1210.2191 (Edvard Mortsell)

Calibrating Milky Way dust extinction using cosmological sources    [PDF]

Edvard Mortsell

By investigating the correlations between dust column density as inferred from infrared data and the observed colours of celestial objects at cosmological distances with small colour dispersion, we constrain the properties of Milky Way dust. Results derived using colours of quasars, brightest central galaxies and large red galaxies are broadly consistent, indicating a proportionality constant between the reddening E(B-V)=A_B-A_V and the dust column density D^T (given in units of MJy/sr) of p=E(B-V)/D^T=0.02 and a reddening parameter R_V=A_V/E(B-V)=3 with fractional uncertainties of the order 10%. The data does not provide any evidence for spatial variations in the dust properties, except for a possible hint of scatter in the dust extinction properties at the longest optical wavelengths.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.2191