Title:	The Mysterious 6565 absorption feature of the galactic halo
Authors:	Sethi, S.K. Shchekinov, Yuri Nath, Biman B.
Keywords:	diffuse radiation intergalactic medium ISM abundances
Issue Date:	Dec-2017
Publisher:	IOP Publishing Ltd for the American Astronomical Society
Citation:	Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2017, Vol. 850, pL20
Abstract:	We consider various possible scenarios to explain the recent observation of what has been called a broad Hα absorption in our Galactic halo, with peak optical depth $\tau \simeq 0.01$ and equivalent width $W\simeq 0.17\,\mathring{\rm A} $. We show that the absorbed feature cannot arise from the circumgalactic and ISM Hα absorption. As the observed absorption feature is quite broad (${\rm{\Delta }}\lambda \simeq 30\,\mathring{\rm A} $), we also consider CNO lines that lie close to Hα as possible alternatives to explain the feature. We show that such lines could also not account for the observed feature. Instead, we suggest that it could arise from diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) carriers or polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) absorption. While we identify several such lines close to the Hα transition, we are unable to determine the molecule responsible for the observed feature, partly because of selection effects that prevent us from identifying DIBs/PAHs features close to Hα using local observations. Deep integration of a few extragalactic sources with high spectral resolution might allow us to distinguish between different possible explanations.
Description:	Open Access
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/2289/6825
ISSN:	2041-8205 2041-8213 (Online)
Alternative Location:	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ApJ...850L..20S http://arxiv.org/abs/1711.00476 http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa9843
Copyright:	2017 American Astronomical Society
Appears in Collections:	Research Papers (A&A)

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