Bibcode
Zasowski, G.; Chojnowski, S. Drew; Whelan, D. G.; Miroshnichenko, A. S.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Majewski, S. R.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 811, Issue 2, article id. 119, 8 pp. (2015).
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10
2015
Journal
Citations
11
Refereed citations
10
Description
The molecular carriers of the ubiquitous absorption features called the
diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) have eluded identification for many
decades, in part because of the enormous parameter space spanned by the
candidates and the limited set of empirical constraints afforded by
observations in the diffuse interstellar medium. Detection of these
features in circumstellar regions, where the environmental properties
are more easily measured, is thus a promising approach to understanding
the chemical nature of the carriers themselves. Here, using
high-resolution spectra from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic
Evolution Experiment survey, we present an analysis of the unusually
asymmetric 1.5272 μm DIB feature along the sightline to the Red
Square Nebula (RSN) and demonstrate the likely circumstellar origin of
about half of the DIB absorption in this line of sight. This
interpretation is supported both by the velocities of the feature
components and by the ratio of foreground to total reddening along the
line of sight. The RSN sightline offers the unique opportunity to study
the behavior of DIB carriers in a constrained environment and thus to
shed new light on the carriers themselves.
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García Hernández