Exploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud

The viability of the star count (Wolf) method is assessed as a means of constraining the near-infrared (NIR) extinction law toward the Corona Australis molecular cloud. Using deep JHK _S photometry from the VISIONS survey, extinction maps with 1′ spatial resolution are constructed. The derived extin...

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Main Authors: Botao Jiang, Jun Li, Xi Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astronomical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adea6f
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author Botao Jiang
Jun Li
Xi Chen
author_facet Botao Jiang
Jun Li
Xi Chen
author_sort Botao Jiang
collection DOAJ
description The viability of the star count (Wolf) method is assessed as a means of constraining the near-infrared (NIR) extinction law toward the Corona Australis molecular cloud. Using deep JHK _S photometry from the VISIONS survey, extinction maps with 1′ spatial resolution are constructed. The derived extinction ratios are A _J / A _H  = 1.73 ± 0.07, ${A}_{H}/{A}_{{K}_{S}}=1.70\pm 0.11$ , and ${A}_{J}/{A}_{{K}_{S}}=3.02\pm 0.22$ , which are consistent with Galactic literature means. Assuming a power-law form ( A _λ  ∝  λ ^− ^α ) for the NIR extinction law, we derive indices of α  ≈ 2.0 across all wavelength combinations, with no statistically significant wavelength dependence throughout the NIR wavelength range. While spatial variations in extinction properties are tentatively observed across the cloud, concerns persist regarding the impact of photometric completeness, and the role of reference field selection. Continued research is required to refine the approach, and scrutinize the veracity of potential extinction law variations over a more expansive region of sky.
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spelling doaj-art-59566e421e8b4b338fc7810d596028022025-08-20T03:09:16ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01170211810.3847/1538-3881/adea6fExploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular CloudBotao Jiang0https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2880-849XJun Li1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9328-4302Xi Chen2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5435-925XCenter for Astrophysics, Guangzhou University , Guangzhou 510006, People’s Republic of China ; lijun@gzhu.edu.cn, chenxi@gzhu.edu.cnCenter for Astrophysics, Guangzhou University , Guangzhou 510006, People’s Republic of China ; lijun@gzhu.edu.cn, chenxi@gzhu.edu.cnCenter for Astrophysics, Guangzhou University , Guangzhou 510006, People’s Republic of China ; lijun@gzhu.edu.cn, chenxi@gzhu.edu.cnThe viability of the star count (Wolf) method is assessed as a means of constraining the near-infrared (NIR) extinction law toward the Corona Australis molecular cloud. Using deep JHK _S photometry from the VISIONS survey, extinction maps with 1′ spatial resolution are constructed. The derived extinction ratios are A _J / A _H  = 1.73 ± 0.07, ${A}_{H}/{A}_{{K}_{S}}=1.70\pm 0.11$ , and ${A}_{J}/{A}_{{K}_{S}}=3.02\pm 0.22$ , which are consistent with Galactic literature means. Assuming a power-law form ( A _λ  ∝  λ ^− ^α ) for the NIR extinction law, we derive indices of α  ≈ 2.0 across all wavelength combinations, with no statistically significant wavelength dependence throughout the NIR wavelength range. While spatial variations in extinction properties are tentatively observed across the cloud, concerns persist regarding the impact of photometric completeness, and the role of reference field selection. Continued research is required to refine the approach, and scrutinize the veracity of potential extinction law variations over a more expansive region of sky.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adea6fReddening lawInterstellar extinctionInterstellar dustDense interstellar clouds
spellingShingle Botao Jiang
Jun Li
Xi Chen
Exploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud
The Astronomical Journal
Reddening law
Interstellar extinction
Interstellar dust
Dense interstellar clouds
title Exploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud
title_full Exploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud
title_fullStr Exploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud
title_short Exploring the Wolf Approach to Constraining NIR Extinction Laws in the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud
title_sort exploring the wolf approach to constraining nir extinction laws in the corona australis molecular cloud
topic Reddening law
Interstellar extinction
Interstellar dust
Dense interstellar clouds
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adea6f
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AT xichen exploringthewolfapproachtoconstrainingnirextinctionlawsinthecoronaaustralismolecularcloud