Gamma-ray bursts as probes of the distant Universe

Petitjean, P.; Vergani, S. D.

doi:10.1016/j.crhy.2011.01.007

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…Fynbo et al 2009;Ledoux et al 2009;and Greiner et al 2011). A possibility is that GRB-DLA metallicities could be higher than measured as often only lower limits are derived from intermediate resolution observations (see Prochaska 2006, Petitjean & Vergani, 2011. This can however probably not explain this lack of systems completely.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

METALLICITIES, DUST, AND MOLECULAR CONTENT OF A QSO-DAMPED Lyα SYSTEM REACHING logN(H I) = 22: AN ANALOG TO GRB-DLAs

Guimarães¹,

Noterdaeme²,

Petitjean³

et al. 2012

The Astronomical Journal

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We present the elemental abundance and H 2 content measurements of a Damped Lyman-α (DLA) system with an extremely large H i column density, log N (H i) (cm −2 ) = 22.0±0.10, at z abs = 3.287 towards the QSO SDSS J 081634+144612. We measure column densities of H 2 , C i, C i ⋆ , Zn ii, Fe ii, Cr ii, Ni ii and Si ii from a high signal-to-noise and high spectral resolution VLT-UVES spectrum. The overall metallicity of the system is [Zn/H] = −1.10 ± 0.10 relative to solar. Two molecular hydrogen absorption components are seen at z = 3.28667 and 3.28742 (a velocity separation of ≈ 52 km s −1 ) in rotational levels up to J = 3. We derive a total H 2 column density of log N (H 2 ) (cm −2 ) = 18.66 and a mean molecular fraction of f = 2N (H 2 )/[2N (H 2 )+ N (H i)] = 10 −3.04±0.37 , typical of known H 2 -bearing DLA systems. From the observed abundance ratios we conclude that dust is present in the Interstellar Medium (ISM) of this galaxy, with a enhanced abundance in the H 2 -bearing clouds. However, the total amount of dust along the line of sight is not large and does not produce any significant reddening of the background QSO. The physical conditions in the H 2 -bearing clouds are constrained directly from the column densities of H 2 in different rotational levels, C i and C i ⋆ . The kinetic temperature is found to be T ≈ 75 K and the particle density lies in the range n H = 50−80 cm −3 . The neutral hydrogen column density of this DLA is similar to the mean H i column density of DLAs observed at the redshift of γ-ray bursts (GRBs). We explore the relationship between GRB-DLAs and high column density end of QSO-DLAs finding that the properties (metallicity and depletion) of DLAs with log N (H i) > 21.5 in the two populations do not appear to be significantly different.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

METALLICITIES, DUST, AND MOLECULAR CONTENT OF A QSO-DAMPED Lyα SYSTEM REACHING logN(H I) = 22: AN ANALOG TO GRB-DLAs

Guimarães¹,

Noterdaeme²,

Petitjean³

et al. 2012

The Astronomical Journal

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“…Steidel et al 2010) as well as GRBs (e.g. Petitjean & Vergani 2011) as background sources. However, the one dimensional nature of this method does not allow one to map the spatial distribution of these material around an individual galaxy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extended Lyα emission around quasars with eclipsing damped Lyα systems

Fathivavsari

Petitjean

Noterdaeme

et al. 2016

Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

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We present spectroscopic observations of six high redshift (z em > 2) quasars, which have been selected for their Lyman α (Lyα) emission region being only partially covered by a strong proximate (z abs ∼ z em ) coronagraphic damped Lyα system (DLA). We detected spatially extended Lyα emission envelopes surrounding these six quasars, with projected spatial extent in the range 26 d Lyα 51 kpc. No correlation is found between the quasar ionizing luminosity and the Lyα luminosity of their extended envelopes. This could be related to the limited covering factor of the extended gas and/or due to the AGN being obscured in other directions than towards the observer. Indeed, we find a strong correlation between the luminosity of the envelope and its spatial extent, which suggests that the envelopes are probably ionized by the AGN. The metallicity of the coronagraphic DLAs is low and varies in the range −1.75 < [Si/H] < −0.63. Highly ionized gas is observed to be associated with most of these DLAs, probably indicating ionization by the central AGN. One of these DLAs has the highest Al iii/Si ii ratio ever reported for any intervening and/or proximate DLA. Most of these DLAs are redshifted with respect to the quasar, implying that they might represent infalling gas probably accreted onto the quasar host galaxies through filaments. ⋆ Based on data obtained with MagE at the Clay telescope of the Las Campanas Observatory (CNTAC Prgm. ID CN2012B-51 and CN2013A-121) and with XSHOOTER at the ESO/VLT in Chile as a part of ESO program 091.A-0299(A).2 H. Fathivavsari et al.

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“…Such UV pumping can be used to estimate the distance between the GRB and the absorber, since the closer the gas is to the GRB, the higher are the column densities of the excited levels. Results suggest that the power of a GRB affects a region of gas that is at least a few hundred light years in size [39]. • Intervening absorbers: light from GRBs can also be used for the study of intervening absorbers along GRBs' lines of sight.…”

Section: Host Galaxies and The Environment Of Grbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unveiling the secrets of gamma ray bursts

Gomboc¹

2012

Contemporary Physics

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Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are unpredictable and brief flashes of gamma rays that occur about once a day in random locations in the sky. Since gamma rays do not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere, they are detected by satellites, which automatically trigger ground-based telescopes for follow-up observations at longer wavelengths. In this introduction to Gamma Ray Bursts we review how building a multi-wavelength picture of these events has revealed that they are the most energetic explosions since the Big Bang and are connected with stellar deaths in other galaxies. However, in spite of exceptional observational and theoretical progress in the last 15 years, recent observations raise many questions which challenge our understanding of these elusive phenomena. Gamma Ray Bursts therefore remain one of the hottest topics in modern astrophysics.

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Gamma-ray bursts as probes of the distant Universe

Cited by 13 publications

References 104 publications

METALLICITIES, DUST, AND MOLECULAR CONTENT OF A QSO-DAMPED Lyα SYSTEM REACHING logN(H I) = 22: AN ANALOG TO GRB-DLAs

METALLICITIES, DUST, AND MOLECULAR CONTENT OF A QSO-DAMPED Lyα SYSTEM REACHING logN(H I) = 22: AN ANALOG TO GRB-DLAs

Extended Lyα emission around quasars with eclipsing damped Lyα systems

Unveiling the secrets of gamma ray bursts

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