THE ORIGIN OF METALS IN THE CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM OF MASSIVE GALAXIES AT z = 3
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
- Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-9057 Zurich (Switzerland)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Main Street West, Hamilton L8S 4M1 (Canada)
We present a detailed study of the metal-enriched circumgalactic medium (CGM) of a massive galaxy at z = 3 using results from 'ErisMC', a new cosmological hydrodynamic 'zoom-in' simulation of a disk galaxy with mass comparable to the Milky Way. The reference run adopts a blast wave scheme for supernova feedback that generates galactic outflows without explicit wind particles, a star formation recipe based on a high gas density threshold and high-temperature metal cooling. ErisMC's main progenitor at z = 3 resembles a 'Lyman break' galaxy of total mass M {sub vir} = 2.4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 11} M {sub Sun }, virial radius R {sub vir} = 48 kpc, and star formation rate 18 M {sub Sun} yr{sup -1}, and its metal-enriched CGM extends as far as 200 (physical) kpc from its center. Approximately 41%, 9%, and 50% of all gas-phase metals at z = 3 are locked in a hot (T > 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} K), warm (3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} K > T > 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} K), and cold (T < 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} K) medium, respectively. We identify three sources of heavy elements: (1) the main host, responsible for 60% of all the metals found within 3 R {sub vir}; (2) its satellite progenitors, which shed their metals before and during infall, and are responsible for 28% of all the metals within 3 R {sub vir}, and for only 5% of those beyond 3 R {sub vir}; and (3) nearby dwarfs, which give origin to 12% of all the metals within 3 R {sub vir} and 95% of those beyond 3 R {sub vir}. Late (z < 5) galactic 'superwinds'-the result of recent star formation in ErisMC-account for only 9% of all the metals observed beyond 2 R {sub vir}, the bulk having been released at redshifts 5 {approx}< z {approx}< 8 by early star formation and outflows. In the CGM, lower overdensities are typically enriched by 'older', colder metals. Heavy elements are accreted onto ErisMC along filaments via low-metallicity cold inflows and are ejected hot via galactic outflows at a few hundred km s{sup -1}. The outflow mass-loading factor is of order unity for the main halo, but can exceed a value of 10 for nearby dwarfs. We stress that our 'zoom-in' simulation focuses on the CGM of a single massive system and cannot describe the enrichment history of the intergalactic medium as a whole by a population of galaxies with different masses and star formation histories.
- OSTI ID:
- 22086308
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 760, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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