Interstellar silicate dust in the z = 0.685 absorber toward TXS 0218+357

Journal Article · Thu Apr 10 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/785/1/36· OSTI ID:22357174

Aller, Monique C.; Kulkarni, Varsha P.; Liger, Nicholas ^[1]; York, Donald G.; Welty, Daniel E. ^[2]; Vladilo, Giovanni ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of South Carolina, 712 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29208 (United States)
2. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
3. Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via Tiepolo 11, I-34143 Trieste (Italy)

We report the detection of interstellar silicate dust in the z {sub abs} = 0.685 absorber along the sightline toward the gravitationally lensed blazar TXS 0218+357. Using Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph data, we detect the 10 μm silicate absorption feature with a detection significance of 10.7σ. We fit laboratory-derived silicate dust profile templates obtained from the literature to the observed 10 μm absorption feature and find that the best single-mineral fit is obtained using an amorphous olivine template with a measured peak optical depth of τ{sub 10} = 0.49 ± 0.02, which rises to τ{sub 10} ∼ 0.67 ± 0.04 if the covering factor is taken into account. We also detected the 18 μm silicate absorption feature in our data with a >3σ significance. Due to the proximity of the 18 μm absorption feature to the edge of our covered spectral range, and associated uncertainty about the shape of the quasar continuum normalization near 18 μm, we do not independently fit this feature. We find, however, that the shape and depth of the 18 μm silicate absorption are well matched to the amorphous olivine template prediction, given the optical depth inferred for the 10 μm feature. The measured 10 μm peak optical depth in this absorber is significantly higher than those found in previously studied quasar absorption systems. However, the reddening, 21 cm absorption, and velocity spread of Mg II are not outliers relative to other studied absorption systems. This high optical depth may be evidence for variations in dust grain properties in the interstellar medium between this and the previously studied high redshift galaxies.

• OSTI ID: 22357174
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 785; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ABSORPTION
DETECTION
DUSTS
FORECASTING
GALAXIES
GRAVITATIONAL LENSES
OLIVINE
QUASARS
RED SHIFT
SILICATES
SPACE
TELESCOPES
VELOCITY