- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/833/270
- Title:
- HI-selected-Lyman limit system metallicities
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/833/270
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We measured metallicities for 33 z=3.4-4.2 absorption line systems drawn from a sample of HI-selected-Lyman limit systems (LLSs) identified in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasar spectra and stratified based on metal line features. We obtained higher-resolution spectra with the Keck Echellette Spectrograph and Imager, selecting targets according to our stratification scheme in an effort to fully sample the LLS population metallicity distribution. We established a plausible range of HI column densities and measured column densities (or limits) for ions of carbon, silicon, and aluminum, finding ionization-corrected metallicities or upper limits. Interestingly, our ionization models were better constrained with enhanced {alpha}-to-aluminum abundances, with a median abundance ratio of [{alpha}/Al]=0.3. Measured metallicities were generally low, ranging from [M/H]=-3 to -1.68, with even lower metallicities likely for some systems with upper limits. Using survival statistics to incorporate limits, we constructed the cumulative distribution function (CDF) for LLS metallicities. Recent models of galaxy evolution propose that galaxies replenish their gas from the low-metallicity intergalactic medium (IGM) via high-density HI "flows" and eject enriched interstellar gas via outflows. Thus, there has been some expectation that LLSs at the peak of cosmic star formation (z~3) might have a bimodal metallicity distribution. We modeled our CDF as a mix of two Gaussian distributions, one reflecting the metallicity of the IGM and the other representative of the interstellar medium of star-forming galaxies. This bimodal distribution yielded a poor fit. A single Gaussian distribution better represented the sample with a low mean metallicity of [M/H]~-2.5.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/833/283
- Title:
- HI-selected Lyman limit systems metallicities
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/833/283
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the first results from our KODIAQ Z survey aimed at determining the metallicity distribution and physical properties of the z>~2 partial and full Lyman limit systems (pLLSs and LLSs; 16.2<=logN_HI_<19), which are probed of the interface regions between the intergalactic medium (IGM) and galaxies. We study 31 HI-selected pLLSs and LLSs at 2.3<z<3.3 observed with Keck/HIRES in absorption against background QSOs. We compare the column densities of metal ions to HI and use photoionization models to assess the metallicity. The metallicity distribution of the pLLSs/LLSs at 2.3<z<3.3 is consistent with a unimodal distribution peaking at [X/H]~-2. The metallicity distribution of these absorbers therefore evolves markedly with z since at z<~1 it is bimodal with peaks at [X/H]~-1.8 and -0.3. There is a substantial fraction (25%-41%) of pLLSs/LLSs with metallicities well below those of damped Ly{alpha} absorbers (DLAs) at any studied z from z<~1 to z~2-4, implying reservoirs of metal-poor, cool, dense gas in the IGM/galaxy interface at all z. However, the gas probed by pLLSs and LLSs is rarely pristine, with a fraction of 3%-18% for pLLSs/LLSs with [X/H]<=-3. We find C/{alpha} enhancement in several pLLSs and LLSs in the metallicity range -2<~[X/H]<~-0.5, where C/{alpha} is 2-5 times larger than observed in Galactic metal-poor stars or high-redshift DLAs at similar metallicities. This is likely caused by preferential ejection of carbon from metal-poor galaxies into their surroundings.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/139/2425
- Title:
- Historic light curves of 3 known blazars
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/139/2425
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the historic photographic light curves of three little known blazars (two BL Lac objects and one FSRQ), GB6 J1058+5628, GB6 J1148+5254, and GB6 J1209+4119, spanning a time interval of about 50 years, mostly built using the Asiago plate archive. All objects show evident long-term variability, over which short-term variations are superposed. One source, GB6 J1058+5628, showed a marked quasi-periodic variability of 1mag on timescale of about 6.3 years, making it one of the few BL Lac objects with a quasi-periodic behavior.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/126/63
- Title:
- Host galaxies of 2MASS-QSOs with z<=3
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/126/63
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present and discuss optical imaging of 76 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that represent the selected Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) sample for z<0.3, from a full list of 243. They are found to have dust-obscured nuclei, residing in host galaxies that show a high fraction (greater than 70%) of tidal interactions. The derived luminosities of the AGNs and host galaxies are similar to traditionally selected AGNs, and they may comprise some 40% of the total AGN population at low redshift. We have measured a number of host galaxy properties and discuss their distributions and interrelations. We compare the 2MASS AGNs with optically selected samples and the IRAS-selected galaxy samples and discuss the differences in terms of merger processes and initial conditions.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/804/79
- Title:
- HST/COS observations of QSOs within 600kpc of M31
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/804/79
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We demonstrate the presence of an extended and massive circumgalactic medium (CGM) around Messier 31 using archival HST Cosmic Origins Spectrograph ultraviolet spectroscopy of 18 QSOs projected within two virial radii of M31 (R_vir_=300kpc). We detect absorption from SiIII at -300<~V_LSR_<~-150km/s toward all three sightlines at R<~0.2R_vir_, 3 of 4 sightlines at 0.8<~R/R_vir_<~1.1, and possibly 1 of 11 at 1.1<R/R_vir_<~1.8. We present several arguments that the gas at these velocities observed in these directions originates from the M31 CGM rather than the Local Group or Milky Way CGM or Magellanic Stream. We show that the dwarf galaxies located in the CGM of M31 have very similar velocities over similar projected distances from M31. We find a non-trivial relationship only at these velocities between the column densities (N) of all the ions and R, whereby N decreases with increasing R. At R<0.8R_vir_, the covering fraction is close to unity for Si III and C IV (f_c_~60%-97% at the 90% confidence level), but drops to f_c_<~10%-20% at R>~R_vir_. We show that the M31 CGM gas is bound, multiphase, predominantly ionized, and is more highly ionized gas at larger R. We estimate using Si II, Si III, and Si IV, a CGM metal mass of >~2x10^6^M_{sun}_ and gas mass of >~3x10^9^(Z_{sun}_/Z)M_{sun}_ within 0.2R_vir_, and possibly a factor of ~10 larger within R_vir_, implying substantial metal and gas masses in the CGM of M31.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/249/15
- Title:
- HST/COS obs. of QSO outflows in 500-1050{AA}. VII.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/249/15
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- From Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph spectra of five quasars, 16 outflows are detected. For 11 outflows, we are able to constrain their distances to the central source (R) and their energetics. In instances of multiple electron number density determinations (used in the calculation of R) for the same outflow, the values are consistent within errors. For the 11 outflows, eight have measurements for R (between 10 and 1000pc), one has a lower limit, another has an upper limit, and the last has a range in R. There are two outflows that have enough kinetic luminosity to be major contributors to active galactic nucleus feedback. The outflowing mass is found primarily in a very high-ionization phase, which is probed using troughs from, e.g., Ne VIII, Na IX, Mg X, and Si XII. Such ions connect the physical conditions of these ultraviolet outflows to the X-ray warm absorber outflows seen in nearby Seyfert galaxies. The ion Cl VII and several new transitions from Ne V have been detected for the first time.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/871/35
- Title:
- HST/COS spectra of QSOs with SiIV data
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/871/35
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Every quasar (quasi-stellar object; QSO) spectrum contains absorption-line signatures from the interstellar medium, disk-halo interface, and circumgalactic medium (CGM) of the Milky Way (MW). We analyze Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) spectra of 132 QSOs to study the significance and origin of SiIV absorption at |v_LSR_|<=100km/s in the Galactic halo. The gas in the north predominantly falls in at -50<~v_LSR_<~0km/s, whereas in the south, no such pattern is observed. The SiIV column density has an average and a standard deviation of <N_SiIV_>=(3.8+/-1.4)x10^13^cm^-2^. At |b|>~30{deg}, N_SiIV_ does not significantly correlate with b, which cannot be explained by a commonly adopted flat-slab geometry. We propose a two-component model to reconstruct the N_SiIV_-b distribution: a plane-parallel component N_DH_^{perp}^ to account for the MW's disk-halo interface and a global component N_G_ to reproduce the weak dependence on b. We find N_DH_^{perp}^=1.3_-0.7_^+4.7^x10^12^cm^-2^ and N_G_=3.4+/-0.3)x10^13^cm^-2^ on the basis of Bayesian analyses and block bootstrapping. The global component is most likely to have a Galactic origin, although its exact location is uncertain. If it were associated with the MW's CGM, we would find M_gas,all_>~ 4.7x10^9^M_{sun}_(C_f_/1)(R/75kpc)^2^(f_SiIV_/0.3)^-1^(Z/0.3Z_{sun}_)^-1^ for the cool gas at all velocities in the Galactic halo. Our analyses show that there is likely a considerable amount of gas at |v_LSR_|<=100km/s hidden in the MW's CGM.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/230/6
- Title:
- HST -COS & -STIS absorption-line spectroscopy. II.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/230/6
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present basic data and modeling for a survey of the cool, photoionized circumgalactic medium (CGM) of low-redshift galaxies using far-UV QSO absorption-line probes. This survey consists of "targeted" and "serendipitous" CGM subsamples, originally described in Stocke+ (Paper I, 2013ApJ...763..148S). The targeted subsample probes low-luminosity, late-type galaxies at z<0.02 with small impact parameters (<{rho}>=71kpc), and the serendipitous subsample probes higher luminosity galaxies at z<~0.2 with larger impact parameters (<{rho}>=222kpc). Hubble Space Telescope and FUSE UV spectroscopy of the absorbers and basic data for the associated galaxies, derived from ground-based imaging and spectroscopy, are presented. We find broad agreement with the COS-Halos results, but our sample shows no evidence for changing ionization parameter or hydrogen density with distance from the CGM host galaxy, probably because the COS-Halos survey probes the CGM at smaller impact parameters. We find at least two passive galaxies with HI and metal-line absorption, confirming the intriguing COS-Halos result that galaxies sometimes have cool gas halos despite no on-going star formation. Using a new methodology for fitting HI absorption complexes, we confirm the CGM cool gas mass of Paper I, but this value is significantly smaller than that found by the COS-Halos survey. We trace much of this difference to the specific values of the low-z metagalactic ionization rate assumed. After accounting for this difference, a best-value for the CGM cool gas mass is found by combining the results of both surveys to obtain log(M/M_{sun}_)=10.5+/-0.3, or ~30% of the total baryon reservoir of an L>=L^*^, star-forming galaxy.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/140/143
- Title:
- HST FOS spectral atlas
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/140/143
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We analyzed the absorption line spectra of all quasars observed with the high-resolution gratings of the Faint Object Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We examined 788 spectra for 334 quasars and present line lists and identifications of absorption lines in the spectra of 271 of them. Analysis of the statistics of the Ly{alpha} and metal absorption systems are presented in companion papers. The data and several analysis products are available on the authors' Web site, http://lithops.as.arizona.edu/~jill/QuasarSpectra .
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/818/113
- Title:
- HST observations of QSOs with medium spectra
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/818/113
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We use the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archive of ultraviolet (UV) quasar spectroscopy to conduct the first blind survey for damped Ly{alpha} absorbers (DLAs) at low redshift (z<1.6). Our statistical sample includes 463 quasars with spectral coverage spanning a total redshift path {Delta}z=123.3 or an absorption path {Delta}X=229.7. Within this survey path, we identify 4 DLAs defined as absorbers with HI column density N_HI_>=10^20.3^/cm2, which implies an incidence per absorption length lDLA(X)=0.017_-0.008_^+0.014^ at a median survey path redshift of z=0.623. While our estimate of l_DLA_(X) is lower than earlier estimates at z~0 from HI 21cm emission studies, the results are consistent within the measurement uncertainties. Our data set is too small to properly sample the N_HI_ frequency distribution function f(N_HI_,X), but the observed distribution agrees with previous estimates at z>2. Adopting the z>2 shape of f(N_HI_, X), we infer an HI mass density at z~0.6 of {rho}_HI_^DLA^=0.25_-0.12_^+0.20^. This is significantly lower than previous estimates from targeted DLA surveys with the HST, but consistent with results from low-z HI 21cm observations, and suggests that the neutral gas density of the universe has been decreasing over the past 10Gyr.
