our sws observations of the galactic center sgr a* reveal a great variety of lines, molecular bands and broader spectral features. however the usual aot sws01 we have used, does (even with the slowest speed) not allow to benefit from the full resolving power of the sws instrument. motivated by our present scientific results we propose a full scan of the whole sws range from 2.38 um to 45.2 um with aot sws06 for sgr a*. the full sws grating resolution, we will obtain this way, combined with a high signal-to-noise ratio (snr), will enable us, to perform a detailed quantitative analysis for absorption features, like h2o, co2, co, ch4 and oh, not possible on the basis of the present data. the proposed sws06 full scan will provide us additionally with a detailed description of the sws instrumental effects in different bands, which is an essential prerequisite for such an investigation. high quality removal of instrumental effects together with full grating resolution and high snr will allow us, to investigate not only the broader ice features, but also the quick varying features of gaseous molecules, like the 12^co and 13^co fundamental bands. our special interest is addressed to foreground absorption of h2o and co2 in solid and gaseous form. these molecules, together with the other low mass carbon compounds addressed in this proposal, play an essential role in the chemistry of molecular cloud environments, which has been shown to be r^ant for the sgr a* line of sight. in particular we look for ro-vibrational nu_3 and nu_2 transitions of gaseous h2o and co2 at 2.7 and 6 um and 4.3 and 15 um, respectively. improved flux measurements for faint lines, a better resolution for the oh feature at 34.6 um and stronger constraints on the absence of pah features, will support our current research on sgr a* itself.
Instrument
SWS06
Temporal Coverage
1997-02-21T15:24:27Z/1997-02-27T23:15:46Z
Version
1.0
Mission Description
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was the worlds first true orbiting infrared observatory. Equipped with four highly-sophisticated and versatile scientific instruments, it was launched by Ariane in November 1995 and provided astronomers world-wide with a facility of unprecedented sensitivity and capabilities for a detailed exploration of the Universe at infrared wavelengths.
European Space Agency, KUNZE et al., 1999, 'DETAILED SPECTROSCOPY OF THE GALACTIC CENTER', 1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-xei5nss
