Detection of OH absorption against PSR B1718-35

Abstract

OH absorption against PSR B1718-35 at (l,b) =351.688,+0.671 has been discovered at 1665 and 1667 MHz using the Green Bank Telescope. The absorption appears to arise at the interface of an HII region and a molecular cloud which are likely associated with the high mass star forming region NGC 6334. Beam dilution is found to be the cause of differences in the opacity of the OH against the Galactic background continuum emission and against the pulsar. The OH cloud is approximately 3 by 1.3 pc and is located behind the HII region.