The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1
The bimodal absorption system imaging campaign (BASIC) aims to characterize the galaxy environments of a sample of 36 H i -selected partial Lyman limit systems (pLLSs) and Lyman limit systems (LLSs) in 23 QSO fields at z ≲ 1. These pLLSs/LLSs provide a unique sample of absorbers with unbiased and we...
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| Format: | Article |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb047 |
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| author | Michelle A. Berg Nicolas Lehner J. Christopher Howk John M. O’Meara Joop Schaye Lorrie A. Straka Kathy L. Cooksey Todd M. Tripp J. Xavier Prochaska Benjamin D. Oppenheimer Sean D. Johnson Sowgat Muzahid Rongmon Bordoloi Jessica K. Werk Andrew J. Fox Neal Katz Martin Wendt Molly S. Peeples Joseph Ribaudo Jason Tumlinson |
| author_facet | Michelle A. Berg Nicolas Lehner J. Christopher Howk John M. O’Meara Joop Schaye Lorrie A. Straka Kathy L. Cooksey Todd M. Tripp J. Xavier Prochaska Benjamin D. Oppenheimer Sean D. Johnson Sowgat Muzahid Rongmon Bordoloi Jessica K. Werk Andrew J. Fox Neal Katz Martin Wendt Molly S. Peeples Joseph Ribaudo Jason Tumlinson |
| author_sort | Michelle A. Berg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The bimodal absorption system imaging campaign (BASIC) aims to characterize the galaxy environments of a sample of 36 H i -selected partial Lyman limit systems (pLLSs) and Lyman limit systems (LLSs) in 23 QSO fields at z ≲ 1. These pLLSs/LLSs provide a unique sample of absorbers with unbiased and well-constrained metallicities, allowing us to explore the origins of metal-rich and low-metallicity circumgalactic medium (CGM) at z < 1. Here we present Keck/KCWI and Very Large Telescope/MUSE observations of 11 of these QSO fields (19 pLLSs) that we combine with Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging to identify and characterize the absorber-associated galaxies at 0.16 ≲ z ≲ 0.84. We find 23 unique absorber-associated galaxies, with an average of one associated galaxy per absorber. For seven absorbers, all with <10% solar metallicities, we find no associated galaxies with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{\star }\gtrsim 9.0$ within ρ / R _vir and ∣Δ v ∣/ v _esc ≤ 1.5 with respect to the absorber. We do not find any strong correlations between the metallicities or H i column densities of the gas and most of the galaxy properties, except for the stellar mass of the galaxies: the low-metallicity ([X/H] ≤ −1.4) systems have a probability of ${0.39}_{-0.15}^{+0.16}$ for having a host galaxy with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{\star }\geqslant 9.0$ within ρ / R _vir ≤ 1.5, while the higher metallicity absorbers have a probability of ${0.78}_{-0.13}^{+0.10}$ . This implies metal-enriched pLLSs/LLSs at z < 1 are typically associated with the CGM of galaxies with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{\star }\gt 9.0$ , whereas low-metallicity pLLSs/LLSs are found in more diverse locations, with one population arising in the CGM of galaxies and another more broadly distributed in overdense regions of the universe. Using absorbers not associated with galaxies, we estimate the unweighted geometric mean metallicity of the intergalactic medium to be [X/H] ≲ −2.1 at z < 1, which is lower than previously estimated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:16:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-295ba686bbc144d98994d5c3725e6bff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:16:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-295ba686bbc144d98994d5c3725e6bff2023-09-03T14:08:30ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-01944110110.3847/1538-4357/acb047The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1Michelle A. Berg0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8518-6638Nicolas Lehner1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9158-0829J. Christopher Howk2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2591-3792John M. O’Meara3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7893-1054Joop Schaye4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0668-5560Lorrie A. Straka5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5892-6760Kathy L. Cooksey6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5810-5225Todd M. Tripp7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1218-640XJ. Xavier Prochaska8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7738-6875Benjamin D. Oppenheimer9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3391-2116Sean D. Johnson10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9487-8583Sowgat Muzahid11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3938-8762Rongmon Bordoloi12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3120-7173Jessica K. Werk13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0355-0134Andrew J. Fox14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0724-4115Neal Katz15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3097-5381Martin Wendt16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5020-9994Molly S. Peeples17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1455-8788Joseph Ribaudo18https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3381-9795Jason Tumlinson19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7982-412XDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA ; michelle.berg@austin.utexas.edu; Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA ; michelle.berg@austin.utexas.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA ; michelle.berg@austin.utexas.eduW.M. Keck Observatory 65-1120 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, HI 96743, USALeiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA, Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo , Hilo, HI 96720, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003-9305, USADepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WIP) , 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, 277-8583, JapanCASA, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado , 389 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAIUCAA , Post Bag 04, Ganeshkhind, Pune-411007, India; Leibniz-Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) , An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, GermanyDepartment of Physics, North Carolina State University , 2401 Stinson Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Washington , Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195, USAAURA for ESA, Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003-9305, USALeibniz-Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) , An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, Germany; Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam , Karl-Liebknecht-Str 24/25, D-14476 Golm, GermanySpace Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USADepartment of Engineering and Physics, Providence College , Providence, RI 02918, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USAThe bimodal absorption system imaging campaign (BASIC) aims to characterize the galaxy environments of a sample of 36 H i -selected partial Lyman limit systems (pLLSs) and Lyman limit systems (LLSs) in 23 QSO fields at z ≲ 1. These pLLSs/LLSs provide a unique sample of absorbers with unbiased and well-constrained metallicities, allowing us to explore the origins of metal-rich and low-metallicity circumgalactic medium (CGM) at z < 1. Here we present Keck/KCWI and Very Large Telescope/MUSE observations of 11 of these QSO fields (19 pLLSs) that we combine with Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging to identify and characterize the absorber-associated galaxies at 0.16 ≲ z ≲ 0.84. We find 23 unique absorber-associated galaxies, with an average of one associated galaxy per absorber. For seven absorbers, all with <10% solar metallicities, we find no associated galaxies with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{\star }\gtrsim 9.0$ within ρ / R _vir and ∣Δ v ∣/ v _esc ≤ 1.5 with respect to the absorber. We do not find any strong correlations between the metallicities or H i column densities of the gas and most of the galaxy properties, except for the stellar mass of the galaxies: the low-metallicity ([X/H] ≤ −1.4) systems have a probability of ${0.39}_{-0.15}^{+0.16}$ for having a host galaxy with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{\star }\geqslant 9.0$ within ρ / R _vir ≤ 1.5, while the higher metallicity absorbers have a probability of ${0.78}_{-0.13}^{+0.10}$ . This implies metal-enriched pLLSs/LLSs at z < 1 are typically associated with the CGM of galaxies with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{\star }\gt 9.0$ , whereas low-metallicity pLLSs/LLSs are found in more diverse locations, with one population arising in the CGM of galaxies and another more broadly distributed in overdense regions of the universe. Using absorbers not associated with galaxies, we estimate the unweighted geometric mean metallicity of the intergalactic medium to be [X/H] ≲ −2.1 at z < 1, which is lower than previously estimated.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb047Circumgalactic mediumGalaxy spectroscopyIntergalactic mediumLyman limit systemsMetallicityQuasar absorption line spectroscopy |
| spellingShingle | Michelle A. Berg Nicolas Lehner J. Christopher Howk John M. O’Meara Joop Schaye Lorrie A. Straka Kathy L. Cooksey Todd M. Tripp J. Xavier Prochaska Benjamin D. Oppenheimer Sean D. Johnson Sowgat Muzahid Rongmon Bordoloi Jessica K. Werk Andrew J. Fox Neal Katz Martin Wendt Molly S. Peeples Joseph Ribaudo Jason Tumlinson The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1 The Astrophysical Journal Circumgalactic medium Galaxy spectroscopy Intergalactic medium Lyman limit systems Metallicity Quasar absorption line spectroscopy |
| title | The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1 |
| title_full | The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1 |
| title_fullStr | The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1 |
| title_short | The Bimodal Absorption System Imaging Campaign (BASIC). I. A Dual Population of Low-metallicity Absorbers at z < 1 |
| title_sort | bimodal absorption system imaging campaign basic i a dual population of low metallicity absorbers at z 1 |
| topic | Circumgalactic medium Galaxy spectroscopy Intergalactic medium Lyman limit systems Metallicity Quasar absorption line spectroscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb047 |
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