Uncertainty in the Extinction-to-Reddening Ratio Due to Uncertainty in the Main-Sequence Spectral Type of a Background Star

Accurate and precise knowledge of extinction by foreground dust is necessary in many fields of astronomy. This study uses photometric models of main-sequence background stars to investigate the uncertainty in the measured extinction-to-reddening ratio, RV. When RV is calculated from reddening ratios...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2014-01, Vol.126 (935), p.27-33
Main Author: Larson, Kristen A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomical extinction
Astronomical objects
Colors
Fall lines
Interstellar extinction
Interstellar medium
Late type stars
Ratios
Stellar classification
Wavelengths
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Summary:Accurate and precise knowledge of extinction by foreground dust is necessary in many fields of astronomy. This study uses photometric models of main-sequence background stars to investigate the uncertainty in the measured extinction-to-reddening ratio, RV. When RV is calculated from reddening ratios, the uncertainty in RV due to possible error in the assumed background spectral type is not symmetric and depends strongly on spectral type itself. The true uncertainty in RV calculated from reddening ratios must include the effect of uncertainty in the background star spectral type, but this study also shows that in all but the lowest extinction lines of sight and lines of sight to very late-type stars, values of RV that deviate significantly from the Galactic average are likely real, not caused by uncertainty in background spectral type.
ISSN:0004-6280
1538-3873
DOI:10.1086/675071