Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21942603r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #426.03
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The majority of baryonic matter at high redshifts is located within the intergalactic medium (IGM). In particular, the circum-galactic material (CGM) surrounding galaxy-forming regions plays a vital role in the formation and evolution of galaxies due to feedback between the infalling IGM and the outflows from star formation. Using 17 QSO spectra taken with the Ultraviolet and Visible Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), we determined thermal and non-thermal motions of CIV absorbers at 1.5 < z < 3.5. We selected a sample of HI and CIV systems that exhibited the same profiles (the systems are cospatial). These absorption lines were then fit with Voigt profiles to derive the line width (the b parameter which constrains the gas kinetic temperature) and the column densities. Of 42 selected HI-CIV pairs with HI column densities between 1012 and 1015.5 cm-2, the mean temperature is 28800 K and the mean velocity from non-thermal motion is 6.34 km/s. The non-thermal energy density is only about 10% of the thermal-energy density, which implies that the CIV absorbers in our sample are dominated by thermal energy. While the local interstellar medium shows a correlation between the cloud size and the turbulent motion, the CGM does not show any correlations between derived physical parameters.
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation's REU program through NSF Award AST-1004881.
Kim Taejoon
Ranquist Drake
No associations
LandOfFree
Thermal And Dynamical Properties Of C IV Absorbers (1.5 < z < 3.5) does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Thermal And Dynamical Properties Of C IV Absorbers (1.5 < z < 3.5), we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Thermal And Dynamical Properties Of C IV Absorbers (1.5 < z < 3.5) will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1583532