Related papers: The Composition of Interstellar Grains Toward Zeta…

Iron, the Universe's most abundant refractory element, is highly depleted in both circumstellar and interstellar environments, meaning it exists in solid form. The nature of this solid is unknown. In this Letter, we provide evidence that…

We carry out Monte-Carlo simulation to study deuterium enrichment of interstellar grain mantles under various physical conditions. Based on the physical properties, various types of clouds are considered. We find that in diffuse cloud…

We present an analysis of interstellar absorption along the line of sight to the nearby white dwarf star HZ43A. The distance to this star is 68+/-13 pc, and the line of sight extends toward the north Galactic pole. Column densities of OI,…

We consider the depletion of elements from the interstellar gas onto a population of very small dust grains. Adopting a grain model in which of order 4% of the cosmic C abundance is in grains with radii <= 10 Angstroms, we find that the…

We report the discovery of a unique collection of metal-poor giant-stars, that exhibit anomalously high levels of $^{28}$Si, clearly above typical Galactic levels. Our sample spans a narrow range of metallicities, peaking at $-1.07\pm…

Sulphur depletion in the interstellar medium (ISM) is a long-standing issue, as only 1% of its cosmic abundance is detected in dense molecular clouds (MCs), while it does not appear to be depleted in other environments. In addition to gas…

We present a fit to the spectral energy distribution of OH 127.8+0.0, a typical asymptotic giant branch star with an optically thick circumstellar dust shell. The fit to the dust spectrum is achieved using non-spherical grains consisting of…

Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe, but its chemistry in the interstellar medium is still not well understood. In order to critically examine the entire oxygen budget, we attempt here initially to estimate the…

Using the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) onboard HST, we have obtained high S/N echelle observations of the weak interstellar O I 1356 A absorption toward the stars Gamma Cas, Epsilon Per, Delta Ori, Epsilon Ori, 15 Mon, Tau…

We discuss the composition of dust and ice along the line of sight to the Galactic Center (GC) based on analysis of mid-infrared spectra (2.4-13 micron) from the Short Wavelength Spectrometer on the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We have…

An empirical determination of the f-values of the far-UV Mg II lines at 1239 A and 1240 A is reported. The strong near-UV Mg II lines at 2796 A and 2803 A are generally highly saturated along most interstellar sightlines outside the local…

The composition of silicate dust in the diffuse interstellar medium and in protoplanetary disks around young stars informs our understanding of the processing and evolution of the dust grains leading up to planet formation. Analysis of the…

Only recently, OD, the deuterated isotopolog of hydroxyl, OH, has become accessible in the interstellar medium; spectral lines from both species have been observed in the supra-Terahertz and far infrared regime. Here we study rotational…

Silicates are an important component of interstellar dust and the structure of these grains -- amorphous versus crystalline -- is sensitive to the local physical conditions. We have studied the infrared spectra of a sample of ultra-luminous…

Using the HST Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS), we have obtained high S/N echelle observations of the weak interstellar N I 1160, 1161 A absorption doublet toward the stars Gamma Cas, Lambda Ori, Iota Ori, Kappa Ori, Delta Sco,…

We use ultraviolet spectra of Capella from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellites to study interstellar absorption lines from the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC). Measurements of these…

The formation and growth of refractory matter on pre-existing interstellar dust grain surfaces was studied experimentally by annealing neon-ice matrices in which potential precursors of silicate grains (Mg and Fe atoms, SiO and SiO$_2$…

Currently ~36 different absorption bands have been detected in the infrared spectra of cold, dense interstellar and circumstellar environments. These are attributed to the vibrational transitions of ~17 different molecules frozen on dust…

We present an analysis of the Fe II, Ge II, Mg I, Mg II, S I, S II, Si II and Zn II interstellar lines for 63 stars. The column density of Mg II, S II, Si II and Zn II is well correlated with the distance. However, the column density --…

(Abridged) Debris disks trace remnant reservoirs of leftover planetesimals in planetary systems. A handful of "warm" debris disks have been discovered in the last years, where emission in excess starts in the mid-infrared. An interesting…