Abstract
Measurements of element abundances in galaxies from astrophysical spectroscopy depend sensitively on the atomic data used. With the goal of making the latest atomic data accessible to the community, we present a compilation of selected atomic data for resonant absorption lines at wavelengths longward of 911.753 Å (the H I Lyman limit), for key heavy elements (heavier than atomic number 5) of astrophysical interest. In particular, we focus on the transitions of those ions that have been observed in the Milky Way interstellar medium (ISM), the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of the Milky Way and/or other galaxies, and the intergalactic medium (IGM). We provide wavelengths, oscillator strengths, associated accuracy grades, and references to the oscillator strength determinations. We also attempt to compare and assess the recent oscillator strength determinations. For about 22% of the lines that have updated oscillator strength values, the differences between the former values and the updated ones are ≳ 0.1 dex. Our compilation will be a useful resource for absorption line studies of the ISM, as well as studies of the CGM and IGM traced by sight lines to quasars and gamma-ray bursts. Studies (including those enabled by future generations of extremely large telescopes) of absorption by galaxies against the light of background galaxies will also benefit from our compilation.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-19-2017
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/aa6d84
Funding Information
This work was supported by the collaborative National Science Foundation grants AST/1109061 to Univ. of Kentucky and AST/1108830 to Univ. of South Carolina. F.H.C. acknowledges partial support from a NASA/SC Space Grant graduate fellowship. V.P.K. also acknowledges partial support from STScI (HST-GO-12536, HST-GO-13801, HST-GO-13733, HST-GO-14137) and NASA (NNX14AG74G). G.J.F. acknowledges support by NSF (1412155), NASA (ATP13-0153), and STScI (HST-AR-13245, GO-12560, HST-GO-12309, GO-13310.002-A, HST-AR-13914, HST-AR-14286.001, and HST-AR-14556).
Related Content
Repository Citation
Cashman, Frances H.; Kulkarni, Varsha P.; Kisielius, Romas; Ferland, Gary J.; and Bogdanovich, Pavel, "Atomic Data Revisions for Transitions Relevant to Observations of Interstellar, Circumgalactic, and Intergalactic Matter" (2017). Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications. 493.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/physastron_facpub/493
Table 1: machine-readable version
Notes/Citation Information
Published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, v. 230, no. 1, 8, p. 1-9.
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.