1,994 research outputs found
Tracing baryons in the warm-hot intergalactic medium with broad Ly alpha absorption
We discuss physical properties and baryonic content of broad Ly alpha
absorbers (BLAs) at low redshift. These absorption systems, recently discovered
in high-resolution, high-signal to noise quasar absorption line spectra,
possibly trace the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) in the temperature
range between 10^5 and 10^6 K. To extend previous BLA measurements we have
analyzed STIS data of the two quasars H 1821+643 and PG 0953+415 and have
identified 13 BLA candidates along a total (unblocked) redshift path of
dz=0.440. Combining our measurements with previous results for the lines of
sight toward PG 1259+593 and PG 1116+215, the resulting new BLA sample consists
of 20 reliably detected systems as well as 29 additional tentative cases,
implying a BLA number density of dN/dz=22-53. We estimate that the contribution
of BLAs to the baryon density at z=0 is Omega_b(BLA)>0.0027 h_70^-1 for
absorbers with log (N/b)>11.3. This number indicates that WHIM broad Ly alpha
absorbers contain a substantial fraction of the baryons in the local Universe.
(Abridged abstract)Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures; Accepted for publication in A&
O VI and Multicomponent H I Absorption Associated with a Galaxy Group in the Direction of PG0953+415: Physical Conditions and Baryonic Content
We report the discovery of an O VI absorption system at z(abs) = 0.14232 in a
high resolution FUV spectrum of PG0953+415 obtained with the Space Telescope
Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). Both lines of the O VI 1032, 1038 doublet and
multicomponent H I Lya absorption are detected, but the N V doublet and the
strong lines of C II and Si III are not apparent. We examine the ionization
mechanism of the O VI absorber and find that while theoretical considerations
favor collisional ionization, it is difficult to observationally rule out
photoionization. If the absorber is collisionally ionized, it may not be in
equilibrium due to the rapid cooling of gas in the appropriate temperature
range. Non-equilibrium collisionally ionized models are shown to be consistent
with the observations. A WIYN survey of galaxy redshifts near the sight line
has revealed a galaxy at a projected distance of 395 kpc separated by ~130 km/s
from this absorber, and three additional galaxies are found within 130 km/s of
this redshift with projected separations ranging from 1.0 Mpc to 3.0 Mpc.
Combining the STIS observations of PG0953+415 with previous high S/N GHRS
observations of H1821+643, we derive a large number of O VI absorbers per unit
redshift, dN/dz ~20. We use this sample to obtain a first estimate of the
cosmological mass density of the O VI systems at z ~ 0. If further observations
confirm the large dN/dz derived for the O VI systems, then these absorbers
trace a significant reservoir of baryonic matter at low redshift.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap.J., vol. 542 (Oct. 10, 2000
Revealing the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium with OVI Absorption
Hydrodynamic simulations of growth of cosmic structure suggest that 30-50% of
the total baryons at z=0 may be in a warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) with
temperatures ~10^5-10^7K. The O VI \lambda \lambda 1032, 1038 absorption line
doublet in the FUV portion of QSO spectra provides an important probe of this
gas. Utilizing recent hydrodynamic simulations, it is found that there should
be ~5 O VI absorption lines per unit redshift with equivalent widths >= 35 mA,
decreasing rapidly to ~0.5 per unit redshift at >= 350 mA. About 10% of the
total baryonic matter or 20-30% of the WHIM is expected to be in the O VI
absorption line systems with equivalent width >= 20 mA; the remaining WHIM gas
may be too hot or have too low metallicity to be detected in O VI. We find that
the simulation results agree well with observations with regard to the line
abundance and total mass contained in these systems. Some of the O VI systems
are collisionally ionized and some are photoionized, but most of the mass is in
the collisionally ionized systems. We show that the gas that produces the O VI
absorption lines does not reside in virialized regions such as galaxies,
groups, or clusters of galaxies, but rather has an overdensity of 10-40 times
the average density. These regions form a somewhat connected network of
filaments. The typical metallicity of these regions is 0.1-0.3Zsun.Comment: accepted to ApJ Letters; full color Figure 1 may be obtained at
http://astro.princeton.edu/~cen/PROJECTS/p2/p2.html (at the bottom of the
page
A Comparison of Absorption and Emission Line Abundances in the Nearby Damped Lyman-alpha Galaxy SBS 1543+593
We have used the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard HST to
measure a sulfur abundance of [S/H] = -0.41 +/-0.06 in the interstellar medium
(ISM) of the nearby damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) absorbing galaxy SBS 1543+593. A
direct comparison between this QSO absorption line abundance on the one hand,
and abundances measured from HII region emission line diagnostics on the other,
yield the same result: the abundance of sulfur in the neutral ISM is in good
agreement with that of oxygen measured in an HII region 3 kpc away. Our result
contrasts with those of other recent studies which have claimed
order-of-magnitude differences between HI (absorption) and HII (emission)
region abundances. We also derive a nickel abundance of [Ni/H] < -0.81, some
three times less than that of sulfur, and suggest that the depletion is due to
dust, although we cannot rule out an over-abundance of alpha-elements as the
cause of the lower metallicity. It is possible that our measure of [S/H] is
over-estimated if some SII arises in ionized gas; adopting a plausible star
formation rate for the galaxy along the line of sight, and a measurement of the
CII* 1335.7 absorption line detected from SBS 1543+593, we determine that the
metallicity is unlikely to be smaller than we derive by more than 0.25 dex. We
estimate that the cooling rate of the cool neutral medium is log [l_c (ergs
s^{-1} H atom^{-1})] = -27.0, the same value as that seen in the high redshift
DLA population.Comment: 31 pages; accepted for publication in the Ap
The Large, Oxygen-Rich Halos of Star-Forming Galaxies Are A Major Reservoir of Galactic Metals
The circumgalactic medium (CGM) is fed by galaxy outflows and accretion of
intergalactic gas, but its mass, heavy element enrichment, and relation to
galaxy properties are poorly constrained by observations. In a survey of the
outskirts of 42 galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph onboard the
Hubble Space Telescope, we detected ubiquitous, large (150 kiloparsec) halos of
ionized oxygen surrounding star-forming galaxies, but we find much less ionized
oxygen around galaxies with little or no star formation. This ionized CGM
contains a substantial mass of heavy elements and gas, perhaps far exceeding
the reservoirs of gas in the galaxies themselves. It is a basic component of
nearly all star-forming galaxies that is removed or transformed during the
quenching of star formation and the transition to passive evolution.Comment: This paper is part of a set of three papers on circumgalactic gas
observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on HST, to be published in
Science, together with related papers by Tripp et al. and Lehner & Howk, in
the November 18, 2011 edition. This version has not undergone final
copyediting. Please see Science online for the final printed versio
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