CN ROTATIONAL-EXCITATION

We report the results of a search for new lines of sight in which to study the CN excitation and a statistical analysis of all the excitation temperatures measured using interstellar CN. This data set strongly confirms that the cosmic background radiation (CBR) is the dominant contributor to the excitation of CN, and demonstrates the homogeneity of the CBR. Thirty-five observations is a sufficiently large sample to look for the presence of systematic effects in the CN excitation. The weighted average of the CN excitation temperatures exceeds the T(CBR) obtained by COBE and the Canadian rocket by 82 +/- 30 mK. With the aim of looking at the origin of this difference, we have considered in detail the known mechanisms that could contribute to exciting the CN molecule. None of the data necessary to quantify these mechanisms are of sufficient quality to provide a clean explanation of the observed difference.