Gas around galaxy haloes - III: hydrogen absorption signatures around galaxies and QSOs in the Sherwood simulation suite

Meiksin, Avery; Bolton, James S.; Puchwein, Ewald

Abstract

Modern theories of galaxy formation predict that galaxies impact on their gaseous surroundings, playing the fundamental role of regulating the amount of gas converted into stars. While star-forming galaxies are believed to provide feedback through galactic winds, quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are believed instead to provide feedback through the heat generated by accretion on to a central supermassive black hole. A quantitative difference in the impact of feedback on the gaseous environments of star-forming galaxies and QSOs has not been established through direct observations. Using the Sherwood cosmological simulations, we demonstrate that measurements of neutral hydrogen in the vicinity of star-forming galaxies and QSOs during the era of peak galaxy formation show excess Ly α absorption extending up to comoving radii of ∼150 kpc for star-forming galaxies and 300–700 kpc for QSOs. Simulations including supernovae-driven winds account for the absorption around star-forming galaxies but not QSOs.

Citation

Meiksin, A., Bolton, J. S., & Puchwein, E. (2017). Gas around galaxy haloes - III: hydrogen absorption signatures around galaxies and QSOs in the Sherwood simulation suite. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 468(2), 1893-1901. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx191

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 19, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jan 23, 2017
• Publication Date: Jan 23, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 5, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: May 5, 2017
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2966
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 468
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 1893-1901
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx191
• Keywords: Galaxies: formation, Intergalactic medium, Quasars: absorption lines, Largescale structure of Universe
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/839432
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/mnras/stx191
• Additional Information: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2017 The authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.