OVI Absorption in the Milky Way Disk, and Future Prospects for Studying Absorption at the Galaxy-IGM Interface

TL;DR

This paper reviews FUSE observations of OVI absorption in the Milky Way, compares them to past data, and discusses future prospects for studying galaxy-IGM interfaces with more advanced UV spectroscopy.

Contribution

It highlights the advancements FUSE provided over previous data and emphasizes the need for more sensitive UV instruments to better understand baryons around galaxies.

Findings

FUSE data improved understanding of OVI absorption in the Milky Way.

FUSE spectra show absence of OVI but presence of Lyman-beta 8 and 63 kpc from a galaxy.

Current limitations hinder studying OVI absorption in nearby galaxies.

Abstract

We present a brief summary of results from our FUSE program designed to study OVI absorption in the disk of the Milky Way. As a full analysis of our data has now been published, we focus on the improvements that FUSE afforded us compared to Copernicus data published thirty years ago. We discuss FUSE's limitations in studying OVI absorption from nearby galaxies using background QSOs, but present FUSE spectra of two probes which indicate the absence of OVI (but the presence of Lyman-beta) absorption 8 and 63 kpc from a foreground galaxy. Finally, we discuss the need for a more sensitive UV spectrograph to map out the physical conditions of baryons around galaxies.