The Neutral and High Ionization Gas in 51 Mg II Absorption Systems

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

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Hst Proposal Id #7983 Extragalactic Astrophysics

Scientific paper

We propose to perform a comprehensive study of the ionization and kinematic conditions of absorbing gas in 51 Mg II absorption systems over the redshift range 0.4 <= z <= 1.4, including 23 newly discovered ``weak'' Mg II absorbers with 0.02 <= W_ r{2796} <= 0.3 Angstrom. We have obtained high resolution HIRES/Keck spectra and measured the kinematic component structure of the Mg II {and Fe II} absorbing gas. For 21 of the systems, we know the associated galaxy's redshift, rest frame B and K luminosity, color, and QSO- galaxy impact parameter. Archival FOS G190H and G270 spectra of quasars provide a rich and varied database of absorption lines of neutral hydrogen {Lyman series and limit}, high ionization metals {CIV,[S II]V, N V, and O VI}, and low ionization metals {CIII, SiII,O I}. Combining our existing data on low ionization gas and galaxy properties with this information from the FOS archive, we will perform a multivariate correlation analysis. Some key diagnostics are: 1} kinematic spread of the Mg II profiles vs. overall strength of various high and low ionization transitions; 2} high ionization vs. low ionization strength as a probe of collisional vs. photoionization sources; 3} high ionization transition equivalent widths vs. impact parameter as a test of ionization structure; 4} the ratio of high to low ionization gas vs. indicators of star formation in galaxies to distinguish stellar from extragalactic sources. The ultimate goal is to know the chemical enrichment histories and evolution of ionization structures in galaxies.

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