NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series:
1 December 1995
René Walterbos
New Mexico State University
Diffuse Ionized Gas
in the Disks and Halos of
Spiral Galaxies
In recent years it has become possible to determine the distribution of
Diffuse Ionized Gas, also referred to as the Warm Ionized Medium, in the
disks and disk-halo interfaces of spiral galaxies, through sensitive
emission-line imaging and spectroscopy. Exploration of this extra-galactic
counterpart to the Galactic "Reynolds layer" has provided
information on the large-scale distribution of the ionized gas, its
morphology, energy requirements, and source of ionization. The DIG in
edge-on systems has proven to be a valuable probe of the disk-halo
interface,
providing information on the effects of supernovae and stellar winds on the
morphology of the interstellar medium and the conditions required for
setting up a flow of gas from disk to halo.
I will review the results obtained for both edge-on and face-on systems
over the past years, and discuss some future prospects.
Friday, 1 December 1995
11:00am
Array Operations Center Auditorium
Local Host: Michael Rupen
Other NRAO/Socorro colloquia
mrupen@nrao.edu