Molecular Hydrogen Optical Depth Templates for FUSE Data Analysis

Abstract

The calculation and use of molecular hydrogen optical depth templates to quickly identify and model molecular hydrogen absorption features longward of the Lyman edge at 912 Angstroms are described. Such features are commonly encountered in spectra obtained by the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer and also in spectra obtained by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, albeit less commonly. Individual templates are calculated containing all the Lyman and Werner transitions originating from a single rotational state (J'') of the 0th vibrational level (v'') of the ground electronic state. Templates are provided with 0.01 Angstrom sampling for doppler parameters ranging from 2 <= b <= 20 km s^-1 and rotational states 0 <= J'' <= 15. Optical depth templates for excited vibrational states are also available for select doppler parameters. Each template is calculated for a fiducial column density of log[N(cm^-2)] = 21 and may be scaled to any column less than this value without loss of accuracy. These templates will facilitate the determination of the distribution of molecular hydrogen column density as a function of rotational level. The use of these templates will free the user from the computationally intensive task of calculating profiles for a large number of lines and allow concentration on line profile or curve-of-growth fitting to determine column densities and doppler parameters. The templates may be downloaded freely from http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~stephan/h2ools2.html