Related papers: On the Ionisation of Warm Opaque Interstellar Clou…
We present new calculations of the photoionization of interstellar matter within ~5 pc of the Sun (which we refer to as the Complex of Local Interstellar Clouds or CLIC) by directly observed radiation sources including nearby hot stars and…
Recently developed instruments such as the Taurus Tunable Filter and WHAM should be able to detect some or all of the optical emission lines H$\alpha$, [OI] $\lambda$6300, [SII] $\lambda$6717, [NI] $\lambda$ 5200 and [NII] $\lambda$6584…
Analysis of interstellar absorption lines observed in high-resolution {\em HST} spectra of nearby stars provides temperatures, turbulent velocities, and kinetic properties of warm interstellar clouds. Previous studies identified 15 warm…
This paper deals with the heating and the ionization of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the 500 central pc of the Milky Way (hereafter Galactic center, GC). We review the results of the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) observations of a…
The composition and physical properties of several local clouds, including the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) in which the Sun is embedded, are derived from absorption features in the UV spectrum of the star epsilon CMa. We derive…
We have recently identified several high velocity (V < -100 km/s) clouds in the directions of Mrk 509 and PKS 2155-304 that have unusual ionization properties. The clouds exhibit strong C IV absorption with little or no detectable low ion…
The Intergalactic Medium (IGM) contains $>$50% of the baryonic mass of the Universe, yet the mechanisms responsible for keeping the IGM ionized has not been fully explained. Hence, we investigate ion abundances from the largest blind QSO…
The dominant sources of photoionizing radiation in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) incident on the exterior of the local interstellar clouds include two nearby early B-type stars, $\epsilon$ CMa ($124\pm2$ pc) and $\beta$ CMa ($151\pm5$ pc),…
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) has shown the complexity of the Galactic center (GC) Interstellar medium (ISM) detecting, not only large column densities of warm molecular gas (H2), but the emission of neutral atoms and ions of low…
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…
Aims: We offer a new, simpler picture of the local interstellar medium, made of a single continuous cloud enveloping the Sun. This new outlook enables the description of a diffuse cloud from within and brings to light some unexpected…
We have constructed three-dimensional models for the equilibrium abundance of molecular hydrogen within diffuse interstellar clouds of arbitrary geometry that are illuminated by ultraviolet radiation. The position-dependent photo-…
We use spectroscopic data from HST and FUSE to study the wide range of ionization states of the "highly ionized high-velocity clouds". Studied extensively in OVI absorption, these clouds are usually assumed to be infalling gas in the…
On its journey through the Galaxy, the Sun passes through diverse regions of the interstellar medium. High-resolution spectroscopic measurements of interstellar absorption lines in spectra of nearby stars show absorption components from…
We present a study of the ionization and thermal structure of neutral hydrogen clouds located in the Galactic halo, immersed in the extragalactic background radiation field, and supposed to be in pressure equilibrium with the surrounding…
The low Galactic halo is enveloped by a sheath of ionized, low-metallicity gas, which can provide a substantial (1 M_sun/yr) cooling inflow to replenish star formation in the disk. Using absorption spectra from the HST and FUSE toward 37…
We use the recent detection of He II absorption at $z=2.2-2.6$ in the line of sight of the quasar HS1700+64 to put bounds on the sources of ionization. We find that given the uncertainty in $\tauhgp$ and the model of absorption in the…
We extend the non-equilibrium model for the chemical and thermal evolution of diffuse interstellar gas presented in Richings et al. (2014) to account for shielding from the UV radiation field. We attenuate the photochemical rates by dust…
When the neutral interstellar medium is exposed to EUV and soft X ray radiation, the argon atoms in it are far more susceptible to being ionized than the hydrogen atoms. We make use of this fact to determine the level of ionization in the…
The [CII] 157.74 $\mu$m fine structure transition is one of the brightest and most well-studied emission lines in the far-infrared (FIR), produced in the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies. We study its properties in sub-pc resolution…