2001ApJ...551..781L

We present ultraviolet and optical spectra of DI 1388, a young star in the Magellanic Bridge, a region of gas between the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. The data have signal-to-noise ratios of 20-45 and a spectral resolution of 6.5 km.s^–1. Interstellar absorption by the Magellanic Bridge at v_LSR~200 km.s^–1 is visible in the lines of C I, C II, C II*, C IV, N I, O I, Al II, Si II, Si III, Si IV, S II, Ca II, Fe II, and Ni II. The relative gas-phase abundances of C II, N I, O I, Al II, Si II, Fe II, and Ni II with respect to S II are similar to those found in Galactic halo clouds, despite a significantly lower metallicity in the Magellanic Bridge. The higher ionization species in the cloud have a column density ratio N(C⁺³)/N(Si⁺³)∼1.9, similar to that inferred for collisionally ionized Galactic cloud interfaces at temperatures ∼10⁵ K. We identify substructure in the stronger interstellar lines, with a broad component (FWHM∼20 km.s^–1) at ∼179 km.s^–1 and a sharp component (FWHM∼11 km.s^–1) at 198 km.s^–1. The abundance analysis for these clouds indicates that the feature at 198 km.s^–1 consists of a low electron density, mainly neutral gas that may be associated with an interface responsible for the highly ionized gas. The 179 km.s^–1 cloud consists of warmer, lower density gas that is partially ionized.