An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

1a) To pour out, to spread in all directions.
1b) To spread by → diffusion.
2) Spread out, diffused, scattered, as → diffuse reflection.
See also: → diffuse atomic cloud, → diffuse galactic light, → diffuse interstellar band, → diffuse interstellar band carrier, → diffuse interstellar cloud, → diffuse interstellar medium, → diffuse molecular cloud, → diffuse nebula, → diffuse reflection, → diffuse transmission, → diffusion.

L. diffusus "spread, poured forth," from dif- "apart, in every direction," variant of → dis- + fuse, from fusus "melted, poured, cast," p.p. of fundere "to melt, cast, pour out," from PIE *gheud-, from root *gheu- "to pour."

Paxšidan "to diffuse, scatter, disperse," infinitive of paxš "scattered, dispersed; withered, trodden," (Manichean) Mid.Pers. pxš "to wither, fade; to grow ripe," Proto-Iranian *paxš- "to cook," cf. Av. pac- "to cook," pacika- "cooked," Mod.Pers. paz-, poxtan "to cook, bake," Skt. pac- "to cook," pakva- "ripe," Gk. peptein "to cook, ripen," L. coquere "to cook," from which V.L. cocus "cook," from which O.E. coc "cook;" PIE *pek^w- "to cook, ripen;" paxšidé, p.p. of paxšidan.

A type of cloud in the → interstellar medium with low molecular content that is fully exposed to the → interstellar radiation field, and therefore nearly all its → molecules are quickly destroyed by → photodissociation. Hydrogen is mainly in → neutral atomic form (→ neutral hydrogen), and atoms with → ionization potentials less than that of hydrogen (most notably → carbon) are almost fully → ionized, providing abundant electrons. The paucity of molecules implies that very little chemistry occurs in such clouds. Many → sightlines with low → extinction seem to pass exclusively through → diffuse atomic gas. Such sightlines typically have a → column density, N_H, less than about 5 × 10²⁰ cm^-2, and are sufficiently → optically thin to be observable by means of → visible and → ultraviolet → absorption line measurements. Diffuse atomic clouds typically have a fairly low → density (~ 10-100 cm^-3), and → temperatures of 30-100 K (Snow & McCall, 2006, ARA&A 44, 367).

→ diffuse; → atomic; → gas.

A minor component of galactic light resulting from the diffusion of starlight by → interstellar dust near the → galactic plane.

→ diffuse; → galactic; → light.

Absorption features in the spectrum of stars identified in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions. They have an interstellar origin, but despite extensive efforts, their carrier(s) have not yet been clearly identified. See also → Aromatic Infrared Bands; → polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

→ diffuse; → interstellar; → band.

The chemical element or composition that is supposedly at the origin of a → diffuse interstellar band (DIB).

→ diffuse; → interstellar; → band; → carrier.

An → interstellar cloud in which hydrogen is completely dissociated and which is less dense and dusty than → molecular clouds. In diffuse interstellar clouds photoabsorption of the background → ultraviolet (UV) radiation field is an important dissociating and ionizing process. Typical densities and temperatures of diffuse clouds are 10² to 10³ cm^-3 and 20 to 100 K respectively. Because of modest extinctions (≤ 1 mag), → photodissociation processes are important in diffuse clouds preventing the formation of larger molecules.

→ diffuse; → interstellar; → cloud.

The interstellar matter outside condensed molecular clouds. Diffuse interstellar medium consists of a hot intercloud medium, a warm intercloud medium, and a cold neutral medium with hydrogen atom densities n_H ~ 0.003, ~ 0.25, and ~ 40 cm^-3, and mean gas → kinetic temperatures T_k ~ 5 x 10⁵, ~ 10⁴, and 80 K, respectively.

→ diffuse; → interstellar; → medium.

A type of → molecular cloud in which the → interstellar radiation field is sufficiently attenuated, so that the local fraction of → molecular hydrogen (H₂) becomes substantial (> 0.1). However, enough interstellar radiation is still present to → photoionize any atomic carbon, or to → photodissociate → carbon monoxide (CO) such that carbon is predominantly still in the form of C⁺ (> 0.5). In steady state, diffuse molecular clouds must necessarily be surrounded by diffuse atomic gas, in order to provide the → shielding of radiation. This means that most sightlines that cross a diffuse molecular cloud will also cross → diffuse atomic gas (Snow & McCall, 2006, ARA&A 44, 367).

→ diffuse; → molecular; → cloud.

An irregularly shaped and low density interstellar cloud visible in the optical wavelengths.

→ diffuse; → nebula.

Reflection of light from a rough or granular surface, which takes place in all directions due to the microscopic irregularities of the interface; opposed to → specular reflection.

→ diffuse; → reflection.

Transmission accompanied by diffusion or scatter to the extent that there is no regular or direct transmission.

→ diffuse; → transmission.

A device used to scatter or disperse light emitted from a source.

From → diffuse + -er.

From paxš, present stem of paxšidan, → diffuse, + -andé or -gar (→ detector).

A galaxy of low stellar density, defined to have low central → surface brightness (> 24 mag arcsec^-2) and an → effective radius (R_e) of over 1.5 kpc. The question of whether UDGs represent a separate class of galaxies is still under debate. Currently, known UDGs that have been discovered in clusters, in groups, and in the field can have R_e as large as 5 kpc which is comparable to that of giant Milky Way like galaxies. This fact has been used to suggest that UDGs are "failed" giants. As R_e captures (at most) the central parts of giant galaxies, whether this radius can be used to fairly compare the sizes of UDGs to the more massive galaxies is questionable (see, e.g., Chamba et al., 2020, A&A 633, L3).

Term proposed by van Dokkum et al. (2015), arXiv: 1410.8141v2; → ultra-; → diffuse; → galaxy.