THE COS/UVES ABSORPTION SURVEY OF THE MAGELLANIC STREAM. II. EVIDENCE FOR A COMPLEX ENRICHMENT HISTORY OF THE STREAM FROM THE FAIRALL 9 SIGHTLINE
- Institut fuer Physik und Astronomie, Universitaet Potsdam, Haus 28, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, D-14476 Golm (Potsdam) (Germany)
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States)
- Institute of Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)
- Argelander-Institut fuer Astronomie, Universitaet Bonn, Auf dem Huegel 71, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
We present a multi-wavelength study of the Magellanic Stream (MS), a massive gaseous structure in the Local Group that is believed to represent material stripped from the Magellanic Clouds. We use ultraviolet, optical and radio data obtained with HST/COS, VLT/UVES, FUSE, GASS, and ATCA to study metal abundances and physical conditions in the Stream toward the quasar Fairall 9. Line absorption in the MS from a large number of metal ions and from molecular hydrogen is detected in up to seven absorption components, indicating the presence of multi-phase gas. From the analysis of unsaturated S II absorption, in combination with a detailed photoionization model, we obtain a surprisingly high {alpha} abundance in the Stream toward Fairall 9 of [S/H] = -0.30 {+-} 0.04 (0.50 solar). This value is five times higher than what is found along other MS sightlines based on similar COS/UVES data sets. In contrast, the measured nitrogen abundance is found to be substantially lower ([N/H] = -1.15 {+-} 0.06), implying a very low [N/{alpha}] ratio of -0.85 dex. The substantial differences in the chemical composition of MS toward Fairall 9 compared to other sightlines point toward a complex enrichment history of the Stream. We favor a scenario, in which the gas toward Fairall 9 was locally enriched with {alpha} elements by massive stars and then was separated from the Magellanic Clouds before the delayed nitrogen enrichment from intermediate-mass stars could set in. Our results support (but do not require) the idea that there is a metal-enriched filament in the Stream toward Fairall 9 that originates in the LMC.
- OSTI ID:
- 22121799
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 772, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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