%0 Generic %1 muratov2016metal %A Muratov, Alexander L. %A Keres, Dusan %A Faucher-Giguere, Claude-Andre %A Hopkins, Philip F. %A Ma, Xiangcheng %A Angles-Alcazar, Daniel %A Chan, T. K. %A Torrey, Paul %A Hafen, Zachary H. %A Quataert, Eliot %A Murray, Norman %D 2016 %K inflow metal outflow simulation %T Metal flows of the circumgalactic medium, and the metal budget in galactic halos %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.09252 %X We present an analysis of the flow of metals through the circumgalactic medium in the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) simulations of galaxy formation, ranging from isolated dwarfs to $L*$. We find that nearly all metals produced in high-redshift galaxies are carried out in winds that escape the galaxy and reach $0.25 R_vir$. When measured at $0.25 R_vir$ the metallicity of outflows is greater than, but similar to the ISM metallicity. Many metals thus reside in a reservoir in the CGM. We find that the outflowing flux through $R_vir$ is lower than that at $0.25 R_vir$ by a factor of $\sim2-5$. Cooling and recycling from this reservoir determine the metal budget in the ISM. The inflow metallicity at $R_vir$ is generally very low, but outflow and inflow metallicities are similar in the inner halo. At low redshift, massive galaxies no longer generate outflows that reach the CGM, causing a divergence in CGM and ISM metallicity. Dwarf galaxies continue to generate outflows, which become increasingly dominated by metal-poor gas, while the galaxies themselves preferentially retains metal ejecta. In all but the least massive galaxy considered, a majority of the metals are within the halo at $z=0$. We measure the fraction of metals in CGM, ISM, stars, and roughly quantify the thermal state of CGM metals in each halo. The total amount of metals in the low-redshift CGM of two simulated L* galaxies is consistent with estimates from the COS halos survey, while for the other two it appears to be lower.

@misc{muratov2016metal, abstract = {We present an analysis of the flow of metals through the circumgalactic medium in the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) simulations of galaxy formation, ranging from isolated dwarfs to $L*$. We find that nearly all metals produced in high-redshift galaxies are carried out in winds that escape the galaxy and reach $0.25 R_{\rm vir}$. When measured at $0.25 R_{\rm vir}$ the metallicity of outflows is greater than, but similar to the ISM metallicity. Many metals thus reside in a reservoir in the CGM. We find that the outflowing flux through $R_{\rm vir}$ is lower than that at $0.25 R_{\rm vir}$ by a factor of $\sim2-5$. Cooling and recycling from this reservoir determine the metal budget in the ISM. The inflow metallicity at $R_{\rm vir}$ is generally very low, but outflow and inflow metallicities are similar in the inner halo. At low redshift, massive galaxies no longer generate outflows that reach the CGM, causing a divergence in CGM and ISM metallicity. Dwarf galaxies continue to generate outflows, which become increasingly dominated by metal-poor gas, while the galaxies themselves preferentially retains metal ejecta. In all but the least massive galaxy considered, a majority of the metals are within the halo at $z=0$. We measure the fraction of metals in CGM, ISM, stars, and roughly quantify the thermal state of CGM metals in each halo. The total amount of metals in the low-redshift CGM of two simulated L* galaxies is consistent with estimates from the COS halos survey, while for the other two it appears to be lower.}, added-at = {2016-07-06T10:06:51.000+0200}, author = {Muratov, Alexander L. and Keres, Dusan and Faucher-Giguere, Claude-Andre and Hopkins, Philip F. and Ma, Xiangcheng and Angles-Alcazar, Daniel and Chan, T. K. and Torrey, Paul and Hafen, Zachary H. and Quataert, Eliot and Murray, Norman}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/26a6e82994d10abdd4b9ecc52ef72c1fc/miki}, interhash = {5cfe07c3349fd72e1d28cbab6faaedcd}, intrahash = {6a6e82994d10abdd4b9ecc52ef72c1fc}, keywords = {inflow metal outflow simulation}, note = {cite arxiv:1606.09252Comment: 18 Pages, 14 Figures, Submitted to MNRAS, comments welcome}, timestamp = {2016-07-06T10:06:51.000+0200}, title = {Metal flows of the circumgalactic medium, and the metal budget in galactic halos}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.09252}, year = 2016 }