Optical and ultraviolet observations of diffuse interstellar clouds

Abstract

Absorption-line studies of diffuse interstellar clouds have recently been invigorated at ultraviolet wavelengths with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on the Hubble Space Telescope and at optical wavelengths with efficient high resolution spectrographs and CCD detectors. These instruments have made it possible to explore new regimes in determining the atomic and molecular abundances of diffuse clouds and tracing the velocity structure of interstellar lines. In the case of the atomic gas, the abundances of elements as diverse as oxygen and krypton have been accurately measured with GHRS and are consistent with a local ISM whose metallicity is about 2/3 that of the Sun. GHRS has also provided new insight on molecular processes in diffuse clouds through observations of CO, C2, HCl, and vibrationally-excited H2. With velocity resolutions of 0.3 km s−1 now attainable, optical spectra of species like CH, CH+, and CN are beginning to probe the physical characteristics of diffuse clouds in detail. Similar spectra of interstellar Na I toward resolvable binary star systems have recently revealed a rich variety of small-scale structure in the cold diffuse gas.