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L. Valencic (IA-UNAM), K. Gordon (Steward Observatory), G. Clayton (Louisiana State University)
Since their discovery in the 1930s, the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and their carriers have proven to be enigmatic. Several studies conducted over the past 20 years suggest that there are families of DIBs, and that some may be correlated to UV extinction, but the results of these studies have not always been consistent. In order to gain a more comprehensive view of the relationships between DIB and UV extinction carriers, we have assembled a database of DIB strengths from the literature and combined it with our database of UV extinction curves. The curves were constructed from reddened OB stellar spectra from the IUE Final Archive. FM parameters and values of R(V) have been found for each line of sight in the database. With this large (\cong 200) sample, covering a variety of environments, we will search for correlations between DIB and UV extinction carriers. This is the largest such study that has been conducted. Our results will be useful in constraining DIB models and lead to a better understanding of the nature of DIB carriers.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.