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R. L. Shelton, E. M. Murphy, J. W. Kruk, H. W. Moos, W. R. Oegerle (JHU), E. B. Jenkins (Princeton), FUSE Science Team
The present understanding of the hot gas in the Local Bubble has largely come from soft X-ray emission, extreme ultraviolet emission, and O VI absorption data. A measurement of the Local Bubble's O VI surface brightness would add greatly to our understanding because it could be compared with present and future X-ray data and O VI absorption data, yielding constraints on the ionization state, and possibly the electron density of the O+5-rich plasma.
The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) is adding O VI emission data into the stew of existing results. FUSE was launched in June of 1999. During its in orbit checkout phase, the instrument spent over 100,000 seconds observing the background in the southern Galactic halo. The location was chosen in the direction of a cloud in order to minimize any contribution from the extended halo and maximize our ability to diagnose any O VI emission from the Local Bubble itself. Our observation with the 30" \times 30" aperature found the O VI surface brightness to be dimmer than any existing lower limit or detection of O VI surface brightness from the diffuse ISM. We will report on our finding and use it to place limits on the range of possible conditions within the Local Bubble.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: shelton@pha.jhu.edu