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An Analysis of the Shapes of Interstellar Extinction Curves. V. The IR-through-UV Curve Morphology
We study the IR-through-UV interstellar extinction curves towards 328Galactic B and late-O stars. We use a new technique which employsstellar atmosphere models in lieu of unreddened "standard" stars. Thistechnique is capable of virtually eliminating spectral mismatch errorsin the curves. It also allows a quantitative assessment of the errorsand enables a rigorous testing of the significance of relationshipsbetween various curve parameters, regardless of whether theiruncertainties are correlated. Analysis of the curves gives the followingresults: (1) In accord with our previous findings, the central positionof the 2175 A extinction bump is mildly variable, its width is highlyvariable, and the two variations are unrelated. (2) Strong correlationsare found among some extinction properties within the UV region, andwithin the IR region. (3) With the exception of a few curves withextreme (i.e., large) values of R(V), the UV and IR portions of Galacticextinction curves are not correlated with each other. (4) The largesightline-to-sightline variation seen in our sample implies that anyaverage Galactic extinction curve will always reflect the biases of itsparent sample. (5) The use of an average curve to deredden a spectralenergy distribution (SED) will result in significant errors, and arealistic error budget for the dereddened SED must include the observedvariance of Galactic curves. While the observed largesightline-to-sightline variations, and the lack of correlation among thevarious features of the curves, make it difficult to meaningfullycharacterize average extinction properties, they demonstrate thatextinction curves respond sensitively to local conditions. Thus, eachcurve contains potentially unique information about the grains along itssightline.
| 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.
| 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
| 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.
| Interstellar Nai D lines towards the Southern Coalsack
The interstellar Nai D absorption-line profiles observed for 15 starswith lines of sight towards the Southern Coalsack are analysed. Themethod of profile fitting was used in an attempt to determine columndensities, linewidths and velocities for the individual interstellarclouds contributing to the observed absorption lines. In common, theobserved spectra show a prominent component which is probably associatedwith the nearest absorbing material composing the Coalsack. The obtainedspatial velocity distribution shows great similarity with earlierresults from CO emission. In addition, the Nai D data reveal evidencefor the existence of two or three other structures with radialvelocities of about -22, -33 and -40kms-1. Such componentsmay be the counterparts of interstellar structures observed in diffuseHα and CO emission. The assumption that at least one of thesecomponents originated in the Carina arm imposes ~0.9-1.0kpc as themaximum distance to the near side of that arm.
| The distance and structure of the Coalsack. I - Photometric data
The results of UBV and H-beta photometry for 284 stars of spectral typesB to F located in the area of the dark cloud Coalsack are presented.Most of the present stars are brighter than 10.0 mag and are classifiedin the MK system of Houk and Cowley (1975). For each star, the bestvalues for the extinction and distance modulus are provided, withtypical estimated errors of + or - 0.08 mag for the extinction and + or- 0.32 mag for the distance modulus. Possible misclassifications andspectral peculiarities are noted for several of the stars.
| The Southern Coalsack - Extinction and distance
H-beta and uvby photometric observations are reported for 236 stars oftypes B, A, and F in the region of the Southern Coalsack. Data obtainedwith the 50-cm Stromgren Automatic Telescope at ESO are presented inextensive tables, graphs, and maps and characterized in detail. Threedistinct structures are identified: (1) a nearby region (d less than 200pc) dominated by stars in front of the Coalsack, with evidence of a verydiffuse feature; (2) an intermediate region (d = 200-1100 pc) with starsreddened by Coalsack dust and/or the ISM behind it; and (3) a distantregion (d = 1.1-3.0 kpc) in which the reddening of 22 early B starsimplies a color-excess lower limit of E(b-y) = 0.230 mag, consistentwith a 10,000-solar-mass cloud at d = 1.2 kpc. The average upper-limitdistance to the main Coalsack components is estimated as 180 + or - 26pc, with some material possibly as near as 120 pc.
| Stromgren and H-beta photometry of stars earlier than G0 in the Southern Coalsack direction
Four-color and H-beta photometry have been obtained for 236 starsearlier than G0 in order to study the color excess distribution in theSouthern Coalsack direction. The beta histogram of the stars reveals arelative absence of stars in the range of A4 to A9. The (b-y)distribution for B-type stars suggests the existence of three differenttypes of stars located at different distances.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Centaurus |
| Right ascension: | 12h59m01.32s |
| Declination: | -63°38'26.2" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.116 |
| Distance: | 304.878 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -9.8 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -3.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 8.297 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.131 |
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