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We present new MUSE observations of quasar field Q2131-1207 with a log N(HI)=19.50+/-0.15 sub-DLA at z_abs=0.42980. We detect four galaxies at a redshift consistent with that of the absorber where only one was known before this study. Two of these are star forming galaxies, while the ones further away from the quasar (>140 kpc) are passive galaxies. We report the metallicities of the HII regions of the closest objects (12+log(O/H)=8.98+/-0.02 and 8.32+/-0.16) to be higher or equivalent within the errors to the metallicity measured in absorption in the neutral phase of the gas (8.15+/-0.20). For the closest object, a detailed morpho-kinematic analysis indicates that it is an inclined large rotating disk with V_max=200+/-3 km/s. We measure the masses to be M_dyn=7.4+/-0.4 x 10^10 M_sun and M_halo=2.9+/-0.2 x 10^12 M_sun. Some of the gas seen in absorption is likely to be co-rotating with the halo of that object, possibly due to a warped disk. The azimuthal angle between the quasar line of sight and the projected major axis of the galaxy on the sky is 12+/-1 degrees which indicates that some other fraction of the absorbing gas might be associated with accreting gas. This is further supported by the galaxy to gas metallicity difference. Based on the same arguments, we exclude outflows as a possibility to explain the gas in absorption. The four galaxies form a large structure (at least 200 kpc wide) consistent with a filament or a galaxy group so that a fraction of the absorption could be related to intra-group gas.
We present results on gas flows in the halo of a Milky Way-like galaxy at z=0.413 based on high-resolution spectroscopy of a background galaxy. This is the first study of circumgalactic gas at high spectral resolution towards an extended background source (i.e., a galaxy rather than a quasar). Using longslit spectroscopy of the foreground galaxy, we observe spatially extended H alpha emission with circular rotation velocity v=270 km/s. Using echelle spectroscopy of the background galaxy, we detect Mg II and Fe II absorption lines at impact parameter rho=27 kpc that are blueshifted from systemic in the sense of the foreground galaxys rotation. The strongest absorber EW(2796) = 0.90 A has an estimated column density (N_H>10^19 cm-2) and line-of-sight velocity dispersion (sigma=17 km/s) that are consistent with the observed properties of extended H I disks in the local universe. Our analysis of the rotation curve also suggests that this r=30 kpc gaseous disk is warped with respect to the stellar disk. In addition, we detect two weak Mg II absorbers in the halo with small velocity dispersions (sigma<10 km/s). While the exact geometry is unclear, one component is consistent with an extraplanar gas cloud near the disk-halo interface that is co-rotating with the disk, and the other is consistent with a tidal feature similar to the Magellanic Stream. We can place lower limits on the cloud sizes (l>0.4 kpc) for these absorbers given the extended nature of the background source. We discuss the implications of these results for models of the geometry and kinematics of gas in the circumgalactic medium.
Most molecular gas studies of $z > 2.5$ galaxies are of intrinsically bright objects, despite the galaxy population being primarily normal galaxies with less extreme star formation rates. Observations of normal galaxies at high redshift provide a more representative view of galaxy evolution and star formation, but such observations are challenging to obtain. In this work, we present ALMA $rm ^{12}CO(J = 3 rightarrow 2)$ observations of a sub-millimeter selected galaxy group at $z = 2.9$, resulting in spectroscopic confirmation of seven images from four member galaxies. These galaxies are strongly lensed by the MS 0451.6-0305 foreground cluster at $z = 0.55$, allowing us to probe the molecular gas content on levels of $rm 10^9-10^{10} ; M_odot$. Four detected galaxies have molecular gas masses of $rm (0.2-13.1) times 10^{10} ; M_odot$, and the non-detected galaxies have inferred molecular gas masses of $rm < 8.0 times 10^{10} ; M_odot$. We compare these new data to a compilation of 546 galaxies up to $z = 5.3$, and find that depletion times decrease with increasing redshift. We then compare the depletion times of galaxies in overdense environments to the field scaling relation from the literature, and find that the depletion time evolution is steeper for galaxies in overdense environments than for those in the field. More molecular gas measurements of normal galaxies in overdense environments at higher redshifts ($z > 2.5$) are needed to verify the environmental dependence of star formation and gas depletion.
Spiral galaxies dominate the local galaxy population. Disks are known to be fragile with respect to collisions. Thus it is worthwhile to probe under which conditions a disk can possibly survive such interactions. We present a detailed morpho-kinematics study of a massive galaxy with two nuclei, J033210.76--274234.6, at z=0.4. The morphological analysis reveals that the object consists of two bulges and a massive disk, as well as a faint blue ring. Combining the kinematics with morphology we propose a near-center collision model to interpret the object. We find that the massive disk is likely to have survived the collision of galaxies with an initial mass ratio of ~4:1. The N-body/SPH simulations show that the collision possibly is a single-shot polar collision with a very small pericentric distance of ~1 kpc and that the remnant of the main galaxy will be dominated by a disk. The results support the disk survival hypothesis. The survival of the disk is related to the polar collision with an extremely small pericentric distance. With the help of N-body/SPH simulations we find the probability of disk survival is quite large regardless whether the two galaxies merge or not.
We report on the detection of two O VI absorbers separated in velocity by 710 km/s at z ~ 0.4 towards the background quasar SBS0957+599. Both absorbers are multiphase systems tracing substantial reservoirs of warm baryons. The low and intermediate ionization metals in the first absorber is consistent with an origin in photoionized gas. The O VI has a velocity structure different from other metal species. The Ly-alpha shows the presence of a broad feature. The line widths for O VI and the broad Ly-alpha suggest T = 7.1 x 10^5 K. This warm medium is probing a baryonic column which is an order of magnitude more than the total hydrogen in the cooler photoionized gas. The second absorber is detected only in H I and O VI. Here the temperature of 4.6 x 10^4 K supports O VI originating in a low-density photoionized gas. A broad component is seen in the Ly-alpha, offset from the O VI. The temperature in the broad Ly-alpha is T < 2.1 x 10^5 K. The absorbers reside in a galaxy overdensity region with 7 spectroscopically identified galaxies within ~ 10 Mpc and delta_v ~ 1000 km/s of the first absorber, and 2 galaxies inside a similar separation from the second absorber. The distribution of galaxies relative to the absorbers suggest that the line of sight could be intercepting a large-scale filament connecting galaxy groups, or the extended halo of a sub-L* galaxy. Though kinematically proximate, the two absorbers reaffirm the diversity in the physical conditions of low redshift O VI systems and the galactic environments they inhabit.
Lyman- and Werner-band absorption of molecular hydrogen (H$_2$) is detected in $sim$50% of low redshift ($z<1$) DLAs/sub-DLAs with $N$(H$_2$) > 10$^{14.4}$ cm$^{-2}$. However the true origin(s) of the H$_2$ bearing gas remain elusive. Here we report a new detection of an H$_{2}$ absorber at $z=$ 0.4298 in the HST/COS spectra of quasar PKS 2128-123. The total $N$(HI) of 10$^{19.50pm0.15}$ cm$^{-2}$ classifies the absorber as a sub-DLA. H$_{2}$ absorption is detected up to the $J=3$ rotational level with a total $log N$(H$_{2}$) = 16.36$pm$0.08 corresponding to a molecular fraction of log $f$(H$_{2}$) = $-$2.84$pm$0.17. The excitation temperature of $T_{ex}$ = 206$pm$6K indicates the presence of cold gas. Using detailed ionization modelling we obtain a near-solar metallicity (i.e., [O/H]= $-$0.26$pm$0.19) and a dust-to-gas ratio of $log kappa sim -0.45$ for the H$_{2}$ absorbing gas. The host-galaxy of the sub-DLA is detected at an impact parameter of $rho sim$ 48 kpc with an inclination angle of $i sim$ 48 degree and an azimuthal angle of $Phi sim$ 15 degree with respect to the QSO sightline. We show that co-rotating gas in an extended disk cannot explain the observed kinematics of Mg II absorption. Moreover, the inferred high metallicity is not consistent with the scenario of gas accretion. An outflow from the central region of the host-galaxy, on the other hand, would require a large opening angle (i.e., 2$theta>$150 degree), much larger than the observed outflow opening angles in Seyfert galaxies, in order to intercept the QSO sightline. We thus favor a scenario in which the H$_2$ bearing gas is stemming from a dwarf-satellite galaxy, presumably via tidal and/or ram-pressure stripping. Detection of a dwarf galaxy candidate in the HST/WFPC2 image at an impact parameter of $sim$12 kpc reinforces such an idea.