CLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm Observations
Rest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations from JWST are revolutionizing our understanding of the high- z galaxies that drove reionization and the mechanisms by which they accomplished it. To fully interpret these observations, we must be able to diagnose how properties of the interstellar medium...
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2024-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad87cd |
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| author | Kaelee S. Parker Danielle A. Berg Simon Gazagnes John Chisholm Bethan L. James Matthew Hayes Timothy Heckman Alaina Henry Michelle A. Berg Karla Z. Arellano-Córdova Xinfeng Xu Dawn K. Erb Crystal L. Martin Weida Hu Evan D. Skillman Kristen B. W. McQuinn Zuyi Chen Dan P. Stark |
| author_facet | Kaelee S. Parker Danielle A. Berg Simon Gazagnes John Chisholm Bethan L. James Matthew Hayes Timothy Heckman Alaina Henry Michelle A. Berg Karla Z. Arellano-Córdova Xinfeng Xu Dawn K. Erb Crystal L. Martin Weida Hu Evan D. Skillman Kristen B. W. McQuinn Zuyi Chen Dan P. Stark |
| author_sort | Kaelee S. Parker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations from JWST are revolutionizing our understanding of the high- z galaxies that drove reionization and the mechanisms by which they accomplished it. To fully interpret these observations, we must be able to diagnose how properties of the interstellar medium (ISM; e.g., column density, covering fraction, and outflow velocity) directly relate to the absorption features produced. Using the high-signal-to-noise and high-resolution FUV spectra of 45 nearby star-forming galaxies from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph Legacy Spectroscopic Survey, we present the largest uniform, simultaneous characterization of neutral and low-ionization state (LIS) interstellar UV absorption lines (O i , Si ii , S ii , C ii , and Al ii ) across a wide range of galaxy properties. We also present 21 cm H i observations for 35 galaxies, multiple of which are gas-poor or nondetected, possibly indicating the onset of a post-starburst phase. We find that our simultaneous one-component Voigt profile fits are capable of accurately modeling the LIS absorption for ∼75% of galaxies, mitigating challenges associated with saturation, infilling, and degeneracies. While the most massive galaxies require additional components, our one-component fits return average properties of the absorbing gas and follow the scaling relations described by a single gas cloud. We explore connections between LIS absorption and direct tracers of the neutral ISM (O i , Ly α , and H i 21 cm), finding that C ii most closely traces the neutral gas trends, while other ions exhibit weaker correlations. Given the challenges with directly observing H i at higher- z , we demonstrate that LIS absorption can be a powerful means to study the neutral ISM and present empirical relationships for predicting neutral gas properties. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9d472b4eab6d44e699b8986a5caeea14 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-9d472b4eab6d44e699b8986a5caeea142024-12-05T08:37:30ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01977110410.3847/1538-4357/ad87cdCLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm ObservationsKaelee S. Parker0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8809-4608Danielle A. Berg1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4153-053XSimon Gazagnes2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5659-4974John Chisholm3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0302-2577Bethan L. James4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4372-2006Matthew Hayes5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8587-218XTimothy Heckman6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6670-6370Alaina Henry7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6586-4446Michelle A. Berg8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8518-6638Karla Z. Arellano-Córdova9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2644-3518Xinfeng Xu10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9217-7051Dawn K. Erb11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9714-2758Crystal L. Martin12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9189-7818Weida Hu13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3424-3230Evan D. Skillman14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0605-8732Kristen B. W. McQuinn15https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5538-2614Zuyi Chen16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2178-5471Dan P. Stark17https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6106-5172Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA ; kaelee.parker@utexas.eduDepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA ; kaelee.parker@utexas.eduDepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA ; kaelee.parker@utexas.eduDepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA ; kaelee.parker@utexas.eduAURA for ESA, Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAStockholm University , Department of Astronomy and Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, AlbaNova University Centre, SE-10691, Stockholm, SwedenCenter for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA ; kaelee.parker@utexas.edu; Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas Christian University , Fort Worth, TX 76129, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA ; kaelee.parker@utexas.edu; Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UKCenter for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USACenter for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee , 3135 N Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53211, USADepartment of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USAMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Rutgers University , Department of Physics and Astronomy, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USASteward Observatory, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USASteward Observatory, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USARest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations from JWST are revolutionizing our understanding of the high- z galaxies that drove reionization and the mechanisms by which they accomplished it. To fully interpret these observations, we must be able to diagnose how properties of the interstellar medium (ISM; e.g., column density, covering fraction, and outflow velocity) directly relate to the absorption features produced. Using the high-signal-to-noise and high-resolution FUV spectra of 45 nearby star-forming galaxies from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph Legacy Spectroscopic Survey, we present the largest uniform, simultaneous characterization of neutral and low-ionization state (LIS) interstellar UV absorption lines (O i , Si ii , S ii , C ii , and Al ii ) across a wide range of galaxy properties. We also present 21 cm H i observations for 35 galaxies, multiple of which are gas-poor or nondetected, possibly indicating the onset of a post-starburst phase. We find that our simultaneous one-component Voigt profile fits are capable of accurately modeling the LIS absorption for ∼75% of galaxies, mitigating challenges associated with saturation, infilling, and degeneracies. While the most massive galaxies require additional components, our one-component fits return average properties of the absorbing gas and follow the scaling relations described by a single gas cloud. We explore connections between LIS absorption and direct tracers of the neutral ISM (O i , Ly α , and H i 21 cm), finding that C ii most closely traces the neutral gas trends, while other ions exhibit weaker correlations. Given the challenges with directly observing H i at higher- z , we demonstrate that LIS absorption can be a powerful means to study the neutral ISM and present empirical relationships for predicting neutral gas properties.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad87cdGalaxiesUltraviolet spectroscopyInterstellar line absorptionLyman-alpha galaxiesHigh-redshift galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Kaelee S. Parker Danielle A. Berg Simon Gazagnes John Chisholm Bethan L. James Matthew Hayes Timothy Heckman Alaina Henry Michelle A. Berg Karla Z. Arellano-Córdova Xinfeng Xu Dawn K. Erb Crystal L. Martin Weida Hu Evan D. Skillman Kristen B. W. McQuinn Zuyi Chen Dan P. Stark CLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm Observations The Astrophysical Journal Galaxies Ultraviolet spectroscopy Interstellar line absorption Lyman-alpha galaxies High-redshift galaxies |
| title | CLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm Observations |
| title_full | CLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm Observations |
| title_fullStr | CLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm Observations |
| title_full_unstemmed | CLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm Observations |
| title_short | CLASSY. XI. Tracing Neutral Gas Properties Using UV Absorption Lines and 21 cm Observations |
| title_sort | classy xi tracing neutral gas properties using uv absorption lines and 21 cm observations |
| topic | Galaxies Ultraviolet spectroscopy Interstellar line absorption Lyman-alpha galaxies High-redshift galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad87cd |
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