The Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα Nebulae
Cool ( T ∼ 10 ^4 K) gas is commonly observed around z > 2 quasars as traced by extended Ly α emission. These large-scale nebulae are usually studied using circularly averaged surface-brightness profiles, which suppress information on morphological differences. Here, we revisit the Ly α nebulae ar...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ace42b |
| _version_ | 1797698814440636416 |
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| author | Fabrizio Arrigoni Battaia Aura Obreja Tiago Costa Emanuele P. Farina Zheng Cai |
| author_facet | Fabrizio Arrigoni Battaia Aura Obreja Tiago Costa Emanuele P. Farina Zheng Cai |
| author_sort | Fabrizio Arrigoni Battaia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cool ( T ∼ 10 ^4 K) gas is commonly observed around z > 2 quasars as traced by extended Ly α emission. These large-scale nebulae are usually studied using circularly averaged surface-brightness profiles, which suppress information on morphological differences. Here, we revisit the Ly α nebulae around 78 z ∼ 2–3 quasars to obtain a novel estimate of their area and asymmetry using a common redshift-corrected surface-brightness threshold. We find a luminosity–area relation of the form $\mathrm{log}({L}_{\mathrm{Ly}\alpha }^{\mathrm{Neb}})={a}_{1}\mathrm{log}({\mathrm{Area}}^{\mathrm{Neb}})+{a}_{0}$ . Most nebulae are symmetric and bright, the most lopsided ones being the faintest and less extended. The enormous Ly α nebulae, asymmetric due to the presence of active companions, are the exceptions to this trend. By using simulations able to reproduce z ∼ 6 quasars’ nebulae, we show that the observed relation should not vary with redshift. Finally, we discuss possible mechanisms that drive the relation and future work needed to constrain them. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:59:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2dc2779a8846413ea7c1395d53fab84f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:59:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-2dc2779a8846413ea7c1395d53fab84f2023-09-03T11:45:05ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019521L2410.3847/2041-8213/ace42bThe Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα NebulaeFabrizio Arrigoni Battaia0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4770-6137Aura Obreja1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4196-8555Tiago Costa2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6748-2900Emanuele P. Farina3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6822-2254Zheng Cai4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8467-6478Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85748 Garching bei München, GermanyUniversitäts-Sternwarte München , Scheinerstraße 1, D-81679 München, GermanyMax-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85748 Garching bei München, GermanyGemini Observatory , NSF’s NOIRLab, 670 N A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USADepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of ChinaCool ( T ∼ 10 ^4 K) gas is commonly observed around z > 2 quasars as traced by extended Ly α emission. These large-scale nebulae are usually studied using circularly averaged surface-brightness profiles, which suppress information on morphological differences. Here, we revisit the Ly α nebulae around 78 z ∼ 2–3 quasars to obtain a novel estimate of their area and asymmetry using a common redshift-corrected surface-brightness threshold. We find a luminosity–area relation of the form $\mathrm{log}({L}_{\mathrm{Ly}\alpha }^{\mathrm{Neb}})={a}_{1}\mathrm{log}({\mathrm{Area}}^{\mathrm{Neb}})+{a}_{0}$ . Most nebulae are symmetric and bright, the most lopsided ones being the faintest and less extended. The enormous Ly α nebulae, asymmetric due to the presence of active companions, are the exceptions to this trend. By using simulations able to reproduce z ∼ 6 quasars’ nebulae, we show that the observed relation should not vary with redshift. Finally, we discuss possible mechanisms that drive the relation and future work needed to constrain them.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ace42bQuasarsCircumgalactic mediumHigh-redshift galaxiesExtended radiation sources |
| spellingShingle | Fabrizio Arrigoni Battaia Aura Obreja Tiago Costa Emanuele P. Farina Zheng Cai The Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα Nebulae The Astrophysical Journal Letters Quasars Circumgalactic medium High-redshift galaxies Extended radiation sources |
| title | The Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα Nebulae |
| title_full | The Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα Nebulae |
| title_fullStr | The Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα Nebulae |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα Nebulae |
| title_short | The Luminosity–Area Relation of z > 2 Quasars’ Lyα Nebulae |
| title_sort | luminosity area relation of z 2 quasars lyα nebulae |
| topic | Quasars Circumgalactic medium High-redshift galaxies Extended radiation sources |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ace42b |
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