Analysis of Diffuse Interstellar Bands in Open Cluster NGC 7160 — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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Analysis of Diffuse Interstellar Bands in Open Cluster NGC 7160

Name: Cory Schrandt
Major: Physics
Hometown: Kenosha
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: NSF

Abstract

The diffuse region of the interstellar medium (ISM) has been studied for nearly 100 years. Early in these studies, unidentified absorption bands were observed in the visible light spectra of most hot stars. Chemical identities of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) remain unknown to this day, despite having been the subject of numerous surveys and atlases. In this study, we approach this mystery in a novel way by investigating the variation of DIB strength in NGC 7160, an open cluster of common Sun-like stars. The data was collected by the HYDRA fiber-fed spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope located at Kitt Peak in Arizona. The results indicated that cooler stars could, in fact, be used as back-lights for measuring DIBs with large equivalent-widths. There was also a linear relationship that was discovered between the distance of the star and the amount of absorption that occurred due to the DIB.

Poster file