Missing cosmic metals revealed by X-ray absorption towards distant sources

The census of heavy elements (metals) produced by all stars through cosmic times up to present-day is limited to ~50%; of these only half are still found within their parent galaxy. The majority of metals is expelled from galaxies into the circumgalactic (or even more distant, intergalactic) space by powerful galactic winds, leaving unpleasant uncertainty on the amount, thermal properties and distribution of these key chemical species. These dispersed metals unavoidably absorb soft X-ray photons from distant sources. We show that their integrated contribution can be detected in the form of increasing X-ray absorption with distance, for all kinds of high-energy cosmic sources. Based on extensive cosmological simulations, we assess that $\sim$ 10\% of all cosmic metals reside in the intergalactic medium. Most of the X-ray absorption arises instead from a few discrete structures along the line of sight. These extended structures, possibly pin-pointing galaxy groups, contain million degree, metal-enriched gas, 100-1,000 times denser than the cosmic mean. An additional ~10% of cosmic metals could reside in this phase.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Mapping metals at high redshift with far-infrared lines

Cosmic metal enrichment is one of the key physical processes regulating galaxy formation and the evolution of the intergalactic medium (IGM). However, determining the metal content of the most distant galaxies has proven so far almost impossible; also, absorption line experiments at $z\sim6$ become increasingly difficult because of instrumental limitations and the paucity of background quasars. With the advent of ALMA, far-infrared emission lines provide a novel tool to study early metal enrichment. Among these, the [CII] line at 157.74 $\mu$m is the most luminous line emitted by the interstellar medium of galaxies. It can also resonant scatter CMB photons inducing characteristic intensity fluctuations ($\Delta I/I_{CMB}$) near the peak of the CMB spectrum, thus allowing to probe the low-density IGM. We compute both [CII] galaxy emission and metal-induced CMB fluctuations at $z\sim 6$ by using Adaptive Mesh Refinement cosmological hydrodynamical simulations and produce mock observations to be directly compared with ALMA BAND6 data ($\nu_{obs}\sim 272$ GHz). The [CII] line flux is correlated with $M_{UV}$ as $\log(F_{peak}/\mu{\rm Jy})=-27.205-2.253\,M_{UV}-0.038\,M_{UV}^2$. Such relation is in very good agreement with recent ALMA observations (e.g. Maiolino et al. 2015; Capak et al. 2015) of $M_{UV}<-20$ galaxies. We predict that a $M_{UV}=-19$ ($M_{UV}=-18$) galaxy can be detected at $4\sigma$ in $\simeq40$ (2000) hours, respectively. CMB resonant scattering can produce $\simeq\pm 0.1\,\mu$Jy/beam emission/absorptions features that are very challenging to be detected with current facilities. The best strategy to detect these signals consists in the stacking of deep ALMA observations pointing fields with known $M_{UV}\simeq-19$ galaxies. This would allow to simultaneously detect both [CII] emission from galactic reionization sources and CMB fluctuations produced by $z\sim6$ metals.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

The Brightest Lyα\alpha Emitter: Pop III or Black Hole?

CR7 is the brightest $z=6.6 \, {\rm Ly}\alpha$ emitter (LAE) known to date, and spectroscopic follow-up by Sobral et al. (2015) suggests that CR7 might host Population (Pop) III stars. We examine this interpretation using cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Several simulated galaxies show the same "Pop III wave" pattern observed in CR7. However, to reproduce the extreme CR7 ${\rm Ly}\alpha$/HeII1640 line luminosities ($L_{\rm \alpha/He II}$) a top-heavy IMF and a massive ($>10^{7}{\rm M}_{\odot}$) PopIII burst with age $<2$ Myr are required. Assuming that the observed properties of ${\rm Ly}\alpha$ and HeII emission are typical for Pop III, we predict that in the COSMOS/UDS/SA22 fields, 14 out of the 30 LAEs at $z=6.6$ with $L_{\alpha} >10^{43.3}{\rm erg}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$ should also host Pop III stars producing an observable $L_{\rm He II}>10^{42.7}{\rm erg}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$. As an alternate explanation, we explore the possibility that CR7 is instead powered by accretion onto a Direct Collapse Black Hole (DCBH). Our model predicts $L_{\alpha}$, $L_{\rm He II}$, and X-ray luminosities that are in agreement with the observations. In any case, the observed properties of CR7 indicate that this galaxy is most likely powered by sources formed from pristine gas. We propose that further X-ray observations can distinguish between the two above scenarios.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

ALMA suggests outflows in z ~ 5.5 galaxies

We present the first attempt to detect outflows from galaxies approaching the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) using a sample of 9 star-forming ($\rm SFR=31\pm 20~M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}$) $z\sim 5.5$ galaxies for which the [CII]158$\mu$m line has been previously obtained with ALMA. We first fit each line with a Gaussian function and compute the residuals by subtracting the best fitting model from the data. We combine the residuals of all sample galaxies and find that the total signal is characterised by a flux excess of $\sim 0.5$ mJy extended over $\sim 1000$ km~s$^{-1}$. Although we cannot exclude that part of this signal is due to emission from faint satellite galaxies, we show that the most probable explanation for the detected flux excess is the presence of broad wings in the [CII] lines, signatures of starburst-driven outflows. We infer an average outflow rate of $\rm \dot{M}=54\pm23~ M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}$, providing a loading factor $\eta=\rm \dot{M}/SFR=1.7\pm1.3$ in agreement with observed local starbursts. Our interpretation is consistent with outcomes from zoomed hydro-simulations of {\it Dahlia}, a $z\sim 6$ galaxy ($\rm SFR\sim 100~\rm M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}$) whose feedback-regulated star formation results into an outflow rate $\rm \dot{M}\sim 30~ M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}$. The quality of the ALMA data is not sufficient for a detailed analysis of the [CII] line profile in individual galaxies. Nevertheless, our results suggest that starburst-driven outflows are in place in the EoR and provide useful indications for future ALMA campaigns. Deeper observations of the [CII] line in this sample are required to better characterise feedback at high-$z$ and to understand the role of outflows in shaping early galaxy formation

The impact of chemistry on the structure of high-z galaxies

To improve our understanding of high-z galaxies we study the impact of H$_{2}$ chemistry on their evolution, morphology and observed properties. We compare two zoom-in high-resolution (30 pc) simulations of prototypical $M_{\star}\sim 10^{10} {\rm M}_{\odot}$ galaxies at $z=6$. The first, "Dahlia", adopts an equilibrium model for H$_{2}$ formation, while the second, "Alth{\ae}a", features an improved non-equilibrium chemistry network. The star formation rate (SFR) of the two galaxies is similar (within 50\%), and increases with time reaching values close to 100 ${\rm M}_{\odot}/\rm yr$ at $z=6$. They both have SFR-stellar mass relation consistent with observations, and a specific SFR of $\simeq 5\, {\rm Gyr}^{-1}$. The main differences arise in the gas properties. The non-equilibrium chemistry determines the H$\rightarrow$ H$_{2}$~transition to occur at densities $> 300\,{cm}^{-3}$, i.e. about 10 times larger than predicted by the equilibrium model used for Dahlia. As a result, Alth{\ae}a features a more clumpy and fragmented morphology, in turn making SN feedback more effective. Also, because of the lower density and weaker feedback, Dahlia sits $3\sigma$ away from the Schmidt-Kennicutt relation; Alth{\ae}a, instead nicely agrees with observations. The different gas properties result in widely different observables. Alth{\ae}a outshines Dahlia by a factor of 7 (15) in [CII]~$157.74\,\mu{\rm m}$ (H$_{2}$~$17.03\,\mu{\rm m}$) line emission. Yet, Alth{\ae}a is under-luminous with respect to the locally observed [CII]-SFR relation. Whether this relation does not apply at high-z or the line luminosity is reduced by CMB and metallicity effects remains as an open question

The dense molecular gas in the z∼6\rm z\sim6 QSO SDSS J231038.88+185519.7 resolved by ALMA

We present ALMA observations of the CO(6-5) and [CII] emission lines and the sub-millimeter continuum of the $z\sim6$ quasi-stellar object (QSO) SDSS J231038.88+185519.7. Compared to previous studies, we have analyzed a synthetic beam that is ten times smaller in angular size, we have achieved ten times better sensitivity in the CO(6-5) line, and two and half times better sensitivity in the [CII] line, enabling us to resolve the molecular gas emission. We obtain a size of the dense molecular gas of $2.9\pm0.5$ kpc, and of $1.4\pm0.2$ kpc for the 91.5 GHz dust continuum. By assuming that CO(6-5) is thermalized, and by adopting a CO--to--$H_2$ conversion factor $\rm \alpha_{CO} = 0.8~ M_{\odot}~K^{-1}~ (km/s)^{-1} ~pc^{2}$, we infer a molecular gas mass of $\rm M(H_2)=(3.2 \pm0.2) \times 10^{10}\rm M_{\odot}$. Assuming that the observed CO velocity gradient is due to an inclined rotating disk, we derive a dynamical mass of $\rm M_{dyn}~sin^2(i) = (2.4\pm0.5) \times 10^{10}~ M_{\odot}$, which is a factor of approximately two smaller than the previously reported estimate based on [CII]. Regarding the central black hole, we provide a new estimate of the black hole mass based on the C~IV emission line detected in the X-SHOOTER/VLT spectrum: $\rm M_{BH}=(1.8\pm 0.5) \times 10^{9}~ M_{\odot}$. We find a molecular gas fraction of $\rm \mu=M(H_2)/M^*\sim4.4$, where $\rm M^*\approx M_{dyn} - M(H_2)-M(BH)$. We derive a ratio $v_{rot}/\sigma \approx 1-2$ suggesting high gas turbulence, outflows/inflows and/or complex kinematics due to a merger event. We estimate a global Toomre parameter $Q\sim 0.2-0.5$, indicating likely cloud fragmentation. We compare, at the same angular resolution, the CO(6-5) and [CII] distributions, finding that dense molecular gas is more centrally concentrated with respect to [CII]. We find that the current BH growth rate is similar to that of its host galaxy.Comment: A&A in pres

The interstellar medium of high-redshift galaxies: Gathering clues from C III] and [C II] lines

Context. A tight relation between [C II] 158 μm line luminosity and the star formation rate (SFR) has been observed for local galaxies. At high redshift (z &gt; 5), galaxies instead deviate downwards from the local Σ[C II] − ΣSFR relation. This deviation might be caused by different interstellar medium (ISM) properties in galaxies at early epochs. Aims. To test this hypothesis, we combined the [C II] and SFR data with C III] 1909 Å line observations and our physical models. We additionally investigated how ISM properties, such as burstiness, κs, total gas density, n, and metallicity, Z, affect the deviation from the Σ[C II] − ΣSFR relation in these sources. Methods. We present the VLT/X-shooter observations targeting the C III] λ1909 line emission in three galaxies at 5.5 &lt; z &lt; 7.0. We include archival X-shooter data of two other sources at 5.5 &lt; z &lt; 7.0 and the VLT/MUSE archival data of six galaxies at z ∼ 2. We extend our sample of galaxies with eleven star-forming systems at 6 &lt; z &lt; 7.5, with either C III] or [C II] detection reported in the literature. Results. We detected C III] λλ1907, 1909 line emission in HZ10 and we derived the intrinsic, integrated flux of the C III] λ1909 line. We constrained the ISM properties for our sample of galaxies, κs, n, and Z, by applying our physically motivated model based on the MCMC algorithm. For the most part, high-z star-forming galaxies show subsolar metallicities. The majority of the sources have log(κs) ≳ 1, that is, they overshoot the Kennicutt–Schmidt (KS) relation by about one order of magnitude. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the whole KS relation might be shifted upwards at early times. Furthermore, all the high-z galaxies of our sample lie below the Σ[C II] − ΣSFR local relation. The total gas density, n, shows the strongest correlation with the deviation from the local Σ[C II] − ΣSFR relation, namely, low-density high-z systems have lower [C II] surface brightness, in agreement with theoretical models

The brightest Ly α emitter: Pop III or black hole?

CR7 is the brightest z=6.6 Ly α emitter (LAE) known to date, and spectroscopic follow-up by Sobral etal. suggests that CR7 might host Population (Pop) III stars. We examine this interpretation using cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Several simulated galaxies show the same ‘Pop III wave' pattern observed in CR7. However, to reproduce the extreme CR7 Ly α/He ii1640 line luminosities ($L_{\rm \alpha /He\,\small {II}}$) a top-heavy initial mass function and a massive ( ≳ 107 M⊙) Pop III burst with age ≲ 2Myr are required. Assuming that the observed properties of Ly α and He ii emission are typical for Pop III, we predict that in the COSMOS/UDS/SA22 fields, 14 out of the 30 LAEs at z=6.6 with Lα>1043.3 erg s−1 should also host Pop III stars producing an observable $L_{\rm He\,\small {II}}\gtrsim 10^{42.7}\,{\rm erg}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$. As an alternate explanation, we explore the possibility that CR7 is instead powered by accretion on to a direct collapse black hole. Our model predicts Lα, $L_{\rm He\,\small {II}}$, and X-ray luminosities that are in agreement with the observations. In any case, the observed properties of CR7 indicate that this galaxy is most likely powered by sources formed from pristine gas. We propose that further X-ray observations can distinguish between the two above scenario

Witnessing Galaxy Assembly at the Edge of the Reionization Epoch

We report the discovery of Serenity-18, a galaxy at z=5.939 for which we could measure the content of molecular gas, M(H_2)~ 5 x10^9 M_sun, traced by the CO(6-5) emission, together with the metal-poor ([Fe/H]=-3.08 +- 0.12, [Si/H]=-2.86 +- 0.14) gas clump/filament which is possibly feeding its growth. The galaxy has an estimated star formation rate of ~100 M_sun yr^{-1}, implying that it is a typical main sequence galaxy at these redshifts. The metal-poor gas is detected through a damped Lyman-alpha absorber (DLA) observed at a spatial separation of 40 kpc and at the same redshift of Serenity-18, along the line of sight to the quasar SDSS J2310+1855 (z_em = 6.0025). The chemical abundances measured for the damped Lyman-alpha system are in very good agreement with those measured for other DLAs discovered at similar redshifts, indicating an enrichment due to massive PopII stars. The galaxy/Damped system we discovered is a direct observational evidence of the assembly of a galaxy at the edge of the reionization epoch.STFC ER

The black hole and host galaxy growth in an isolated z∼6z\sim 6 QSO observed with ALMA

The outstanding mass growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the Reionisation Epoch and how it is related to the concurrent growth of their host galaxies, poses challenges to theoretical models aimed at explaining how these systems formed in short timescales (<1 Gyr). To trace the average evolutionary paths of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) and their host galaxies in the BH mass-host mass ($M_{\rm dyn}$) plane, we compare the star formation rate (SFR), derived from the accurate estimate of the dust temperature and the dust mass ($T_{\rm dust}, M_{\rm dust}$), with the BH accretion rate. To this aim, we analysed a deep, $900$ pc resolution ALMA observation of the sub-mm continuum, [CII] and H$_2$O of the $z\sim 6$ QSO J2310+1855, enabling a detailed study of dust properties and cold gas kinematics. We performed an accurate SED analysis obtaining a dust temperature of $T_{\rm dust} = 71$ K and a dust mass of $M_{\rm dust}= 4.4 \times 10^8\ \rm M_{\odot}$. The implied AGN-corrected SFR is $1240 \ \rm M_{\odot}yr^{-1}$, a factor of 2 smaller than previously reported for this QSO. We derived the best estimate of the dynamical mass $M_{\rm dyn} = 5.2\times 10^{10}\ \rm M_{\odot}$ within $r = 1.7$ kpc, based on a dynamical model of the system. We found that ${\rm SFR}/M_{\rm dyn}>\dot M_{\rm BH}/M_{\rm BH}$, suggesting that AGN feedback might be efficiently acting to slow down the SMBH accretion, while the stellar mass assembly is still vigorously taking place in the host galaxy. In addition, we were also able to detect high-velocity emission on the red and blue sides of the [CII] emission line, that traces a gaseous outflow, and for the first time, we mapped a spatially-resolved water vapour disk through the H$_2$O v=0 $3_{(2,2)}-3_{(1,3)}$ emission line detected at $\nu_{\rm obs} = 274.074$ GHz, whose kinematic properties and size are broadly consistent with those of the [CII] disk.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables. Accepted in A&