Dust in the Smith Cloud? A UV Investigation into the Smith Cloud’s Gas-phase Abundance Patterns
The Smith Cloud is a high-velocity cloud (HVC) on its final approach to the Milky Way that shows evidence of interaction with the Galaxy’s disk. We investigate the metallicity and gas-phase chemical depletion patterns in this HVC using UV absorption-line observations toward two background QSOs taken...
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| Główni autorzy: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Artykuł |
| Język: | angielski |
| Wydane: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Seria: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Hasła przedmiotowe: | |
| Dostęp online: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add2ee |
| Etykiety: |
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| Streszczenie: | The Smith Cloud is a high-velocity cloud (HVC) on its final approach to the Milky Way that shows evidence of interaction with the Galaxy’s disk. We investigate the metallicity and gas-phase chemical depletion patterns in this HVC using UV absorption-line observations toward two background QSOs taken with the Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origin Spectrograph and H i 21 cm emission-line observations taken with Green Bank Telescope. We find evidence of silicon gas-phase depletion with [Si/S] = $-0.7{2}_{-0.26}^{+0.24}$ and [Si/O] _3 _σ ≲ −0.05, implying the presence of dust within the Smith Cloud. Because dust is galactic in origin, this HVC could trace the return leg of a Galactic fountain or a dwarf galaxy that passed through the Galactic plane. |
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| ISSN: | 1538-4357 |