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Register a new userExtended Ly$alpha$ emission around quasars with eclipsing damped Ly$alpha$ systems
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Added by
Hassan Fathivavsari
Publication date
2016
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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We present spectroscopic observations of six high redshift ($z_{rm em}$ $>$ 2) quasars, which have been selected for their Lyman $alpha$ (Ly$alpha$) emission region being only partially covered by a strong proximate ($z_{rm abs}$ $sim$ $z_{rm em}$) coronagraphic damped Ly$alpha$ system (DLA). We detected spatially extended Ly$alpha$ emission envelopes surrounding these six quasars, with projected spatial extent in the range 26 $le$ $d_{rm Lyalpha}$ $le$ 51 kpc. No correlation is found between the quasar ionizing luminosity and the Ly$alpha$ luminosity of their extended envelopes. This could be related to the limited covering factor of the extended gas and/or due to the AGN being obscured in other directions than towards the observer. Indeed, we find a strong correlation between the luminosity of the envelope and its spatial extent, which suggests that the envelopes are probably ionized by the AGN. The metallicity of the coronagraphic DLAs is low and varies in the range $-$1.75 $<$ [Si/H] $<$ $-$0.63. Highly ionized gas is observed to be associated with most of these DLAs, probably indicating ionization by the central AGN. One of these DLAs has the highest AlIII/SiII ratio ever reported for any intervening and/or proximate DLA. Most of these DLAs are redshifted with respect to the quasar, implying that they might represent infalling gas probably accreted onto the quasar host galaxies through filaments.
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We study the average Ly$alpha$ emission associated with high-$z$ strong (log $N$(H I) $ge$ 21) damped Ly$alpha$ systems (DLAs). We report Ly$alpha$ luminosities ($L_{rm Lyalpha}$) for the full as well as various sub-samples based on $N$(H I), $z$, $(r-i)$ colours of QSOs and rest equivalent width of Si II$lambda$1526 line (i.e., $W_{1526}$). For the full sample, we find $L_{rm Lyalpha}$$< 10^{41} (3sigma) rm erg s^{-1}$ with a $2.8sigma$ level detection of Ly$alpha$ emission in the red part of the DLA trough. The $L_{rm Lyalpha}$ is found to be higher for systems with higher $W_{1526}$ with its peak, detected at $geq 3sigma$, redshifted by about 300-400 $rm km s^{-1}$ with respect to the systemic absorption redshift, as seen in Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) and Ly$alpha$ emitters. A clear signature of a double-hump Ly$alpha$ profile is seen when we consider $W_{1526} ge 0.4$ AA and $(r-i) < 0.05$. Based on the known correlation between metallicity and $W_{1526}$, we interpret our results in terms of star formation rate (SFR) being higher in high metallicity (mass) galaxies with high velocity fields that facilitates easy Ly$alpha$ escape. The measured Ly$alpha$ surface brightness requires local ionizing radiation that is 4 to 10 times stronger than the metagalactic UV background at these redshifts. The relationship between the SFR and surface mass density of atomic gas seen in DLAs is similar to that of local dwarf and metal poor galaxies. We show that the low luminosity galaxies will contribute appreciably to the stacked spectrum if the size-luminosity relation seen for H I at low-$z$ is also present at high-$z$. Alternatively, large Ly$alpha$ halos seen around LBGs could also explain our measurements.
We present deep MUSE observations of five quasars within the first Gyr of the Universe ($zgtrsim6$), four of which display extended Ly$alpha$ halos. After PSF-subtraction, we reveal halos surrounding two quasars for the first time, as well as confirming the presence of two more halos for which tentative detections exist in long-slit spectroscopic observations and narrow-band imaging. The four Ly$alpha$ halos presented here are diverse in morphology and size, they each display spatial asymmetry, and none are centred on the position of the quasar. Spectra of the diffuse halos demonstrate that none are dramatically offset in velocity from the systemic redshift of the quasars ($Delta$ v $< 200$ kms$^{-1}$), however each halo shows a broad Ly$alpha$ line, with a velocity width of order $sim1000$ kms$^{-1}$. Total Ly$alpha$ luminosities range between $sim$ $2 times 10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and $sim$ $2 times 10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$, reaching maximum radial extents of $13 - 30$ pkpc from the quasar positions. We find larger sizes and higher Ly$alpha$ luminosities than previous literature results at this redshift, but find no correlation between the quasar properties and the Ly$alpha$ halo, suggesting that the detected emission is most closely related to the physical properties of the circum-galactic medium
We present the results of our automatic search for proximate damped Ly$alpha$ absorption (PDLA) systems in the quasar spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12. We constrain our search to those PDLAs lying within 1500 km s$^{-1}$ from the quasar to make sure that the broad DLA absorption trough masks most of the strong Ly$alpha$ emission from the broad line region (BLR) of the quasar. When the Ly$alpha$ emission from the BLR is blocked by these so-called eclipsing DLAs, narrow Ly$alpha$ emission from the host galaxy could be revealed as a narrow emission line (NEL) in the DLA trough. We define a statistical sample of 399 eclipsing DLAs with log$N$(HI)$ge$21.10. We divide our statistical sample into three subsamples based on the strength of the NEL detected in the DLA trough. By studying the stacked spectra of these subsamples, we found that absorption from high ionization species are stronger in DLAs with stronger NEL in their absorption core. Moreover, absorption from the excited states of species like SiII are also stronger in DLAs with stronger NEL. We also found no correlation between the luminosity of the Ly$alpha$ NEL and the quasar luminosity. These observations are consistent with a scenario in which the DLAs with stronger NEL are denser and physically closer to the quasar. We propose that these eclipsing DLAs could be the product of the interaction between infalling and outflowing gas. High resolution spectroscopic observation would be needed to shed some light on the nature of these eclipsing DLAs.
Nitrogen is thought to have both primary and secondary origins depending on whether the seed carbon and oxygen are produced by the star itself (primary) or already present in the interstellar medium (secondary) from which star forms. DLA and sub-DLA systems with typical metallicities of -3.0<Z/Z_sun<-0.5 are excellent tools to study nitrogen production. We made a search for nitrogen in the ESO-UVES advanced data products (EUADP) database. In the EUADP database, we find 10 new measurements and 9 upper limits of nitrogen. We further compiled DLA/sub-DLA data from the literature with estimates available of nitrogen and alpha-elements. This yields a total of 98 systems, i.e. the largest nitrogen abundance sample investigated so far. In agreement with previous studies, we indeed find a bimodal [N/alpha] behaviour: three-quarter systems show a mean value of [N/alpha]=-0.87 with a scatter of 0.21 dex and one-quarter shows ratios clustered at [N/alpha]=-1.43 with a lower dispersion of 0.13 dex. The high [N/alpha] group is consistent with the blue compact dwarves and dwarf irregular galaxies, suggesting primary nitrogen production. The low [N/alpha] group is the lowest ever observed in any astrophysical site and probably provides an evidence of the primary production by fast rotating massive stars in young sites. Moreover, we find a transition between the two [N/alpha] groups around [N/H]=-2.5. The transition is not abrupt and there are a few systems lying in the transition region. Additional observations of DLAs/sub-DLAs below [N/H]<-2.5 would provide more clues.
The discovery of quasars few hundred megayears after the Big Bang represents a major challenge to our understanding of black holes and galaxy formation and evolution. Their luminosity is produced by extreme gas accretion onto black holes, which already reached masses of 10$^9$ M$_odot$ by z ~ 6. Simultaneously, their host galaxies form hundreds of stars per year, using up gas in the process. To understand which environments are able to sustain the rapid formation of these extreme sources we started a VLT/MUSE effort aimed at characterizing the surroundings of a sample of 5.7 < z < 6.6 quasars dubbed: the Reionization Epoch QUasar InvEstigation with MUSE (REQUIEM) survey. We here present results of our searches for extended Ly-Alpha halos around the first 31 targets observed as part of this program. Reaching 5-sigma surface brightness limits of 0.1-1.1 x 10$^{-17}$ erg/s/cm$^2$/arcsec$^2$ over a 1 arcsec$^2$ aperture, we were able to unveil the presence of 12 Ly-Alpha nebulae, 8 of which are newly discovered. The detected nebulae show a variety of emission properties and morphologies with luminosities ranging from 8 x 10$^{42}$ to 2 x 10$^{44}$ erg/s, FWHMs between 300 and 1700 km/s, sizes < 30 pkpc, and redshifts consistent with those of the quasar host galaxies. As the first statistical and homogeneous investigation of the circum-galactic medium of massive galaxies at the end of the reionization epoch, the REQUIEM survey enables the study of the evolution of the cool gas surrounding quasars in the first 3 Gyr of the Universe. A comparison with the extended Ly-Alpha emission observed around bright (M$_{1450}$ < -25 mag) quasars at intermediate redshift indicates little variations on the properties of the cool gas from z ~ 6 to z ~ 3 followed by a decline in the average surface brightness down to z ~ 2.
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