Description
The HF molecule has been proposed as a sensitive tracer of diffuse interstellar gas, while at higher densities its abundance could be influenced heavily by freeze-out onto dust grains. We investigate the spatial distribution of a collection of absorbing gas clouds, some associated with the dense, massive star-forming core NGC 6334 I, and others with diffuse foreground clouds elsewhere along the line of sight. For the former category, we aim to study the dynamical properties of the clouds in order to assess their potential to feed the accreting protostellar cores. We use far-infrared spectral imaging from the Herschel SPIRE iFTS to construct a map of HF absorption at 243um in a 6'x3.5' region surrounding NGC 6334 I and I(N).
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