the two bands. We find evidence around the 9577-Å DIB of far-wing structures, which may affect broad-band measurements. We estimate corrections and errors for telluric and stellar blends, and show that the cores of the two DIBs are well correlated with a ratio near unity within 20 per cent. Finally, we discuss their relation to the laboratory spectra of and the search for two expected weaker transitions.     

On the CH B‐X (1, 0) band in translucent clouds

We present observations of CH B‐X (1, 0) band toward 13 translucent sightlines. The given precise positions (at 3627.403, 3633.289, 3636.222 Å) are derived by means of shifting our spectra to the rest velocity frame using B‐X (0, 0) features (at 3878, 3886 and 3890 Å). The proposed oscillator strengths (equal to 0.00035, 0.00104, 0.00069, respectively) are based on f ‐values of the CH B‐X (0, 0) system, i.e. 0.00110, 0.00320, 0.00210 (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Dust-induced chemical differentiation in dense regions

Dust grains respond to the physical and chemical conditions of the interstellar region in which they are embedded. The interaction produces an extinction curve which depends on the local environment and on the past history of the dust grains. In this work we present a theoretical study of the effects of radial variations of dust extinction properties on gas-phase chemistry in spherical core–halo clouds. We use observational constraints on the variation range of the extinction curve, and we analyse if the degree of dust environmental processing could be reflected by chemical signatures in the gas-phase molecular concentrations. The results of this work show that significant variations in the photodestruction rates and in the thermal profile of the cloud might induce chemical patterns otherwise excluded in the standard dense-cloud chemistry. Some discrepancies between observations and theoretical provisions are discussed in the light of the present results.     

ISO observations of 3–200 μm emission by three dust populations in an isolated local translucent cloud

We present isophot spectrophotometry of three positions within the isolated high-latitude cirrus cloud G 300.2−16.8, spanning from the near- to far-infrared (NIR to FIR). The positions exhibit contrasting emission spectrum contributions from the unidentified infrared bands (UIBs), very small grains (VSGs) and large classical grains, and both semi-empirical and numerical models are presented. At all three positions, the UIB spectrum shapes are found to be similar and the large grain emission may be fitted by an equilibrium temperature of  ∼17.5 K  . The energy requirements of both the observed emission spectrum and optical scattered light are shown to be satisfied by the incident local interstellar radiation field (ISRF). The FIR emissivity of dust in G 300.2−16.8 is found to be lower than in globules or dense clouds and is even lower than model predictions for dust in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). The results suggest physical differences in the ISM mixtures between positions within the cloud, possibly arising from grain coagulation processes.     

The role of the geometry and dust environment in stationary models of translucent interstellar clouds

A full radiative transfer model is presented for the ultraviolet (UV) radiation impinging on an interstellar cloud of spherical or finite plane-parallel slab geometry containing gas and dust. The penetration of the UV photons is coupled to detailed chemical processes. Photodestruction rates of atomic and molecular species are calculated from the corresponding cross-sections. We show that CO line intensities are quite sensitive to geometrical effects and to the extinction curve in the far-UV.     

Dust dynamics in dense molecular cores

We show that in a quiescent, dense pre-stellar core, exposed to the average interstellar radiation field, radiation pressure can cause the dust to migrate inwards, relative to the gas, on a time-scale of a few megayears – and faster if the radiation field is stronger than average. This has two potentially important effects.
First, there is an increase in the abundance of dust relative to gas in the inner parts of the core, and hence also in the efficiency of gas-cooling by dust. The increased cooling efficiency predisposes these regions to dynamical collapse and star formation. Additionally, it predisposes them to fragmentation, particularly if – as seems likely – the dust enhancements are stochastic and inhomogeneous, due to anisotropy of the incident radiation field and/or to directing of the migration by the local magnetic field. It also increases the metallicities of the resulting stars, and hence presumably the likelihood of planet formation in their accretion discs.
Secondly, there is a steepening of the optical-depth profile, especially at those impact parameters b where the visual optical depth through the core   τ _t∼1  . Since the observational evidence for steep optical-depth profiles in the outer envelopes of some pre-stellar cores (specifically   τ _t∝ b ^{- β}   , with   β ≳2)  constrains only the dust column density, this leaves open the possibility that the gas has a shallower column-density profile.     

Limited diversity of the interstellar extinction law

We have applied the method of investigating extinction curves using statistically meaningful samples that was proposed by us 25 years ago. The extensive data sets of the ANS (Astronomical Netherlands Satellite) and 2MASS (Two Micron All Sky Survey) were used, together with UBV photometry to create average extinction curves for samples of OB stars. Our results demonstrate that in the vast majority of cases the extinction curves are very close to the mean galactic extinction curve. Only a few objects were found to be obviously discrepant from the average. The latter phenomenon may be related to nitrogen chemistry in translucent interstellar clouds (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The far-infrared signature of dust in high-latitude regions

We present ISOPHOT observations of eight interstellar regions in the 60–200 μm wavelength range. The regions belong to mostly quiescent high-latitude clouds and have optical extinction peaks from   A_V ∼1–6 mag  . From the 150- and 200-μm emission, we derived colour temperatures for the classical big grain component which show a clear trend of decreasing temperature with increasing 200-μm emission. The 200-μm emission per unit   A_V   , however, does not drop at lower temperatures. This fact can be interpreted in terms of an increased far-infrared (FIR) emissivity of the big grains. We developed a two-component model including warm dust with the temperature of the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) of   T = 17.5 K  , and cold dust with   T = 13.5 K  and FIR emissivity increased by a factor of >4. A mixture of the two components can reproduce the observed colour variations and the ratios   I ₂₀₀/ A_V   and  τ₂₀₀/ A_V   . The relative abundance of small grains with respect to the big grains shows significant variations from region to region at low column densities. However, in lines of sight of higher column density, our data indicate the disappearance of small grains, perhaps a signature of adsorption/coagulation of dust. The larger size and porous structure could also explain the increased FIR emissivity. Our results from eight independent regions suggest that these grains might be ubiquitous in the galactic ISM.     

The formation of molecular clouds

In a recent paper, Elmegreen has made a cogent case, from an observational point of view, that the lifetimes of molecular clouds are comparable to their dynamical time-scales. If so, this has important implications for the mechanisms by which molecular clouds form. In particular, we consider the hypothesis that molecular clouds may form not by in situ cooling of atomic gas, but rather by the agglomeration of the dense phase of the interstellar medium, much, if not most, of which is already in molecular form.