Misc,
Probing the IGM/Galaxy Connection V: On the Origin of Lya and OVI Absorption at z<0.2
(2011)cite arxiv:1103.1891 Comment: Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal; 26 pages, 9 figures. See http://www.ucolick.org/~xavier/WFCCDOVI/index.html for more.
Abstract
We analyze the association of galaxies to Lya and OVI absorption, the most
commonly detected transitions in the low-z intergalactic medium (IGM), in the
fields of 14 quasars with z_em = 0.06-0.57. Confirming previous studies, we
observe a high covering fraction for Lya absorption to impact parameter rho =
300kpc: 33/37 of our L>0.01L* galaxies show Lya equivalent width W_Lya>50mA.
Galaxies of all luminosity L>0.01L* and spectral type are surrounded by a
diffuse and ionized circumgalactic medium (CGM), whose baryonic mass is
estimated at ~10^(10.5 +/- 0.3) Msun for a constant N_H. The virialized halos
and extended CGM of present-day galaxies are responsible for most strong Lya
absorbers (W_Lya > 300mA) but cannot reproduce the majority of observed lines
in the Lya forest. We conclude that the majority of Lya absorption with
W_Lya=30-300mA occurs in the cosmic web predicted by cosmological simulations
and estimate a characteristic width for these filaments of ~400kpc. Regarding
OVI, we observe a near unity covering fraction to rho=200kpc for L>0.1L*
galaxies and to rho = 300kpc for sub-L* (0.1 L*<L<L*) galaxies. Similar to our
Lya results, stronger OVI systems (W_OVI > 70mA) arise in the virialized halos
of L>0.1L* galaxies. Unlike Lya, the weaker OVI systems (W_OVI~30mA) arise in
the extended CGM of sub-L* galaxies. The majority of OVI gas observed in the
low-z IGM is associated with a diffuse medium surrounding individual galaxies
with L~0.3L*, and rarely originates in the so-called warm-hot IGM (WHIM)
predicted by cosmological simulations.
