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Register a new userMetal-enriched, sub-kiloparsec gas clumps in the circumgalactic medium of a faint z = 2.5 galaxy
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We report the serendipitous detection of a 0.2 L$^*$, Lyman-$alpha$ emitting galaxy at redshift 2.5 at an impact parameter of 50 kpc from a bright background QSO sightline. A high-resolution spectrum of the QSO reveals a partial Lyman-limit absorption system ($N_mathrm{HI}=10^{16.94pm0.10}$ cm$^{-2}$) with many associated metal absorption lines at the same redshift as the foreground galaxy. Using photoionization models that carefully treat measurement errors and marginalise over uncertainties in the shape and normalisation of the ionizing radiation spectrum, we derive the total hydrogen column density $N_mathrm{H}=10^{19.4pm0.3}$ cm$^{-2}$, and show that all the absorbing clouds are metal enriched, with $Z=0.1$-$0.6 Z_odot$. These metallicities and the systems large velocity width ($436$ km$,$s$^{-1}$) suggest the gas is produced by an outflowing wind. Using an expanding shell model we estimate a mass outflow rate of $sim5 M_odot,$yr$^{-1}$. Our photoionization model yields extremely small sizes ($<$100-500 pc) for the absorbing clouds, which we argue are typical of high column density absorbers in the circumgalactic medium (CGM). Given these small sizes and extreme kinematics, it is unclear how the clumps survive in the CGM without being destroyed by hydrodynamic instabilities. The small cloud sizes imply that even state-of-the-art cosmological simulations require more than a $1000$-fold improvement in mass resolution to resolve the hydrodynamics relevant for cool gas in the CGM.
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The recent discovery by Cantalupo et al. (2014) of the largest (~500 kpc) and luminous Ly-alpha nebula associated with the quasar UM287 (z=2.279) poses a great challenge to our current understanding of the astrophysics of the halos hosting massive z~2 galaxies. Either an enormous reservoir of cool gas is required $Msimeq10^{12}$ $M_{odot}$, exceeding the expected baryonic mass available, or one must invoke extreme gas clumping factors not present in high-resolution cosmological simulations. However, observations of Ly-alpha emission alone cannot distinguish between these two scenarios. We have obtained the deepest ever spectroscopic integrations in the HeII and CIV lines with the goal of detecting extended line emission, but detect neither line to a 3$sigma$ limiting SB $simeq10^{-18}$ erg/s/cm$^2$/arcsec$^2$. We construct models of the expected emission spectrum in the highly probable scenario that the nebula is powered by photoionization from the central hyper-luminous quasar. The non-detection of HeII implies that the nebular emission arises from a mass $M_{rm c}lesssim6.4times10^{10}$ $M_{odot}$ of cool gas on ~200 kpc scales, distributed in a population of remarkably dense ($n_{rm H}gtrsim3$ cm$^{-3}$) and compact ($Rlesssim20$ pc) clouds, which would clearly be unresolved by current cosmological simulations. Given the large gas motions suggested by the Ly-alpha line ($vsimeq$ 500 km/s), it is unclear how these clouds survive without being disrupted by hydrodynamic instabilities. Our study serves as a benchmark for future deep integrations with current and planned wide-field IFU such as MUSE, KCWI, and KMOS. Our work suggest that a $simeq$ 10 hr exposure would likely detect ~10 rest-frame UV/optical emission lines, opening up the possibility of conducting detailed photoionization modeling to infer the physical state of gas in the CGM.
Ninety per cent of baryons are located outside galaxies, either in the circumgalactic or intergalactic medium. Theory points to galactic winds as the primary source of the enriched and massive circumgalactic medium. Winds from compact starbursts have been observed to flow to distances somewhat greater than ten kiloparsecs, but the circumgalactic medium typically extends beyond a hundred kiloparsecs. Here we report optical integral field observations of the massive but compact galaxy SDSS J211824.06+001729.4. The oxygen [O II] lines at wavelengths of 3726 and 3729 angstroms reveal an ionized outflow spanning 80 by 100 square kiloparsecs, depositing metal-enriched gas at 10,000 kelvin through an hourglass-shaped nebula that resembles an evacuated and limb-brightened bipolar bubble. We also observe neutral gas phases at temperatures of less than 10,000 kelvin reaching distances of 20 kiloparsecs and velocities of around 1,500 kilometres per second. This multi-phase outflow is probably driven by bursts of star formation, consistent with theory.
We present gravitational-arc tomography of the cool-warm enriched circumgalactic medium (CGM) of an isolated galaxy (``G1) at $z approx 0.77$. Combining VLT/MUSE adaptive-optics and Magellan/MagE echelle spectroscopy we obtain partially-resolved kinematics of MgII in absorption and [OII] in emission. The unique arc configuration allows us to probe 42 spatially independent arc positions transverse to G1, plus 4 positions in front of it. The transverse positions cover G1s minor and major axes at impact parameters of $approx 10-30$ kpc and $approx 60$ kpc, respectively. We observe a direct kinematic connection between the cool-warm enriched CGM (traced by MgII) and the interstellar medium (traced by [OII]). This provides strong evidence for the existence of an extended disc that co-rotates with the galaxy out to tens of kiloparsecs. The MgII velocity dispersion ($sigma approx 30-100$ km s$^{-1}$, depending on position) is of the same order as the modeled galaxy rotational velocity ($v_{rm rot} approx 80$ km s$^{-1}$), providing evidence for the presence of a turbulent and pressure-supported CGM component. We regard the absorption to be modulated by a galactic-scale outflow, as it offers a natural scenario for the observed line-of-sight dispersion and asymmetric profiles observed against both the arcs and the galaxy. An extended enriched co-rotating disc together with the signatures of a galactic outflow, are telltale signs of metal recycling in the $zsim 1$ CGM.
We investigate the impact of cosmic rays (CRs) on the circumgalactic medium (CGM) in FIRE-2 simulations, for ultra-faint dwarf through Milky Way (MW)-mass halos hosting star-forming (SF) galaxies. Our CR treatment includes injection by supernovae, anisotropic streaming and diffusion along magnetic field lines, collisional and streaming losses, with constant parallel diffusivity $kappasim3times10^{29},mathrm{cm^2 s^{-1}}$ chosen to match $gamma$-ray observations. With this, CRs become more important at larger halo masses and lower redshifts, and dominate the pressure in the CGM in MW-mass halos at $zlesssim 1-2$. The gas in these CR-dominated halos differs significantly from runs without CRs: the gas is primarily cool (a few $sim10^{4},$K), and the cool phase is volume-filling and has a thermal pressure below that needed for virial or local thermal pressure balance. Ionization of the low and mid ions in this diffuse cool gas is dominated by photo-ionization, with O VI columns $gtrsim 10^{14.5},mathrm{cm^{-2}}$ at distances $gtrsim 150,mathrm{kpc}$. CR and thermal gas pressure are locally anti-correlated, maintaining total pressure balance, and the CGM gas density profile is determined by the balance of CR pressure gradients and gravity. Neglecting CRs, the same halos are primarily warm/hot ($Tgtrsim 10^{5},$K) with thermal pressure balancing gravity, collisional ionization dominates, O VI columns are lower and Ne VIII higher, and the cool phase is confined to dense filaments in local thermal pressure equilibrium with the hot phase.
In our current galaxy formation paradigm, high-redshift galaxies are predominantly fuelled by accretion of cool, metal-poor gas from the intergalactic medium. Hydrodynamical simulations predict that this material should be observable in absorption against background sightlines within a galaxys virial radius, as optically thick Lyman-limit systems (LLSs) with low metallicities. Here we report the discovery of exactly such a strong metal-poor absorber at an impact parameter R_perp = 58 kpc from a star-forming galaxy at z = 2.44. Besides strong neutral hydrogen [N(HI) = 10^(19.50 +/- 0.16) cm^-2] we detect neutral deuterium and oxygen, allowing a precise measurement of the metallicity: log10(Z / Zsolar) = -2.0 +/- 0.17, or (7-15) x 10^-3 solar. Furthermore, the narrow deuterium linewidth requires a cool temperature < 20,000 K. Given the striking similarities between this system and the predictions of simulations, we argue that it represents the direct detection of a high redshift cold-accretion stream. The low-metallicity gas cloud is a single component of an absorption system exhibiting a complex velocity, ionization, and enrichment structure. Two other components have metallicities > 0.1 solar, ten times larger than the metal-poor component. We conclude that the photoionized circumgalactic medium (CGM) of this galaxy is highly inhomogeneous: the majority of the gas is in a cool, metal-poor and predominantly neutral phase, but the majority of the metals are in a highly-ionized phase exhibiting weak neutral hydrogen absorption but strong metal absorption. If such inhomogeneity is common, then high-resolution spectra and detailed ionization modelling are critical to accurately appraise the distribution of metals in the high-redshift CGM.
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