CHARACTERIZING THE CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM OF NEARBY GALAXIES WITH HST/COS AND HST/STIS ABSORPTION-LINE SPECTROSCOPY

Journal Article · Fri Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 2013 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/763/2/148· OSTI ID:22167108

Stocke, John T.; Keeney, Brian A.; Danforth, Charles W.; Shull, J. Michael; Froning, Cynthia S.; Green, James C.; Penton, Steven V. ^[1]

---

1. Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, 389 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) of late-type galaxies is characterized using UV spectroscopy of 11 targeted QSO/galaxy pairs at z {<=} 0.02 with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and {approx}60 serendipitous absorber/galaxy pairs at z {<=} 0.2 with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. CGM warm cloud properties are derived, including volume filling factors of 3%-5%, cloud sizes of 0.1-30 kpc, masses of 10-10{sup 8} M {sub Sun }, and metallicities of {approx}0.1-1 Z {sub Sun }. Almost all warm CGM clouds within 0.5 R {sub vir} are metal-bearing and many have velocities consistent with being bound, 'galactic fountain' clouds. For galaxies with L {approx}> 0.1 L*, the total mass in these warm CGM clouds approaches 10{sup 10} M {sub Sun }, {approx}10%-15% of the total baryons in massive spirals and comparable to the baryons in their parent galaxy disks. This leaves {approx}> 50% of massive spiral-galaxy baryons 'missing'. Dwarfs (<0.1 L*) have smaller area covering factors and warm CGM masses ({<=}5% baryon fraction), suggesting that many of their warm clouds escape. Constant warm cloud internal pressures as a function of impact parameter (P/k {approx} 10 cm{sup -3} K) support the inference that previous COS detections of broad, shallow O VI and Ly{alpha} absorptions are of an extensive ({approx}400-600 kpc), hot (T Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 6} K), intra-cloud gas which is very massive ({>=}10{sup 11} M {sub Sun }). While the warm CGM clouds cannot account for all the 'missing baryons' in spirals, the hot intra-group gas can, and could account for {approx}20% of the cosmic baryon census at z {approx} 0 if this hot gas is ubiquitous among spiral groups.

• OSTI ID: 22167108
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 763; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ABSORPTION
BARYONS
CLOUDS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
GALAXIES
IMPACT PARAMETER
MASS
METALS
QUASARS
SPECTROSCOPY
TELESCOPES
VELOCITY