Related papers: Interstellar Ti II in the Milky Way and Magellanic…
Titan's atmosphere is optically thick and hides the surface and the lower layers from the view at almost all wavelengths. However, because gaseous absorptions are spectrally selective, some narrow spectral intervals are relatively…
Using new HST/FOS, NTT/EMMI, and Keck/HIRES spectra of the gravitationally-lensed double QSO HE 1104-1805 AB (z=2.31, \theta=3.2), and assuming UV photoionization by a metagalactic radiation field, we derive physical conditions (ionization…
We observed a sample of evolved stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. Comparing samples from the SMC, LMC, and the Galaxy reveals that the dust-production…
Our goal in this paper is to derive a carbon-star luminosity function that will eventually be used to determine distances to galaxies at $50$-$60$ Mpc and hence yield a value of the Hubble constant. Cool N-type carbon stars exhibit redder…
Over the course of its motion through the Galaxy, our solar system has encountered many interstellar environments of varying characteristics. Interstellar medium (ISM) density variations spanning seven orders of magnitude are commonly seen…
HD molecule is one the most abundant molecule in the Universe and due to its sensibility to the conditions in the medium, it can be used to constrain physical parameters in the medium where HD resides. Lately we have shown that HD abundance…
We challenge the conventional view that the majority of MgII/Lyman limit absorbers are extended halos of galaxies comprised of ``clouds'' with near-unity covering factor. The gaseous disks of spiral galaxies are known to extend to large…
We study the frequency of Mg II absorption in the outer haloes of galaxies at z = 0.6 - 1.4 (with median z = 0.87), using new spectra obtained of ten background quasars with galaxy impact parameters of b < 100 kpc. The quasar sightlines…
We present measurements of interstellar H_2 absorption lines in the continuum spectra of seven early-type stars in the Galactic disk at distances between 1 and 4 kpc. Five of these stars provide lines of sight through the Sagittarius spiral…
Quasar absorption lines have long been recognized to be a sensitive probe of the abundances, physical conditions, and kinematics of gas in a wide variety of environments including low-density intergalactic regions that probably cannot be…
We present magnesium abundances derived from high resolution spectra using several Mg I and two high excitation Mg II lines for 19 metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] values between -1.1 and +0.2. The main goal is to search for systematic…
In the interstellar medium of the Milky Way, certain elements -- e.g., Mg, Si, Al, Ca, Ti, Fe -- reside predominantly in interstellar dust grains. These grains absorb, scatter, and emit electromagnetic radiation, heat the interstellar…
We present the first results of AKARI Infrared Camera near-infrared spec- troscopic survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We detected absorption features of the H2O ice 3.05 um and the CO2 ice 4.27 um stretching mode toward seven…
We exploit ionization-parameter mapping as a powerful tool to measure the optical depth of star-forming HII regions. Our simulations using the photoionization code CLOUDY and our new, SURFBRIGHT surface brightness simulator demonstrate that…
We present an initial survey of Mg II absorption characteristics in the halos of a carefully constructed, volume-limited subsample of galaxies embedded in the spectroscopic part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We observed quasars near…
HI-rich absorbers seen within quasar spectra contain the bulk of neutral gas in the Universe. However, the spatial extent of these reservoirs are not extensively studied due to the pencil beam nature of quasar sightlines. Using two giant…
Aims. We have searched for temporal variations of narrow absorption lines in high resolution quasar spectra. A sample of 5 distant sources have been assembled, for which 2 spectra - VLT/UVES or Keck/HIRES - taken several years apart are…
We present the results of reanalysis of low z Mg II absorption line sample compiled by SS92. The conditions on cloud parameters to produce N(Fe II)>N(Mg II) are obtained using photoionization models and curve of growth. Properties of Mg II…
Using archival, high-resolution far-ultraviolet HST/STIS spectra of 34 Galactic O and B stars, we measure CI column densities and compare them with measurements from the literature of CO and H_2 with regard to understanding the presence of…
In this article I review recent observations of the gaseous halos of galaxies and the intergalactic medium at low redshift. In the first part I discuss distribution, metal content, and physical properties of the Galactic intermediate- and…