Using M Dwarfs to Map Extinction in the Local Galaxy

Details Using M Dwarfs to Map Extinction in the Local Galaxy Using M Dwarfs to Map Extinction in the Local Galaxy

Jan 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21725004j&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #250.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011

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Scientific paper

We use spectra of more than 56,000 M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to create a high-latitude extinction map of the local Galaxy. Our technique compares spectra from low-extinction lines of sight as determined by Schlegel, Finkbeiner, & Davis to other SDSS spectra in order to derive improved distances and accurate extinctions for the stars in the SDSS data release 7 M dwarf sample. Unlike most previous studies, which have used a two-color method to determine extinction, we fit extinction curves to fluxes across the entire spectral range from 5700 to 9200 angstroms for every star in our sample. Our result is an extinction map that extends from a few tens of pc to approximately 2 kpc from the Sun. We also use a similar technique to create a map of Rv values within approximately 1 kpc of the Sun and find that they are roughly consistent with the widely accepted diffuse interstellar medium value of 3.1. Using our extinction data, we derive a dust scale height for the local galaxy of 176 ± 15 parsecs.

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