Dust Scattered Radiation in the Galactic Poles

Abstract

We have modeled the diffuse background at the Galactic Poles in the far-ultraviolet (FUV: 1536 Ã ) and the near-ultraviolet (NUV: 2316 Ã ). The background is well-fit using a single-scattering dust model with an offset representing the extragalactic light plus any other contribution to the diffuse background. We have found a dust albedo of 0.35 -- 0.40 (FUV) and 0.11 -- 0.19 in the NGP ($b>70^{\circ }$) and 0.46 -- 0.56 (FUV) and 0.31 -- 0.33 (NUV) in the SGP ($b<70^{\circ }$. The differences in the albedo may reflect changes in the dust-to-gas ratio over the sky or in the dust distribution. We find offsets at zero-reddening of 273 -- 286 and 553 -- 581 photons cm${}^{-2}$ s${}^{-1}$ sr${}^{-1}$ Ã ${}^{-1}$ in the FUV and NUV, respectively, in the NGP with similar values in the SGP.

5 pages, 7 figures, Accepted in Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics