Related papers: The Horsehead nebula, a template source for inters…
Far-infrared continuum data from the {\it COBE}/{\it DIRBE} instrument were combined with Nagoya 4-m $\cOone$ spectral line data to infer the multiparsec-scale physical conditions in the Orion$ $A and B molecular clouds, using…
C+ is a key species in the interstellar medium but its 158 {\mu}m fine structure line cannot be observed from ground-based telescopes. Current models of fluorine chemistry predict that CF+ is the second most important fluorine reservoir, in…
We present a new energy transport code that models the time dependent and non-linear evolution of spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei, their secondaries, and photon target fields. The software can inject an arbitrary chemical composition including…
The 3-D structure of the Helix Nebula has been addressed multiple times and is slowly yielding to application of monochromatic emission line imaging, high resolution spectroscopy, and photoionization theory. The inner structure of the…
We present Jansky Very Large Array observations of 20 - 37 GHz absorption lines from nearby Galactic diffuse molecular gas seen against four cosmologically-distant compact radio continuum sources. The main new observational results are that…
The solution of the FUV radiative transfer equation can be complicated if the most relevant radiative processes such as dust scattering and gas line absorption are included, and have realistic (non-uniform) properties. We have extended the…
CO is the most widely used observational tracer of molecular gas. The observable CO luminosity is translated to H_2 mass via a conversion factor, X_CO, which is a source of uncertainty and bias. Despite variations in X_CO, the…
Spectroscopy in the infrared provides a means to assess important properties of the plasma in gaseous nebulae. We present some of our own work that illustrates the need for interactions between the themes of this conference - astronomical…
The evolution of a prolate cloud at an Hii boundary is investigated using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). The prolate molecular clouds in our investigation are set with their semi-major axis perpendicular to the radiative direction…
Over the past decade, studies of dust in the Andromeda galaxy (M31) have shown radial variations in the dust emissivity index ($\beta$). Understanding the astrophysical reasons behind these radial variations may give clues about the…
Aims: For the first time we investigate the role of the grain surface chemistry in the Horsehead Photo-dissociation region (PDR). Methods: We performed deep observations of several H2CO rotational lines toward the PDR and its associated…
The Draco nebula is a high Galactic latitude interstellar cloud likely to have been formed by the collision of a Galactic halo cloud entering the disk of the Milky Way. Such conditions are ideal to study the formation of cold and dense gas…
The astronomical detection of formamide (NH$_2$CHO) toward various star-forming regions and in cometary material implies that the simplest amide might have an early origin in dark molecular clouds at low temperatures. Laboratory studies…
Molecular hydrogen clouds are a key component of the interstellar medium because they are the birthplaces for stars. They are embedded in atomic gas that pervades the interstellar space. However, the details of how molecular clouds assemble…
Diffuse emission in the mid-infrared shows a wealth of structure, that lends itself to high-resolution structure analysis of the interstellar gas. A large part of the emission comes from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, excited by nearby…
Estimating molecular abundances ratios from the direct measurement of the emission of the molecules towards a variety of interstellar environments is indeed very useful to advance in our understanding of the chemical evolution of the…
We present a study of the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of interstellar dust derived from stellar extinction observations toward the Taurus molecular cloud (MC) and its relation with the neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) emission at 21 cm…
We study the effects of an asymmetric radiation field on the properties of a molecular cloud envelope. We employ observations of carbon monoxide (12CO and 13CO), atomic carbon, ionized carbon, and atomic hydrogen to analyze the chemical and…
The $^{13}$CO molecule is often used as a column density tracer in regions where the $^{12}$CO emission saturates. The $^{13}$CO column density is then related to that of $^{12}$CO by a uniform isotopic ratio. A similar approximation is…
Using NICMOS on HST, we have performed imaging polarimetry of proto-planetary nebulae. Our objective is to study the structure of optically thin circumstellar shells of post-asymptotic giant branch stars by separating dust-scattered,…