Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1985
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1985natur.315..630w&link_type=abstract
Nature (ISSN 0028-0836), vol. 315, June 20, 1985, p. 630, 631.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
2
Astronomical Spectroscopy, Atomic Spectra, Interstellar Matter, Carbon, Electron Energy, Line Spectra, Rydberg Series
Scientific paper
Observations are reported which highlight the presence of extremely high Rydberg states - in which the outer electron of an atom has been excited to very high energies - in the interstellar medium. These results confirm and significantly extend recent identifications of spectral lines at radio frequencies an order of magnitude lower than those at which lines had previously been detected. The lowest frequency at which these lines have been detected corresponds to the 732 alpha transition, which indicates that the largest atoms that have yet been directly encountered in any environment are present; these spectral lines are almost certainly due to atomic carbon. The first detection of pressure broadening and the change from emission to absorption by recombination lines are the most striking features of this new class of spectral lines.
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