Unidentified Features in the Ultraviolet Spectrum of X Per

Abstract

High-resolution ultraviolet spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) were used to search for unidentified interstellar absorption features in the well studied sight line toward X Per (HD 24534). The significance of features detected was determined from Gaussian fits to the data, as well as the features' persistence in multiple observations. Fixed pattern noise characteristics were studied in STIS echelle data to distinguish between interstellar and instrumental features. We report the detection of two unidentified features that stand out from the more common fixed pattern noise features. Both features have depths of >3% of the continuum level making them very likely of interstellar origin. Lastly, we comment on possible carriers, and discuss future prospects for studying these and perhaps other unidentified lines in larger samples of sight lines.

Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the Data Archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.