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J. T. Lauroesch, D. M. Meyer (Northwestern U.), S. M. Andrews (U. of Hawaii), K. C. Roth (Gemini Observatory)
We report on high resolution (15 km/s) integral field spectroscopy of the interstellar Na I D absorption lines in 6 fields sampling approximately 6000 square arcseconds towards the core of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) using DensePak on the WIYN 3.5-meter telescope. We have also observed single DensePak fields (27" x 43") covering the cores of both M32 and M110 (NGC 205). The 4" spatial resolution offered by these observations allows us to sample the intervening Galactic disk and halo on scales of order 1,000 AU in multiple gas clouds, and M31 gas on scales of 15 pc. The comparison of M31 to its satellites allows us to sample the Galactic ISM on 10 pc scales as well. We detect multiple interstellar absorption components arising in the Galaxy in all fields, with significant variations across the fields in the number of components as well as in the column densities, b-values and velocities of individual components. We also identify numerous components arising in the halo and (perhaps) bulge of M31 in our 6 fields toward the core of the Andromeda galaxy. We discuss the implications that these observations have for models of small-scale structure based upon interstellar turbulence.
The authors would like to thank the KPNO and WIYN staff members as well as the University of Wisconsin Space Astronomy Laboratory for their support of remote observing for this program.
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