Testing new ideas regarding the nature of interstellar extinction

Abstract

The nature of Galactic interstellar extinction is tested using reddening line parameters for several fields in conjunction with equivalent widths W(λ4430) for the diffuse interstellar band at 4430 Å. The Cardelli et al. relations (Astrophys. J. 345, 245 (1989). doi:10.1086/167900) at infrared, optical, and ultraviolet wavelengths are inconsistent with the newly-derived quadratic variation of RV(observed) on reddening slope X. A minimum of RV = 2.82 ± 0.06 exists for X = 0.83 ± 0.01, and is argued to represent true Galactic extinction described by A(λ) ∝ λ–1.375. It matches expectations for a new description of extinction in the infrared, optical, and ultraviolet by Zagury (Astron. Nachr. 334, 1107 (2013)). Additional consequences, reddened stars with no 2175 Å feature and a correlation of normalized λ4430 absorption with X, are not predicted by the Cardelli et al. relation (Astrophys. J. 345, 245 (1989). doi:10.1086/167900 ). Known variations in X from 0.62 to 0.83, and corresponding variations in RV(observed) from 4.0 to 2.8, presumably result from forward-scattered starlight in the ultraviolet contaminating optical light of stars affected by dust extinction. A new understanding of the true nature of interstellar extinction is important for establishing an accurate picture of the extragalactic distance scale, which in turn is related to our understanding of the nature of the Universe.