Illuminating QAL Systems with Their Background Quasars

Details Illuminating QAL Systems with Their Background Quasars Illuminating QAL Systems with Their Background Quasars

Feb 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007noao.prop..209p&link_type=abstract

NOAO Proposal ID #2007A-0209

Physics

Scientific paper

Single-sightline quasar absorption line observations provide only 1D insight into the size, morphology, and gas dynamics of the absorption systems. In a handful of cases, quasar pairs and lenses provide 2D information, but these are relatively rare and only sparsely probe the full scales of galactic halos. This proposal leverages a particular configuration of a damped Lyα system in the near foreground of a quasar (termed a proximate DLA or PDLA) to extract the full 3D information about the gas distribution and kinematics. In particular, we exploit the spatially resolved Lyα emission associated with the absorber/quasar system in conjunction with the line-of-sight absorption to constrain these quantities. Approximately 20 such PDLAs have been discovered and a significant fraction exhibit Lyα emission in the core of the DLA profile. This pilot program of GMOS-IFU observations will focus on the proximate DLA with the largest known Lyα flux. We will determine the physical origin of the line emission, e.g. fluorescent radiation from layers of gas photoionized by the quasar, H II regions in the DLA galaxy, or emission from halo gas surrounding the quasar's host galaxy. In turn, the observations constrain the size, morphology and dynamics of the Lyα emitting gas. With this first step our team will establish the boundaries of such research and design a larger program to study > 10 proximate absorption systems. Our proposed GMOS-IFU observations will pave the way for a powerful new technique to study QAL systems and high redshift galaxies with IFUs.

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