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3D mapping of the dense interstellar gas around the Local Bubble
We present intermediate results from a long-term program of mapping theneutral absorption characteristics of the local interstellar medium,motivated by the availability of accurate and consistent parallaxes fromthe Hipparcos satellite. Equivalent widths of the interstellar NaID-line doublet at 5890 Å are presented for the lines-of-sighttowards some 311 new target stars lying within ~ 350 pc of the Sun.Using these data, together with NaI absorption measurements towards afurther ~ 240 nearby targets published in the literature (for many ofthem, in the directions of molecular clouds), and the ~ 450lines-of-sight already presented by (Sfeir et al. \cite{sfeir99}), weshow 3D absorption maps of the local distribution of neutral gas towards1005 sight-lines with Hipparcos distances as viewed from a variety ofdifferent galactic projections.The data are synthesized by means of two complementary methods, (i) bymapping of iso-equivalent width contours, and (ii) by densitydistribution calculation from the inversion of column-densities, amethod devised by Vergely et al. (\cite{vergely01}). Our present dataconfirms the view that the local cavity is deficient in cold and neutralinterstellar gas. The closest dense and cold gas ``wall'', in the firstquadrant, is at ~ 55-60 pc. There are a few isolated clouds at closerdistance, if the detected absorption is not produced by circumstellarmaterial.The maps reveal narrow or wide ``interstellar tunnels'' which connectthe Local Bubble to surrounding cavities, as predicted by the model ofCox & Smith (1974). In particular, one of these tunnels, defined bystars at 300 to 600 pc from the Sun showing negligible sodiumabsorption, connects the well known CMa void (Gry et al. \cite{gry85}),which is part of the Local Bubble, with the supershell GSH 238+00+09(Heiles \cite{heiles98}). High latitude lines-of-sight with the smallestabsorption are found in two ``chimneys'', whose directions areperpendicular to the Gould belt plane. The maps show that the LocalBubble is ``squeezed'' by surrounding shells in a complicated patternand suggest that its pressure is smaller than in those expandingregions.We discuss the locations of several HI and molecular clouds. Usingcomparisons between NaI and HI or CO velocities, in some cases we areable to improve the constraints on their distances. According to thevelocity criteria, MBM 33-37, MBM 16-18, UT 3-7, and MBM 54-55 arecloser than ~ 100 pc, and MBM 40 is closer than 80 pc. Dense HI cloudsare seen at less than 90 pc and 85 pc in the directions of the MBM 12and MBM 41-43 clouds respectively, but the molecular clouds themselvesmay be far beyond. The above closest molecular clouds are located at theneutral boundary of the Bubble. Only one translucent cloud, G192-67, isclearly embedded within the LB and well isolated.These maps of the distribution of local neutral interstellar NaI gas arealso briefly compared with the distribution of both interstellar dustand neutral HI gas within 300 pc.Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp:cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/411/447
| The local distribution of NA I interstellar gas
We present high-resolution absorption measurements (lambda/Delta lambdaapproximately 75,000) of the interstellar Na I D lines at 5890 A toward80 southern hemisphere early-type stars located in the localinterstellar medium (LISM). Combining these results with other sodiummeasurements taken from the literature, we produce galactic maps of thedistribution of neutral sodium column density for a total of 293 starsgenerally lying within approximately 250 pc of the Sun. These mapsreveal the approximate shape of the mid-plane contours of the rarefiedregion of interstellar space termed the Local Bubble. Its shape is seenas highly asymmetric, with a radius ranging from 30 to 300 pc, and withan average radius of 60 pc. Similar plots of the Galactic mid-planedistribution of sources emitting extreme ultraviolet radiation show thatthey also trace out similar contours of the Local Bubble derived from NaI absorption measurements. We conclude that the Local Bubble absorptioninterface can be represented by a hydrogen column density,NuETA = 2 x 1019 cm-2, which explainsboth the local distribution of Na I absorption and the observed galacticdistribution of extreme ultraviolet sources. The derived mid-planecontours of the Bubble generally reproduce the large-scale featurescarved out in the interstellar medium by several nearby galactic shellstructures.
| 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.
| Millimetre observations of southern translucent clouds
Millimetre emission line observations of ^12^CO J=1-0 are presented fora sample of translucent molecular clouds previously studied by opticalabsorption lines towards background stars. The CO maps provideinformation on the extent, structure, mass and kinematics of theregions. In some clouds, the emission is characterized by a singlecomponent which does not vary much across the region. In other cases,multiple close-lying components or sheets are found, which may vary in aself-similar manner across the cloud. None of the clouds is close tosimple virial equilibrium. Sensitive searches for ^13^CO and C^18^OJ=1-0 emission have been made towards the stellar positions. C^18^O hasbeen detected in only 5 clouds, most of which have extinctions well inexcess of 2 mag. The inferred ^13^CO/C^18^O abundance ratios range from7-25, and the lower limits from >13 to >35. These values are asmuch as five times larger than the overall interstellar([^13^C].[^16^O])/([^12^C] .[^18^O]) ratio, suggesting thatisotope-selective photodissociation plays a role in at least some of theclouds. Searches for other molecules at millimetre wavelengths have beenmade for a few of the best characterized clouds. Surprisingly, noemission was detected from the C_2_H or C_3_H_2_ molecules, even thoughthe abundances of diatomic C_2_ and CH are quite large. On the otherhand, the abundance of HCO^+^ appears comparable to that found in denserclouds, and the abundance of HCN may be up to an order of magnitudelarger than the predictions of models in two clouds.
| Chemical transitions for interstellar C2 and CN in cloud envelopes
Observations were made of absorption from CH, C2, and CN towardmoderately reddened stars in Sco, OB2, Ceo OB3, and Taurus/Auriga. Forthese directions, most of the reddening is associated with a singlecloud complex, for example, the rho Ophiuchus molecular cloud, and as aresult, the observations probe moderately dense material. When combinedwith avaliable data for nearby directions, the survey provides the basisfor a comprehensive analysis of the chemistry for these species. Thechemical transitions affecting C2 and CN in cloud envelopes wereanalyzed. The depth into a cloud at which a transition takes place wascharacterized by tauuv, the grain optical depth at 1000 A.One transition at tauuv approx. = 2, which arises from, theconversion of C(+) into CO, affects the chemistries for both moleculesbecause of the key role this ion plays. A second one involvingproduction terms in the CN chemistry occurs at tauuv ofapprox. = 3; neutral reactions which C2 and CH is more important atlarger values for tauuv. The transition fromphotodissociation to chemical destruction takes place attauuv approx. = 4.5 for C2 and CN. The observational data forstars in Sco OB2, Cep OB3, and Taurus/Auriga were studied with chemicalrate equations containing the most important production and destructionmechanisms. Because the sample of stars in Sco OB2 includes sight lineswith Av ranging from 1-4 mag, sight lines dominated byphotochemistry could be analyzed separately from those controlled bygas-phase destruction. The analysis yielded values for two poorly knownrate constants for reactions involved in the production of CN; thereactions are C2 + N yields CN + C and C(+) + NH yields all products.The other directions were analyzed with the inferred values. Thepredicted column densities for C2 and CN agree with the observed valuesto better than 50%, and in most instances 20%. When combining theestimates for density and temperature derived from chemical modeling andmolecular excitation for a specific cloud, such as the rho Ophiuchusmolecular cloud, the portion of the cloud envelope probed by C2 and CNabsorption was found to be in pressure equilibrium.
| Further high-resolution NA I observations of the local interstellar medium
High-resolution absorption measurements of the interstellar Na I D linesat 5890 A observed toward 27 early-type stars in the local interstellarmedium (LISM) are presented. These results are combined with otherhigh-resolution sodium measurements to map the space distribution ofneutral sodium column density for some 118 stars out to less than 200pc. These measurements indicate an upper limit to the neutral sodiumcolumn density of log N(Na I) less than 10.0/sq cm can be inferred outto a distance of 50 pc in most directions in the LISM. Also, therarefield region of the Local Bubble may extend beyond 60 pc in at least35 percent of the directions sampled thus far. Evidence is shown for aubiquitous, comoving vector for neutral NaI gas clouds in the LISM whichis in a different direction to LISM vectors previously reported for moreionized local gas clouds. A comparison of the measured sodium columnswith those of interstellar Ca II for a sample of 12 stars within 95 pcresults in a ratio of Na I/Ca II less than 0.5 for most stars. Thisvalue implies that there could be warm, neutral gas with T of about12,500 K beyond 50 pc in the LISM.
| On the nearest molecular clouds. III - MBM 40, 53, 54, and 55
In an attempt to determine the distances to four high-latitude molecularclouds (HLCs), echelle spectra near the Na I D lines, accurate MKspectral types, and photoelectric photometry for 25 nearby stars havebeen obtained. Fairly firm distance limits may be placed on MBM 40 (dsmaller than or equal to 140 pc) and MBM 53 (d greater than or equal to110 pc and less than or equal to 155 pc), based on the presence orabsence of strong interstellar Na I absorption towards stars projectedon or near those HLCs. Weak interstellar absorption lines observedtoward many of the stars located near MBM 54 and 55 make the distancesto those clouds less certain (about 265 pc for both). Interstellar CHabsorption at 4300 A was detected in the spectrum of HD 218662, locatedbehind MBM 53 with a CH column density of 2.1 x 10 to the 13th per sqcm, thus implying a CH abundance comparable to that observed in othermolecular clouds. Morphological and velocity agreement among COemission, the Na I absorption, the 100 micron infrared cirrus emission,and the 21 cm H I emission near these HLCs suggest a close associationof the interstellar material responsible for those phenomena.
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