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Register a new userThe Evolution and Space Density of Damped Lyman-alpha Galaxies
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Authors
Celine Peroux
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The results of a new spectroscopic survey of 66 $z simgt 4$ quasars for Damped Lyman-alpha absorption systems are presented. The search led to the discovery of 30 new DLA candidates which are analysed in order to compute the comoving mass density of neutral gas in a non-zero lambda Universe. The possible sources of uncertainty are discussed and the implications of our results for the theories of galaxy formation and evolution are emphasized. A subsequent paper will present details of the calculations summarised here and a more extensive explanation of the consequences of our observations for the understanding of the nature of DLAs.
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We have collected data for 69 Damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) systems, to investigate the chemical evolution of galaxies in the redshift interval 0.0 < z < 4.4. In doing that, we have adopted the most general approach used so far to correct for dust depletion. The best solution, obtained through chi^2 minimization, gives as output parameters the global DLA metallicity and the dust-to-metals ratio. Clear evolution of the metallicity vs. redshift is found (99.99% significance level), with average values going from ~1/30 solar at z~4.1 to ~3/5 solar at z~0.5. We also find that the majority of DLAs (~60%) shows dust depletion patterns which most closely resemble that of the warm halo clouds in the Milky Way, and have dust-to-metals ratios very close to warm halo clouds.
Based on the disk galaxy formation theory within the framework of standard LCDM hierarchical picture, we selected modelled DLAs, according to their observational criterion, by Monte Carlo simulation with the random inclinations being considered, to examine their observed properties. By best-fitting the predicted metallicity distribution to the observed ones, we get the effective yield for DLAs about 0.25Z_sun, which is comparable to those for SMC and LMC. And the predicted distribution is the same as that of observation at the significant level higher than 60%. The predicted column density distribution of modelled DLAs is compared with the observed ones with the corresponding number density, gas content being discussed. We found that the predicted number density n(z) at redshift 3 agree well with the observed value, but the gas content Omega_DLA is about 3 times larger than observed since our model predicts more DLA systems with higher column density. It should be noted that the predicted star formation rate density contributed by DLAs is consistent with the most recent observations if the star formation timescale in DLAs is assumed to be 1 to 3 Gyr. Meanwhile, the connection between DLAs and LBGs is discussed by comparing their UV luminosity functions which shows that the DLAs host galaxies are much fainter than LBGs. We also predict that only few percent of DLAs can host LBGs which is also consistent with current observations. However, there is a discrepancy between model prediction and observation in the correlation between metallicity and HI column density for DLAs. We suggest that this could result from either the inadequacy of Schmidt-type star formation law at high redshift, the diversities of DLA populations, or the model limitations.
We present a sample of 33 damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) whose absorption redshifts (z_abs) are within 6000 km/s of the QSOs systemic redshift (z_sys). Our sample is based on 731 2.5 < z_sys < 4.5 non-broad-absorption-line (non-BAL) QSOs from Data Release 3 (DR3) of the SDSS. We estimate that our search is ~100 % complete for absorbers with N(HI) >= 2e20 cm^-2. The derived number density of DLAs per unit redshift, n(z), within v < 6000 km/s is higher (3.5 sigma significance) by almost a factor of 2 than that of intervening absorbers observed in the SDSS DR3, i.e. there is evidence for an overdensity of galaxies near the QSOs. This provides a physical motivation for excluding DLAs at small velocity separations in surveys of intervening field DLAs. In addition, we find that the overdensity of proximate DLAs is independent of the radio-loudness of the QSO, consistent with the environments of radio-loud and radio-quiet QSOs being similar.
We consider the questions of whether the damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) and sub-DLA absorbers in quasar spectra differ intrinsically in metallicity, and whether they could arise in galaxies of different masses. Using the recent measurements of the robust metallicity indicators Zn and S in DLAs and sub-DLAs, we confirm that sub-DLAs have higher mean metallicities than DLAs, especially at $z lesssim 2$. We find that the intercept of the metallicity-redshift relation derived from Zn and S is higher than that derived from Fe by 0.5-0.6 dex. We also show that, while there is a correlation between the metallicity and the rest equivalent width of Mg II $lambda 2796$ or Fe II $lambda 2599$ for DLAs, no correlation is seen for sub-DLAs. Given this, and the similar Mg II or Fe II selection criteria employed in the discovery of both types of systems at lower redshifts, the difference between metallicities of DLAs and sub-DLAs appears to be real and not an artefact of selection. This conclusion is supported by our simulations of Mg II $lambda 2796$ and Fe II $lambda 2599$ lines for a wide range of physical conditions. On examining the velocity spreads of the absorbers, we find that sub-DLAs show somewhat higher mean and median velocity spreads ($Delta v$), and an excess of systems with $Delta v > 150$ km s$^{-1}$, than DLAs. Compared to DLAs, the [Mn/Fe] vs. [Zn/H] trend for sub-DLAs appears to be steeper and closer to the trend for Galactic bulge and thick disk stars, possibly suggesting different stellar populations. The absorber data appear to be consistent with galaxy down-sizing. The data are also consistent with the relative number densities of low-mass and high-mass galaxies. It is thus plausible that sub-DLAs arise in more massive galaxies on average than DLAs.
Gas flows in and out of galaxies through their circumgalactic medium (CGM) are poorly constrained and direct observations of this faint, diffuse medium remain challenging. We use a sample of five $z$ $sim$ 1-2 galaxy counterparts to Damped Lyman-$alpha$ Absorbers (DLAs) to combine data on cold gas, metals and stellar content of the same galaxies. We present new HST/WFC3 imaging of these fields in 3-5 broadband filters and characterise the stellar properties of the host galaxies. By fitting the spectral energy distribution, we measure their stellar masses to be in the range of log($M_*$/$text{M}_{odot}$) $sim$ 9.1$-$10.7. Combining these with IFU observations, we find a large spread of baryon fractions inside the host galaxies, between 7 and 100 percent. Similarly, we find gas fractions between 3 and 56 percent. Given their star formation rates, these objects lie on the expected main sequence of galaxies. Emission line metallicities indicate they are consistent with the mass-metallicity relation for DLAs. We also report an apparent anti-correlation between the stellar masses and $N$(HI), which could be due to a dust bias effect or lower column density systems tracing more massive galaxies. We present new ALMA observations of one of the targets leading to a molecular gas mass of log($M_{rm mol}$/$text{M}_{odot}$) < 9.89. We also investigate the morphology of the DLA counterparts and find that most of the galaxies show a clumpy structure and suggest ongoing tidal interaction. Thanks to our high spatial resolution HST data, we gain new insights in the structural complexity of the CGM.
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