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Small-Scale Interstellar N[CLC]a[/CLC] [CSC]i[/CSC] Structure toward M92

Authors :
James T. Lauroesch
David M. Meyer
Sean M. Andrews
Source :
The Astrophysical Journal. 552:L73-L76
Publication Year :
2001
Publisher :
American Astronomical Society, 2001.

Abstract

We have used integral field echelle spectroscopy with the DensePak fiber-optic array on the KPNO WIYN telescope to observe the central 27" x 43" of the globular cluster M92 in the Na I D wavelength region at a spatial resolution of 4". Two interstellar Na I absorption components are evident in the spectra at LSR velocities of 0 km/s (Cloud 1) and -19 km/s (Cloud 2). Substantial strength variations in both components are apparent down to scales limited by the fiber-to-fiber separations. The derived Na I column densities differ by a factor of 4 across the Cloud 1 absorption map and by a factor of 7 across the Cloud 2 map. Using distance upper limits of 400 and 800 pc for Cloud 1 and Cloud 2, respectively, the absorption maps indicate structure in the ISM down to scales of 1600 and 3200 AU. The fiber-to-fiber Na I column density differences toward M92 are comparable to those found in a similar study of the ISM toward the globular cluster M15. Overall, the structures in the interstellar components toward M92 have significantly lower column densities than those toward M15. We interpret these low column density structures as small-scale turbulent variations in the gas and compare them to the larger-scale, higher column density variations toward M15, which may be the hallmarks of actual H I structures.

Details

ISSN :
0004637X
Volume :
552
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
The Astrophysical Journal
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........636ac4f72f0c4a4b2305fb9d396a89dc