The Low-Redshift Lyman Alpha Forest toward PKS 0405-123

Details The Low-Redshift Lyman Alpha Forest toward PKS 0405-123 The Low-Redshift Lyman Alpha Forest toward PKS 0405-123

2005-05-29

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0505586v2

Astrophys.J.636:631-653,2006

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

59 pages, 6 tables, 14 figures, 1 standalone, ApJ, in press; minor revisions/clarifications for acceptance, including galaxy l

Scientific paper

10.1086/498127

We present STIS 7km/s resolution data of the Ly-a forest toward PKS0405-123 (z=0.574). We make two samples. The strong sample (60 systems) has column density logNHI>13.3 over 0.00213.1 at 0.020=47+-22km/s; for the weak, =44+-21km/s. Line blending and s/n effects likely inflate b. The redshift density dN/dz is consistent with previous, lower resolution results for logNHI>14.0. For 13.113.3, consistent with a numerical model. There is a void in the strong sample at 0.0320 13.5-14.0. The strength is similar to that of the galaxy-galaxy correlation for our sample, implying that such Ly-a systems have mass log M/Msun= 11.3+1.0-0.6. Including lower column density systems in the sample shows correlations only out to Delta v <125km/s, as would be expected for smaller density perturbations. Galaxy counts and local HI column density appear correlated, peaking at ~5000km/s. We also give column densities for Galactic species. (Abridged)