2013ApJ...772L...9F

We present the first science results from the Sub-orbital Local Interstellar Cloud Experiment (SLICE): moderate resolution 1020-1070 Å spectroscopy of four sightlines through the local interstellar medium. High signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra of η Uma, α Vir, δ Sco, and ζ Oph were obtained during a 2013 April 21 rocket flight. The SLICE observations constrain the density, molecular photoexcitation rates, and physical conditions present in the interstellar material toward δ Sco and ζ Oph. Our spectra indicate a factor of two lower total N(H₂) than previously reported for δ Sco, which we attribute to higher S/N and better scattered light control in the new SLICE observations. We find N(H₂) = 1.5x10¹⁹/cm2 on the δ Sco sightline, with kinetic and excitation temperatures of 67 and 529 K, respectively, and a cloud density of n_H= 56/cm3. Our observations of the bulk of the molecular sightline toward ζ Oph are consistent with previous measurements (N(H₂) ~ 3x10²⁰/cm2 at T₀₁(H₂) = 66 K and T_exc= 350 K). However, we detect significantly more rotationally excited H₂ toward ζ Oph than previously observed. We infer a cloud density in the rotationally excited component of n_H~ 7600/cm3 and suggest that the increased column densities of excited H₂ are a result of the ongoing interaction between ζ Oph and its environment; also manifest as the prominent mid-IR bowshock observed by WISE and the presence of vibrationally excited H₂ molecules observed by the Hubble Space Telescope.