ON THE ABSENCE OF HIGH METALLICITY-HIGH COLUMN DENSITY DAMPED Lyα SYSTEMS: MOLECULE FORMATION IN A TWO-PHASE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

2009 ◽  
Vol 701 (1) ◽  
pp. L12-L15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Krumholz ◽  
Sara L. Ellison ◽  
J. Xavier Prochaska ◽  
Jason Tumlinson
Keyword(s):  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Molecule Formation ◽  
High Metallicity ◽  
High Column

scholarly journals Cloud formation in the atomic and molecular phase: H I self absorption (HISA) towards a giant molecular filament

2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Wang ◽  
S. Bihr ◽  
H. Beuther ◽  
M. R. Rugel ◽  
J. D. Soler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Neutral Medium ◽  
Molecular Component ◽  
Density Peaks ◽  
Log Normal ◽  
High Column

Molecular clouds form from the atomic phase of the interstellar medium. However, characterizing the transition between the atomic and the molecular interstellar medium (ISM) is a complex observational task. Here we address cloud formation processes by combining H I self absorption (HISA) with molecular line data. Column density probability density functions (N-PDFs) are a common tool for examining molecular clouds. One scenario proposed by numerical simulations is that the N-PDF evolves from a log-normal shape at early times to a power-law-like shape at later times. To date, investigations of N-PDFs have been mostly limited to the molecular component of the cloud. In this paper, we study the cold atomic component of the giant molecular filament GMF38.1-32.4a (GMF38a, distance = 3.4 kpc, length ~ 230 pc), calculate its N-PDFs, and study its kinematics. We identify an extended HISA feature, which is partly correlated with the 13CO emission. The peak velocities of the HISA and 13CO observations agree well on the eastern side of the filament, whereas a velocity offset of approximately 4 km s−1 is found on the western side. The sonic Mach number we derive from the linewidth measurements shows that a large fraction of the HISA, which is ascribed to the cold neutral medium (CNM), is at subsonic and transonic velocities. The column density of the CNM part is on the order of 1020 to 1021 cm−2. The column density of molecular hydrogen, traced by 13CO, is an order of magnitude higher. The N-PDFs from HISA (CNM), H I emission (the warm and cold neutral medium), and 13CO (molecular component) are well described by log-normal functions, which is in agreement with turbulent motions being the main driver of cloud dynamics. The N-PDF of the molecular component also shows a power law in the high column-density region, indicating self-gravity. We suggest that we are witnessing two different evolutionary stages within the filament. The eastern subregion seems to be forming a molecular cloud out of the atomic gas, whereas the western subregion already shows high column density peaks, active star formation, and evidence of related feedback processes.

scholarly journals The stratified disc wind of MCG-03-58-007

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-300
Author(s):  
V Braito ◽  
J N Reeves ◽  
P Severgnini ◽  
R Della Ceca ◽  
L Ballo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Absorption Line ◽  
Velocity Component ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Accretion Disc ◽  
Line Profiles ◽  
Lower Velocity ◽  
Multiple Observations ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
The One ◽  
High Column

ABSTRACT Past Suzaku, XMM–Newton, and NuSTAR observations of the nearby (z = 0.03233) bright Seyfert 2 galaxy MCG-03-58-007 revealed the presence of two deep and blue-shifted iron K-shell absorption line profiles. These could be explained with the presence of two phases of a highly ionized, high column density accretion disc wind outflowing with vout1 ∼ −0.1c and vout2 ∼ −0.2c. Here we present two new observations of MCG-03-58-007: one was carried out in 2016 with Chandra and one in 2018 with Swift. Both caught MCG-03-58-007 in a brighter state ($F_{{\mathrm{2}-10\, keV}} \sim 4 \times 10^{-12}$ erg cm−2 s−1) confirming the presence of the fast disc wind. The multi-epoch observations of MCG-03-58-007 covering the period from 2010 to 2018 were then analysed. These data show that the lower velocity component outflowing with vout1 ∼ −0.072 ± 0.002c is persistent and detected in all the observations, although it is variable in column density in the range NH ∼ 3–8 × 1023 cm−2. In the 2016 Swift observation we detected again the second faster component outflowing with vout2 ∼ −0.2c, with a column density ($N_{\mbox{H}}=7.0^{+5.6}_{-4.1}\times 10^{23}$ cm−2), similar to that seen during the Suzaku observation. However during the Chandra observation 2 yr earlier, this zone was not present (NH < 1.5 × 1023 cm−2), suggesting that this faster zone is intermittent. Overall the multi-epochs observations show that the disc wind in MCG-03-58-007 is not only powerful, but also extremely variable, hence placing MCG-03-58-007 among unique disc winds such as the one seen in the famous QSO PDS456. One of the main results of this investigation is the consideration that these winds could be extremely variable, sometime appearing and sometime disappearing; thus to reach solid and firm conclusions about their energetics multiple observations are mandatory.

scholarly journals Influence of Gravitational Lensing on Estimates of Ω in Neutral Hydrogen

1996 ◽  
Vol 173 ◽  
pp. 97-98
Author(s):  
Matthias Bartelmann ◽  
Abraham Loeb
Keyword(s):  
Observational Data ◽  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Spiral Galaxies ◽  
Neutral Hydrogen ◽  
Absorption Lines ◽  
Gravitational Lenses ◽  
High Column

A wealth of observational data supports the commonly held view that damped Lyman-α (Lyα) absorption in QSO spectra is associated with neutral-hydrogen (HI) disks in spiral galaxies. Most of the HI probed by QSO absorption lines is traced by damped Lyα lines because of their high column densities, N > 1020 cm–2. The spiral galaxies hosting the HI disks can act as gravitational lenses on the QSOs. If the HI column density increases towards the center of the disks, as suggested by observations of local galaxies, the magnification bias preferentially selects for high column-density systems. The estimates of HI in damped Lyα systems can then systematically be distorted by gravitational lensing.

The HRS GTO program to study the neutral hydrogen column density and D/H ratio in the local interstellar medium

1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-94
Author(s):  
J.L. Linsky, ◽  
W.B. Landsman ◽  
B.D. Savage ◽  
S.R. Heap ◽  
A.M. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Neutral Hydrogen ◽  
Local Interstellar Medium ◽  
Hydrogen Column Density

scholarly journals Dark dust and single-cloud sightlines in the ISM

2020 ◽  
Vol 641 ◽  
pp. A35
Author(s):  
R. Siebenmorgen ◽  
J. Krełowski ◽  
J. Smoker ◽  
G. Galazutdinov ◽  
S. Bagnulo
Keyword(s):  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Spectral Type ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Resolving Power ◽  
High Resolution Spectroscopy ◽  
Luminosity Distance ◽  
Ob Stars ◽  
Dust Extinction ◽  
Heating Source ◽  
Dust Component

The precise characteristics of clouds and the nature of dust in the diffuse interstellar medium can only be extracted by inspecting the rare cases of single-cloud sightlines. In our nomenclature such objects are identified by interstellar lines, such as K I, that show at a resolving power of λ∕Δλ ~ 75 000 one dominating Doppler component that accounts for more than half of the observed column density. We searched for such sightlines using high-resolution spectroscopy towards reddened OB stars for which far-UV extinction curves are known. We compiled a sample of 186 spectra, 100 of which were obtained specifically for this project with UVES. In our sample we identified 65 single-cloud sightlines, about half of which were previously unknown. We used the CH/CH+ line ratio of our targets to establish whether the sightlines are dominated by warm or cold clouds. We found that CN is detected in all cold (CH/CH+ > 1) clouds, but is frequently absent in warm clouds. We inspected the WISE (3−22 μm) observed emission morphology around our sightlines and excluded a circumstellar nature for the observed dust extinction. We found that most sightlines are dominated by cold clouds that are located far away from the heating source. For 132 stars, we derived the spectral type and the associated spectral type-luminosity distance. We also applied the interstellar Ca II distance scale, and compared these two distance estimates with Gaia parallaxes. These distance estimates scatter by ~40%. By comparing spectral type-luminosity distances with those of Gaia, we detected a hidden dust component that amounts to a few mag of extinction for eight sightlines. This dark dust is populated by ≳ 1 μm large grains and predominately appears in the field of the cold interstellar medium.

Dependence of Gas-Phase Abundances in the Interstellar Medium on Column Density

2000 ◽  
Vol 544 (2) ◽  
pp. L107-L110 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. P. Wakker ◽  
J. S. Mathis
Keyword(s):  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Column Density

scholarly journals Chemical enrichment and host galaxies of extremely strong intervening DLAs towards quasars

2020 ◽  
Vol 633 ◽  
pp. A125 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ranjan ◽  
P. Noterdaeme ◽  
J.-K. Krogager ◽  
P. Petitjean ◽  
R. Srianand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Metal Species ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Chemical Enrichment ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
First Time ◽  
High Column

We present the results from VLT/X-shooter spectroscopic observations of 11 extremely strong intervening damped Lyman-α absorbers (ESDLAs) that were initially selected as high N(H I) (i.e. ≥5 × 1021 cm−2) candidates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We confirm the high H I column densities, which we measure to be in the range log N(H I) = 21.6 − 22.4. Molecular hydrogen is detected with high column densities (N(H2)≥1018 cm−2) in 5 out of 11 systems, 3 of which are reported here for the first time, and we obtain conservative upper limits on N(H2) for the remaining 6 systems. We also measure the column density of various metal species (Zn II, Fe II, Si II, Cr II, and C I), quantify the absorption-line kinematics (Δv90), and estimate the extinction of the background quasar light (AV) by dust in the absorbing gas. We compare the chemical properties of this sample of ESDLAs, supplemented with literature measurements, to that of DLAs located at the redshift of long-duration γ-ray bursts (GRB-DLAs). We confirm that the two populations are almost indistinguishable in terms of chemical enrichment and gas kinematics. In addition, we find no marked differences in the incidence of H2. All this suggests that ESDLAs and GRB-DLAs probe similar galactic environments. We search for the galaxy counterparts of ESDLAs and find associated emission lines in 3 out of 11 systems, 2 of which are reported here for the first time (at zabs = 2.304 and 2.323 towards the quasars SDSS J002503.03+114547.80 and SDSS J114347.21+142021.60, respectively). The measured separations between the quasar sightlines and the emission associated with the ESDLA galaxy (for a total of five sightlines) are all very small (ρ <  3 kpc). Because our observations are complete up to ρ ∼ 7 kpc, we argue that the emission counterparts of the remaining systems are more likely below the detection limit than outside the search area. While the small impact parameters are similar to what is observed for GRB-DLAs, the associated star formation rates are on average lower than for GRB host galaxies. This is explained by long-duration GRBs being associated with the death of massive stars and therefore pinpointing regions of active star formation in the GRB host galaxies. Our observations support the suggestion from the literature that ESDLAs could act as blind analogues of GRB-DLAs, probing neutral gas with high column density in the heart of high-redshift galaxies, without any prior on the instantaneous star formation rate.

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