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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal

Observing Colocated Neutral and Ionized Gas-phase Iron Depletion in the Magellanic Clouds

  • Yun Qi Li1
  • Jessica K. Werk1
  • Caleb R. Choban2
  • Julia Roman-Duval3
  • Kirill Tchernyshyov1
  • J. Xavier Prochaska4
  • Doyeon A. Kim3
  • Arianna S. Long1
4 affiliations
  1. 1University of Washington
  2. 2Indiana University
  3. 3Space Telescope Science Institute
  4. 4University of California Santa Cruz
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Abstract

Depletion is the observed phenomenon where gas-phase elemental abundances are reduced through accretion onto dust grains. We measure neutral gas-phase elemental abundances (S, Fe) in the Magellanic Clouds along 33 sightlines using high-resolution UV spectroscopy (Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and HST/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS)), and compare them to ionized gas-phase abundances (S, Fe) adopted from the literature for six colocated H ii regions (with the furthest separation of ≲ 3 ′ , 50 pc). Comparison of S abundances shows that S is minimally depleted in the H ii regions and surrounding diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). However, we find that the gas-phase Fe abundances in H ii regions are lower than those of the neighboring neutral ISM by >0.5 dex and >2 σ in three SMC regions. This difference is consistent with an offset in the amount of Fe depleted into dust grains. As accretion of gas-phase Fe is likely not effective at the temperatures of the H ii regions, Fe depletion into solid form would have occurred in the dense atomic or molecular clouds prior to star formation. The implied stronger depletion in the H ii regions suggests that Fe-bearing grains survive destruction in the first few million years following ionization. Our observations highlight that Fe depletion in H ii regions can be a useful tracer of Fe depletion in dense molecular clouds, which are challenging to observe directly via UV absorption.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{li2026observing,
  title = {{Observing Colocated Neutral and Ionized Gas-phase Iron Depletion in the Magellanic Clouds}},
  author = {Yun Qi Li and Jessica K. Werk and Caleb R. Choban and Julia Roman-Duval and Kirill Tchernyshyov and J. Xavier Prochaska and Doyeon A. Kim and Arianna S. Long},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/aeacd7},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacd7},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Observing Colocated Neutral and Ionized Gas-phase Iron Depletion in the Magellanic Clouds
AU  - Yun Qi Li
AU  - Jessica K. Werk
AU  - Caleb R. Choban
AU  - Julia Roman-Duval
AU  - Kirill Tchernyshyov
AU  - J. Xavier Prochaska
AU  - Doyeon A. Kim
AU  - Arianna S. Long
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/02
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/aeacd7
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacd7
AB  - Depletion is the observed phenomenon where gas-phase elemental abundances are reduced through accretion onto dust grains. We measure neutral gas-phase elemental abundances (S, Fe) in the Magellanic Clouds along 33 sightlines using high-resolution UV spectroscopy (Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and HST/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS)), and compare them to ionized gas-phase abundances (S, Fe) adopted from the literature for six colocated H ii regions (with the furthest separation of ≲ 3 ′ , 50 pc). Comparison of S abundances shows that S is minimally depleted in the H ii regions and surrounding diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). However, we find that the gas-phase Fe abundances in H ii regions are lower than those of the neighboring neutral ISM by >0.5 dex and >2 σ in three SMC regions. This difference is consistent with an offset in the amount of Fe depleted into dust grains. As accretion of gas-phase Fe is likely not effective at the temperatures of the H ii regions, Fe depletion into solid form would have occurred in the dense atomic or molecular clouds prior to star formation. The implied stronger depletion in the H ii regions suggests that Fe-bearing grains survive destruction in the first few million years following ionization. Our observations highlight that Fe depletion in H ii regions can be a useful tracer of Fe depletion in dense molecular clouds, which are challenging to observe directly via UV absorption.
SN  - 1538-4357
SN  - 0004-637X
ER  -