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Infrared diffuse interstellar bands in the Galactic Centre region

Nature volume 479, pages 200–202 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

The spectrum of any star viewed through a sufficient quantity of diffuse interstellar material reveals a number of absorption features collectively called ‘diffuse interstellar bands’ (DIBs). The first DIBs were reported about 90 years ago1, and currently well over 500 are known2. None of them has been convincingly identified with any specific element or molecule, although recent studies suggest that the DIB carriers are polyatomic molecules containing carbon3,4,5. Most of the DIBs currently known are at visible and very near-infrared wavelengths, with only two previously known at wavelengths beyond one micrometre (10,000 ångströms), the longer of which is at 1.318 micrometres (ref. 6). Here we report 13 diffuse interstellar bands in the 1.5–1.8 micrometre interval on high-extinction sightlines towards stars in the Galactic Centre. We argue that they originate almost entirely in the Galactic Centre region, a considerably warmer and harsher environment than where DIBs have been observed previously. The relative strengths of these DIBs towards the Galactic Centre and the Cygnus OB2 diffuse cloud are consistent with their strengths scaling mainly with the extinction by diffuse material.

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Figure 1: Observed spectra of three hot stars in the Galactic Centre and an average spectrum of seven stars in the Cygnus OB2 association.
Figure 2: Spectra of the newly discovered DIBs.
Figure 3: Profile of the 1.318-µm diffuse interstellar band towards qF362.

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Acknowledgements

This Letter is based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (US), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (UK), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the Australian Research Council (Australia), Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (Brazil) and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina). This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. We thank A. Lenorzer for reductions of the H-band spectra of the Cygnus OB2 stars, and B. J. McCall and T. Oka for reviewing a preliminary version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gemini Observatory, 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, 96720, Hawaii, USA

    T. R. Geballe

  2. Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Torrejón a Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain

    F. Najarro & D. de la Fuente

  3. Center for Detectors, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, 14623, New York, USA

    D. F. Figer

  4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    B. W. Schlegelmilch

Authors
  1. T. R. Geballe
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  2. F. Najarro
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  3. D. F. Figer
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  4. B. W. Schlegelmilch
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  5. D. de la Fuente
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Contributions

T.R.G. and F.N. wrote the observing proposal. T.R.G. obtained the data. B.W.S. and T.R.G. reduced the data. F.N. and T.R.G. recognized the spectral features as DIBs. T.R.G., F.N., D.F.F., D.F. and B.W.S. discussed the results. T.R.G., F.N. and D.F.F. wrote the Letter.

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Correspondence to T. R. Geballe.

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Geballe, T., Najarro, F., Figer, D. et al. Infrared diffuse interstellar bands in the Galactic Centre region. Nature 479, 200–202 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10527

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