101 research outputs found
Sample variance and Lyman α forest transmission statistics
We compare the observed probability distribution function (PDF) of the transmission in the H I Lyman α forest, measured from the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) âLarge Programmeâ sample at redshifts z = [2, 2.5, 3], to results from the GIMIC cosmological simulations. Our measured values for the mean transmission and its PDF are in good agreement with published results. Errors on statistics measured from high-resolution data are typically estimated using bootstrap or jackknife resampling techniques after splitting the spectra into chunks. We demonstrate that these methods tend to underestimate the sample variance unless the chunk size is much larger than is commonly the case. We therefore estimate the sample variance from the simulations. We conclude that observed and simulated transmission statistics are in good agreement; in particular, we do not require the temperatureâdensity relation to be âinvertedâ
Cosmological Cosmic Rays and the observed Li6 plateau in metal poor halo stars
Very recent observations of the Li6 isotope in halo stars reveal a Li6
plateau about 1000 times above the predicted BBN abundance. We calculate the
evolution of Li6 versus redshift generated from an initial burst of
cosmological cosmic rays (CCRs) up to the formation of the Galaxy. We show that
the pregalactic production of the Li6 isotope can account for the Li6 plateau
observed in metal poor halo stars without additional over-production of Li7.
The derived relation between the amplitude of the CCR energy spectra and the
redshift of the initial CCR production puts constraints on the physics and
history of the objects, such as pop III stars, responsible for these early
cosmic rays. Consequently, we consider the evolution of Li6 in the Galaxy.
Since Li6 is also produced in Galactic cosmic ray nucleosynthesis, we argue
that halo stars with metallicities between [Fe/H] = -2 and -1, must be somewhat
depleted in Li6.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, version accepted for publication in Ap
Cosmic Ray production of Beryllium and Boron at high redshift
Recently, new observations of Li6 in Pop II stars of the galactic halo have
shown a surprisingly high abundance of this isotope, about a thousand times
higher than its predicted primordial value. In previous papers, a cosmological
model for the cosmic ray-induced production of this isotope in the IGM has been
developed to explain the observed abundance at low metallicity. In this paper,
given this constraint on the Li6, we calculate the non-thermal evolution with
redshift of D, Be, and B in the IGM. In addition to cosmological cosmic ray
interactions in the IGM, we include additional processes driven by SN
explosions: neutrino spallation and a low energy component in the structures
ejected by outflows to the IGM. We take into account CNO CRs impinging on the
intergalactic gas. Although subdominant in the galactic disk, this process is
shown to produce the bulk of Be and B in the IGM, due to the differential metal
enrichment between structures (where CRs originate) and the IGM. We also
consider the resulting extragalactic gamma-ray background which we find to be
well below existing data. The computation is performed in the framework of
hierarchical structure formation considering several star formation histories
including Pop III stars. We find that D production is negligible and that a
potentially detectable Be and B plateau is produced by these processes at the
time of the formation of the Galaxy (z ~ 3).Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
The correlation of the Lyman-alpha forest in close pairs and groups of high-redshift quasars: clustering of matter on scales 1-5 Mpc
We study the clustering of matter in the intergalactic medium from the
Lyman-alpha forests seen in the spectra of pairs or groups of z ~ 2 quasars
observed with FORS2 and UVES at the VLT-UT2 Kueyen ESO telescope. The sample
consists of five pairs with separations 0.6, 1, 2.1, 2.6 and 4.4 arcmin and a
group of four quasars with separations from 2 up to 10 arcmin. This
unprecedented data set allows us to measure the transverse flux correlation
function for a range of angular scales. Correlations are clearly detectable at
separations smaller than 3 arcmin. The shape and correlation length of the
transverse correlation function on these scales is in good agreement with those
expected from absorption by the photoionized warm intergalactic medium
associated with the filamentary and sheet-like structures predicted in CDM-like
models for structure formation. At larger separation no significant correlation
is detected. Assuming that the absorbing structures are randomly orientated
with respect to the line of sight, the comparison of transverse and
longitudinal correlation lengths constrains the cosmological parameters (as a
modified version of the Alcock & Paczy\'nski test). The present sample is too
small to get significant constraints. Using N-body simulations, we investigate
the possibility to constrain Ol from future larger samples of QSO pairs with
similar separations. The observation of a sample of 30 pairs at 2, 4.5 and 7.5
arcmin should constrain the value of Ol at +- 15 % (2 sigma level). We further
use the observed spectra of the group of four quasars, to search for underdense
regions in the intergalactic medium. We find a quasi-spherical structure of
reduced absorption with radius 12.5 h^{-1} Mpc which we identify as an
underdense region.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
A far UV study of interstellar gas towards HD34078: high excitation H2 and small scale structure - Based on observations performed by the FUSE mission and at the CFHT telescope
To investigate the presence of small scale structure in the spatial
distribution of H2 molecules we have undertaken repeated FUSE UV observations
of the runaway O9.5V star, HD34078. In this paper we present five spectra
obtained between January 2000 and October 2002. These observations reveal an
unexpectedly large amount of highly excited H2. Column densities for H2 levels
from (v = 0, J = 0) up to (v = 0, J = 11) and for several v = 1 and v = 2
levels are determined. These results are interpreted in the frame of a model
involving essentially two components: i) a foreground cloud (unaffected by
HD34078) responsible for the H2 (J = 0, 1), CI, CH, CH+ and CO absorptions; ii)
a dense layer of gas (n = 10E4 cm-3) close to the O star and strongly
illuminated by its UV flux which accounts for the presence of highly excited
H2. Our model successfully reproduces the H2 excitation, the CI fine-structure
level populations as well as the CH, CH+ and CO column densities. We also
examine the time variability of H2 absorption lines tracing each of these two
components. From the stability of the J = 0, 1 and 2 damped H2 profiles we
infer a 3 sigma upper limit on column density variations Delta(N(H2))/N(H2) of
5% over scales ranging from 5 to 50 AU. This result clearly rules out any
pronounced ubiquitous small scale "density" structure of the kind apparently
seen in HI. The lines from highly excited gas are also quite stable (equivalent
to Delta(N)/N <= 30%) indicating i) that the ambient gas through which HD34078
is moving is relatively uniform and ii) that the gas flow along the shocked
layer is not subject to marked instabilitie
Evidence for overdensity around z<SUB>em</SUB> > 4 quasars from the proximity effect
We study the density field around zem > 4 quasars using high-quality medium spectral resolution Echelle Spectrograph and Imager-Keck spectra (R∼ 4300, signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) > 25) of 45 high-redshift quasars selected from a total of 95 spectra. This large sample considerably increases the statistics compared to previous studies. The redshift evolution of the mean photoionization rate and the median optical depth of the intergalactic medium (IGM) are derived statistically from the observed transmitted flux and the pixel optical depth probability distribution function, respectively. This is used to study the so-called proximity effect, that is, the observed decrease of the median optical depth of the IGM in the vicinity of the quasar caused by enhanced photoionization rate due to photons emitted by the quasar. We show that the proximity effect is correlated with the luminosity of the quasars, as expected. By comparing the observed decrease of the median optical depth with the theoretical expectation, we find that the optical depth does not decrease as rapidly as expected when approaching the quasar if the gas in its vicinity is part of the standard IGM. We interpret this effect as revealing gaseous overdensities on scales as large as ∼15 h-1 Mpc. The mean overdensity is of the order of 2 and 5 within, respectively, 10 and 3 h-1 Mpc. If true, this would indicate that high-redshift quasars are located in the centre of overdense regions that could evolve with time into massive clusters of galaxies. The overdensity is correlated with luminosity: brighter quasars show higher overdensities
CO emission and variable CH and CH+ absorption towards HD34078: evidence for a nascent bow shock ?
The runaway star HD34078, initially selected to investigate small scale
structure in a foreground diffuse cloud has been shown to be surrounded by
highly excited H2. We first search for an association between the foreground
cloud and HD34078. Second, we extend previous investigations of temporal
absorption line variations (CH, CH+, H2) in order to better characterize them.
We have mapped the CO(2-1) emission at 12 arcsec resolution around HD34078's
position, using the 30 m IRAM antenna. The follow-up of CH and CH+ absorption
lines has been extended over 5 more years. In parallel, CH absorption towards
the reddened star Zeta Per have been monitored to check the homogeneity of our
measurements. Three more FUSE spectra have been obtained to search for N(H2)
variations. CO observations show a pronounced maximum near HD34078's position,
clearly indicating that the star and diffuse cloud are associated. The optical
spectra confirm the reality of strong, rapid and correlated CH and CH+
fluctuations. On the other hand, N(H2, J=0) has varied by less than 5 % over 4
years. We also discard N(CH) variations towards Zeta Per at scales less than 20
AU. Observational constraints from this work and from 24 micron dust emission
appear to be consistent with H2 excitation but inconsistent with steady-state
bow shock models and rather suggest that the shell of compressed gas
surrounding HD34078, is seen at an early stage of the interaction. The CH and
CH+ time variations as well as their large abundances are likely due to
chemical structure in the shocked gas layer located at the stellar wind/ambient
cloud interface. Finally, the lack of variations for both N(H2, J=0) towards
HD34078 and N(CH) towards Zeta Per suggests that quiescent molecular gas is not
subject to pronounced small-scale structure.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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