Lyα EMISSION FROM GREEN PEAS: THE ROLE OF CIRCUMGALACTIC GAS DENSITY, COVERING, AND KINEMATICS

Journal Article · Mon Aug 10 04:00:00 EDT 2015 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/809/1/19· OSTI ID:22525706

Henry, Alaina ^[1]; Scarlata, Claudia ^[2]; Martin, Crystal L. ^[3]; Erb, Dawn ^[4]

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1. Astrophysics Science Division, Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 665, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
2. Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)
3. Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States)
4. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211 (United States)

We report Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observations of the Lyα emission and interstellar absorption lines in a sample of 10 star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 0.2. Selected on the basis of high equivalent width optical emission lines, the sample, dubbed “Green Peas,” make some of the best analogs for young galaxies in an early universe. We detect Lyα emission in all ten galaxies, and 9/10 show double-peaked line profiles suggestive of low H i column density. We measure Lyα/Hα flux ratios of 0.5–5.6, implying that 5%–60% of Lyα photons escape the galaxies. These data confirm previous findings that low-ionization metal absorption (LIS) lines are weaker when Lyα escape fraction and equivalent width are higher. However, contrary to previously favored interpretations of this trend, increased Lyα output cannot be the result of a varying H i covering: the Lyman absorption lines (Lyβ and higher) show a covering fraction near unity for gas with N{sub H} {sub i} ≳ 10{sup 16} cm{sup −2}. Moreover, we detect no correlation between Lyα escape and the outflow velocity of the LIS lines, suggesting that kinematic effects do not explain the range of Lyα/Hα flux ratios in these galaxies. In contrast, we detect a strong anticorrelation between the Lyα escape fraction and the velocity separation of the Lyα emission peaks, driven primarily by the velocity of the blue peak. As this velocity separation is sensitive to H i column density, we conclude that Lyα escape in these Green Peas is likely regulated by the H i column density rather than outflow velocity or H i covering fraction.

• OSTI ID: 22525706
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 809; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ABSORPTION SPECTRA
CORRELATIONS
DENSITY
EMISSION SPECTRA
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
HYDROGEN
LYMAN LINES
PHOTONS
SPACE
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
TELESCOPES
UNIVERSE
VELOCITY