Meredith Marie Drosback

The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey -- II. Catalog of the Image Data

We present a catalog of 8358 sources extracted from images produced by the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS). The BGPS is a survey of the millimeter dust continuum emission from the northern Galactic plane. The catalog sources are extracted using a custom algorithm, Bolocat, which was designed specifically to identify and characterize objects in the large-area maps generated from the Bolocam instrument. The catalog products are designed to facilitate follow-up observation s of these relatively unstudied objects. The catalog is 98% complete from 0.4 Jy to 60 Jy over all object sizes for which the survey is sensitive (< 3.5 ′ ). We find that the sources extracted can best be described as molec ular clumps ‐ large dense regions in molecular clouds linked to cluster formation. We find the flux densit y distribution of sources follows a power law with dN/dS ∝ S -2.4±0.1 and that the mean Galactic latitude for sources is significan tly below the midplane: h bi = (-0.095 ± 0.001) ◦ .

STUDIES OF DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BANDS V. PAIRWISE CORRELATIONS OF EIGHT STRONG DIBs AND NEUTRAL HYDROGEN, MOLECULAR HYDROGEN, AND COLOR EXCESS

We establish correlations between equivalent widths of eight diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), and examine their correlations with atomic hydrogen, molecular hydrogen, and E B?V . The DIBs are centered at ?? 5780.5, 6204.5, 6283.8, 6196.0, 6613.6, 5705.1, 5797.1, and 5487.7, in decreasing order of Pearsons correlation coefficient with N(H) (here defined as the column density of neutral hydrogen), ranging from 0.96 to 0.82. We find the equivalent width (EW) of ?5780.5 is better correlated with column densities of H than with E B?V or H2, confirming earlier results based on smaller data sets. We show that the same is true for six of the seven other DIBs presented here. Despite this similarity, the eight strong DIBs chosen are not correlated well enough with each other to suggest they come from the same carrier. We further conclude that these eight DIBs are more likely to be associated with H than with H2, and hence are not preferentially located in the densest, most UV shielded parts of interstellar clouds. We suggest that they arise from different molecules found in diffuse H regions with very little H2 (molecular fraction f < 0.01). Of the 133 stars with available data in our study, there are three with significantly weaker ?5780.5 than our mean H-?5780.5 relationship, all of which are in regions of high radiation fields, as previously noted by Herbig. The correlations will be useful in deriving interstellar parameters when direct methods are not available. For instance, with care, the value of N(H) can be derived from W ?(5780.5).

Studies of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands. IV. The Nearly Perfect Correlation Between λλ6196.0 and 6613.6

In a sample of 114 diffuse cloud sightlines spanning a wide range of interstellar environments, we find the equivalent widths of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) λ6196.0 and λ6613.6 to be extremely well correlated, with a correlation coefficient of 0.986. A maximum likelihood functional relationship analysis shows that the observations are consistent with a perfect correlation if the observational errors, which are dominated by continuum placement and other systematics such as interfering lines, have been underestimated by a factor of 2. The quality of this correlation far exceeds other previously studied correlations, such as that between the λ5780.5 DIB and either the color excess or the atomic hydrogen column density. The unusually tight correlation between these two DIBs would seem to suggest that they might represent the first pair of DIBs known to be due to the same molecular carrier. However, further theoretical work will be required to determine whether the different linewidths and band shapes of these two DIBs can be consistent with a common carrier. If the two DIBs do not in fact share the same molecular carrier, their two carriers must be chemically very closely related.

The search for H- in astrophysical environments

The negative ion H− is widely understood to be important in many astrophysical environments, including the atmospheres of late-type stars like the Sun. However, the ion has never been detected spectroscopically outside the laboratory. A search for the far-ultraviolet autodetaching transitions of H− in interstellar and circumstellar matter seems to be the best hope for directly detecting this ion. We undertook a highly sensitive search using data from the FUSE instrument. We concentrated on two types of sight lines: planetary nebulae, where model calculations suggest a sufficient abundance of H− to be determined, and translucent clouds, where H− might form on dust grains as an intermediate step in molecular hydrogen formation. Upper limits on H− abundances were set.

LINEAR GAS DYNAMICS IN THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE

We investigate the relationship between the dark matter and baryons in the linear regime. This relation is quantified by the so-called ‘‘ filtering scale.’’ We show that a simple Gaussian Ansatz that uses the filtering scale provides a good approximation to the exact solution. Subject headings: cosmic microwave background — cosmology: theory — galaxies: formation — intergalactic medium — large-scale structure of universe

A new FUSE survey of interstellar HD

We have used archival FUSE data to complete a survey of interstellar HD in 41 lines of sight with a wide range of extinctions. This follow-up to an earlier survey was made to further assess the utility of HD as a cosmological probe; to analyze the HD formation process; and to see what trends with other interstellar properties were present in the data. We employed the curve-of-growth method, supported by line profile fitting, to derive accurate column densities of HD. We find that the N(HD)/2N(H2) ratio is substantially lower than the atomic D/H ratio and conclude that the molecular ratio has no bearing on cosmology, because local processes are responsible for the formation of HD. Based on correlations with E(B − V) , H2, CO, and iron depletion, we find that HD is formed in the densest portion of the clouds; the slope of the log N(HD)/log N(H2) correlation is greater than 1.0, caused by the destruction rate of HD declining more slowly than that of H2; and, as a sidelight, that the depletions are density dependent.

Colorado's Near-Infrared Camera (a.k.a. NIC-FPS) commissioning on the ARC 3.5M Telescope

A second generation near-infrared instrument was built by the University of Colorado for the ARC 3.5 meter telescope and is being commissioned at the Apache Point Observatory. An initial engineering run, first light, commissioning observations, and initial facility science operations have been accomplished in the last year. Instrument imaging performance was good to excellent from first light and consortium observers began to employ the instrument on a shared-risk basis immediately after commissioning operations. Instrument optical and mechanical performance during this testing and operations phase are discussed. Detector system (Rockwell Hawaii-1RG 1024x1024 HgCdTe focal plane array with Leach controller) characteristics during these early operations are detailed along with ongoing efforts for system optimization. High resolution (R~10,000) spectroscopy is planned employing a Queensgate (now IC Optical) cryogenic Fabry-Perot etalon, though mechanical difficulties with the etalon precluded a system performance demonstration. The Consortium has decided that the instrument will retain the name NIC-FPS (Near Infrared Camera and Fabry-Perot Spectrometer) after commissioning.