The 15273 \AA\ diffuse interstellar band in the dark cloud Barnard 68
M. Elyajouri, N.L.J. Cox, R. Lallement

TL;DR
This study uses near-infrared spectroscopy to detect and analyze the diffuse interstellar band at 15273 Å in the dark cloud Barnard 68, revealing its carrier's distribution and properties in dense interstellar environments.
Contribution
It demonstrates the feasibility of using NIR DIBs to probe dense clouds and provides new insights into the carrier's density variation within Barnard 68.
Findings
DIB equivalent width increases with visual extinction
The DIB carrier's volume density is lower than expected in dense regions
The rate of DIB strength increase is flatter than in diffuse ISM
Abstract
High obscuration of background stars behind dark clouds precludes the detection of optical diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and hence our knowledge of DIB carriers in these environments. Taking advantage of the reduced obscuration of star-light in the near-infrared (NIR) we used one of the strongest NIR DIBs at 15273 AA to probe the presence and properties of its carrier throughout the nearby interstellar dark cloud Barnard 68. Equivalent widths (EW) have been measured for different ranges of visual extinction AV, using VLT-KMOS H-band (1.46-1.85 micron) moderate-resolution (R = 4000) spectra of 43 stars situated behind the cloud. To do so we fitted the data using synthetic stellar spectra from the APOGEE project and TAPAS synthetic telluric transmissions appropriate for the observing site and time period. The results show an increase of DIB EW with increasing AV. However, the rate of…
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