Inspiraling streams of enriched gas observed around a massive galaxy 11 billion years ago

Zhang, Shiwu; Cai, Zheng; Xu, D.; Shimakawa, Rhythm; Battaia, Fabrizio Arrigoni; Prochaska, J. Xavier; Cen, Renyue; Zheng, Zheng; Wu, Yican; Li, Qiong; Dou, Liming; Wu, Jianfeng; Zabludoff, Ann I.; Fan, Xiaohui; Ai, Yanli; Golden-Marx, Emmet; Li, Miao; Lu, Youjun; Ma, Xiangcheng; Wang, Sen; Wang, Ran; Yuan, Feng

doi:10.1126/science.abj9192

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…In addition, the evaporation of the gas is also an important effect influencing the cloud motion. Moreover, the inspiraling trajectory of the gas inflow seen in both observations (Zhang et al 2023) and simulations (Stewart et al 2017;Wang et al 2022) is the natural consequence after considering the tangential motion of both the cool gas and the hot gas (Figure 7, right).…”

Section: Inflow Scenariomentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Moreover, the slopes yielded from the Lyα and C IV absorption are consistent with each other within 1σ uncertainty, which implies that the two absorptions might trace the same flow of gas. The increasing velocity profile could be a natural result of the gas inflow, which has been studied in observations (Zhang et al 2023), simulations (Wang et al 2022), and semianalytic models (Afruni et al 2019;Lan & Mo 2019). In Section 4.3, we present a detailed discussion.…”

Section: Cgm Kinematicsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…where M out is the outflow mass. Following Zhang et al (2023), we derive the outflow mass to be E 1.4 10 out 45  = ´erg s −1 . Then, the outflow energy rate is adopted as the mean of the upper limit and lower limit in the log space (Harrison et al 2012(Harrison et al , 2014, which is E 5.7 10 out 45  = ´erg s −1 .…”

Section: Outflow Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The CGM kinematics has been studied by observations (Weidinger et al 2004(Weidinger et al , 2005Arrigoni Battaia et al 2018;Zhang et al 2023), simulations (Wang et al 2022), and semianalytical models (Afruni et al 2019(Afruni et al , 2022Lan & Mo 2019). Zhang et al (2023) observe the Lyα nebula with the diffuse He II and C IV emissions around a type II quasar at z = 2.3, revealing an increasing velocity profile in the nebula, which represents the metal-enriched inflow. Wang et al (2022) found similar infalling CGM gas behavior in the IllustrisTNG simulations.…”

Section: Inflow Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lyα nebulae are good laboratories allowing us to directly study the cool gas in the CGM. By observing the enormous Lyα nebula, MAMMOTH-1, Zhang et al (2023) present the first direct imaging on the recycled inflow in a massive system with halo mass of 10 13 M e at z = 2.3. They find that the cool gas is enriched to Z e by the previous outflow, which is flowing back to the galaxy in the form of inspiraling streams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revealing the Gas Recycling in the Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) Utilizing a Luminous Lya Nebula around a Type II Quasar at z = 2.6 with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI)

Zhang

Cai

et al. 2023

ApJ

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How galaxies acquire material from the circumgalactic medium is a key question in galaxy evolution. Recent observations and simulations show that gas recycling could be an important avenue for star formation. This paper presents Keck Cosmic Web Imager integral field unit spectroscopic observations on a type II quasar, Q1517 + 0055 at z = 2.65, a pilot study of our Lyα nebulae sample at z ≈ 2. We revealed diffuse emission of the Lyα 1216, He ii 1640, and C iv 1549 on the projected physical scale of 122, 45, and 79 kpc, respectively. The total Lyα luminosity is L Lyα = 3.04 ± 0.02 × 1044 erg s−1. The line ratio diagnostics shows that He II/Lyα ≈ 0.08, and C IV/Lyα ≈ 0.28, consistent with the photoionization including recombination and photon pumping. We also identify the associated H i and C iv absorption from the spectra. By fitting the spectra, we derive both the column density and the velocity. We find that the velocity profile from both the absorption and the He ii emission exhibit increasing trends. Moreover, both the line ratio diagnostic from the emission and the column density ratio from the absorption confirm that the cool gas metallicity is ≥Z ⊙. From detailed modeling and estimation, gas recycling might be a more plausible interpretation compared with the scenario of a powerful outflow.

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Section: Inflow Scenariomentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Cgm Kinematicsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Outflow Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Inflow Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revealing the Gas Recycling in the Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) Utilizing a Luminous Lya Nebula around a Type II Quasar at z = 2.6 with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI)

Zhang

Cai

et al. 2023

ApJ

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The first comprehensive study of a giant nebula around a radio-quiet quasar in the z < 1 Universe

Liu,

Johnson,

et al. 2023

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We present the first comprehensive study of a giant, ≈70 kpc-scale nebula around a radio-quiet quasar at z < 1. The analysis is based on deep integral field spectroscopy with Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer of the field of HE 0238−1904, a luminous quasar at z = 0.6282. The nebula emits strongly in [O ii], $\rm H \beta$, and [O iii], and the quasar resides in an unusually overdense environment for a radio-quiet system. The environment likely consists of two groups which may be merging, and in total have an estimated dynamical mass of Mdyn ≈ 4 × 1013 to 1014 M⊙. The nebula exhibits largely quiescent kinematics and irregular morphology. The nebula may arise primarily through interaction-related stripping of circumgalactic and interstellar medium (CGM/ISM) of group members, with some potential contributions from quasar outflows. The simultaneous presence of the giant nebula and a radio-quiet quasar in a rich environment suggests a correlation between such circum-quasar nebulae and environmental effects. This possibility can be tested with larger samples. The upper limits on the electron number density implied by the [O ii] doublet ratio range from $\log (n_{\rm e, [O\,{\small II}]} /\mathrm{cm}^{-3})<1.2$ to 2.8. However, assuming a constant quasar luminosity and negligible projection effects, the densities implied from the measured line ratios between different ions (e.g. [O ii], [O iii], and [Ne v]) and photoionization simulations are often 10−400 times larger. This large discrepancy can be explained by quasar variability on a time-scale of ≈104−105 yr.

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AGN radiation imprints on the circumgalactic medium of massive galaxies

Obreja,

Arrigoni Battaia,

Macciò

et al. 2023

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in cosmological simulations generate explosive feedback that regulates star formation in massive galaxies, modifying the gas phase structure out to large distances. Here, we explore the direct effects that AGN radiation has on gas heating and cooling within one high-resolution z = 3 dark matter halo as massive as a quasar host (Mh = 1012.5M⊙), run without AGN feedback. We assume AGN radiation to impact the circumgalactic medium (CGM) anisotropically, within a bi-cone of angle α. We find that even a relatively weak AGN (black hole mass M• = 108M⊙ with an Eddington ratio λ = 0.1) can significantly lower the fraction of halo gas that is catastrophically cooling compared to the case of gas photoionized only by the ultraviolet background (UVB). Varying M•, λ and α, we study their effects on observables. A 109M⊙ AGN with λ = 0.1 and $\alpha \approxeq 60^{^{\rm o}}$ reproduces the average surface brightness (SB) profiles of Lyα, He ii and C iv, and results in a covering fraction of optically thick absorbers within observational estimates. The simulated SB$_{\rm C\, {\small IV}}$ profile is steeper than observed, indicating that not enough metals are pushed beyond the very inner CGM. For this combination of parameters, the CGM mass catastrophically cooling is reduced by half with respect to the UVB-only case, with roughly same mass out of hydrostatic equilibrium heating up and cooling down, hinting to the importance of self-regulation around AGNs. This study showcases how CGM observations can constrain not only the properties of the CGM itself, but also those of the AGN engine.

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Inspiraling streams of enriched gas observed around a massive galaxy 11 billion years ago

Cited by 14 publications

References 74 publications

Revealing the Gas Recycling in the Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) Utilizing a Luminous Lya Nebula around a Type II Quasar at z = 2.6 with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI)

Revealing the Gas Recycling in the Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) Utilizing a Luminous Lya Nebula around a Type II Quasar at z = 2.6 with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI)

The first comprehensive study of a giant nebula around a radio-quiet quasar in the z < 1 Universe

AGN radiation imprints on the circumgalactic medium of massive galaxies

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Inspiraling streams of enriched gas observed around a massive galaxy 11 billion years ago

Cited by 14 publications

References 74 publications

Revealing the Gas Recycling in the Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) Utilizing a Luminous Lya Nebula around a Type II Quasar at z = 2.6 with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI)

Revealing the Gas Recycling in the Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) Utilizing a Luminous Lya Nebula around a Type II Quasar at z = 2.6 with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI)

The first comprehensive study of a giant nebula around a radio-quiet quasar in the z &lt; 1 Universe

AGN radiation imprints on the circumgalactic medium of massive galaxies

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Product

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The first comprehensive study of a giant nebula around a radio-quiet quasar in the z < 1 Universe