FUV and X-ray absorption in the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium
P. Richter, F. B. S. Paerels, J. S. Kaastra
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26 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 3; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeker
The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) arises from shock-heated gas collapsing in large-scale filaments and probably harbours a substantial fraction of the baryons in the local Universe. Absorption-line measurements in the ultraviolet (UV) and in the X-ray band currently represent the best method to study the WHIM at low redshifts. We here describe the physical properties of the WHIM and the concepts behind WHIM absorption line measurements of H I and high ions such as O VI, O VII, and O VIII in the far-ultraviolet and X-ray band. We review results of recent WHIM absorption line studies carried out with UV and X-ray satellites such as FUSE, HST, Chandra, and XMM-Newton and discuss their implications for our knowledge of the WHIM.
We present a mission concept for high resolution X-ray spectroscopy with a resolving power, R~6000, (c.f. R=<1000 for Chandra, XMM-Newton). This resolution is physics-driven, since it allows the thermal widths of coronal X-ray lines to be measured, and astrophysics-driven, since 50 km/s resolves internal galaxy motions, and galaxy motions within larger structures. Such a mission could be small and have a rapid response allowing us to `X-ray the Universe' using the afterglows of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) as strong background sources of X-rays, and so illuminate the `Cosmic Web'. The Cosmic Web is…
We have obtained FUV spectra of two clusters of galaxies with FUSE, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. The Coma cluster was observed for a total of 28.6 ksec, the Virgo cluster for 10.9 ksec. Neither spectrum shows significant O VI (1032, 1038 A) emission at the cluster redshift. Such emission would be expected from the warm [(5-10) x 10^5 K] component of the intracluster medium that has been proposed to explain the excess EUV and SXR flux present in EUVE and ROSAT observations of these clusters. Our 2-sigma upper limits on the O VI 1032 A flux from Coma and Virgo exclude all publishe…
We present Chandra observations that provide the most direct evidence to date for the pervasive, moderate density, shock-heated intergalactic medium predicted by leading cosmological scenarios. We also comment briefly on future observations with Constellation-X.
Stars and gas in galaxies, hot intracluster medium, and intergalactic photo-ionized gas make up at most half of the baryons that are expected to be present in the universe. The majority of baryons are still missing and are expected to be hidden in a web of warm-hot intergalactic medium. This matter was shock-heated during the collapse of density perturbations that led to the formation of the relaxed structures that we see today. Finding the missing baryons and thereby producing a complete inventory of possibly the only detectable component of the energy-mass budget of the universe is crucial t…
At low redshift (z<2), almost half of the baryons in the Universe are not found in bound structures like galaxies and clusters and therefore most likely reside in a Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), as predicted by simulations. Attempts to detect WHIM filaments at cosmological distances in absorption towards bright background sources have yielded controversial results that I review here. I argue that a secure detection of absorption features by the WHIM is at the limit of the XMM-Newton capabilities, but feasible. A proper characterisation of the whole WHIM belongs to the realm of future X…
We briefly review capabilities and requirements for future instrumentation in UV- and X-ray astronomy that can contribute to advancing our understanding of the diffuse, highly ionised intergalactic medium.
Time evolution of the ionization state of metals in the cosmic baryons is investigated in a cosmological context without the assumption of ionization equilibrium. We find that a significant fraction of ionized oxygen ions (OVII and OVIII) in the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) is not in the ionization equilibrium state at a redshift of z~0. We also investigate the effect on the detectability and observables of WHIM as a consequence of such deviation from ionization equilibrium. It is found that the detectability of WHIM is not altered very much both through its emission and absorption sig…
We have identified a large-scale structure traced by galaxies at z=0.8, within the Lockman Hole, by means of multi-object spectroscopic observations. By using deep XMM images we have investigated the soft X-ray emission from the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) expected to be associated with this large-scale structure and we set a tight upper limit to its flux in the very soft 0.2-0.4 keV band. The non-detection requires the WHIM at these redshifts to be cooler than 0.1 keV. Combined with the WHIM emission detections at lower redshift, our result indicates that the WHIM temperature is rapi…
Several popular cosmological models predict that most of the baryonic mass in the local universe is located in filamentary and sheet-like structures associated with groups and clusters of galaxies. This gas is expected to be gravitationally heated to ~10^6 K and therefore emitting in the soft X-rays. We have investigated three fields with large scale structures of galaxies at redshifts 0.1, 0.45, 0.79 and found signatures of warm-hot thermal emission (kT< 1 keV) correlated with the distribution of galaxies for the first two. The correlation and the properties of both X-ray and galaxy distribut…
We present our proposal for a small X-ray mission DIOS (Diffuse Intergalactic Oxygen Surveyor) to perform survey observations of warm-hot intergalactic medium using OVII and OVIII emission lines. This will be proposed to a small satellite program planned by ISAS/JAXA in Japan for a launch in 2008. The instrument consists of an array of TES microcalorimeters with an energy resolution 2 eV, cooled by mechanical coolers. The X-ray telescope will employ 4-stage reflection mirrors with a focal length as short as 70 cm and an angular resolution 2'. In addition to DIOS, we briefly describe the NeXT (…
We discuss the detectability of Warm/Hot Intergalactic medium (WHIM) via the absorption lines toward bright point sources with a future X-ray satellite mission, XEUS. While we consider bright QSOs as specific examples, the methodology can be applied to bright GRB afterglows. We create mock absorption spectra for bright QSOs (more than 20 QSOs over the all sky) using a light-cone output of a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. We assume that WHIM is under collisional and photo-ionization equilibrium. If WHIM has a constant metallicity of $Z=0.1Z_\odot$, approximately 2 O{\sc vii} absorption l…
It is shown that inverse Compton gamma-rays from electrons accelerated in large scale structure formation shocks can be crucially affected by non-gravitational effects such as radiative cooling and galaxy formation, with corresponding uncertainties by an order of magnitude in either the gamma-ray source counts or the extragalactic background contribution. However, this also implies that such gamma-rays may in the near future provide us with valuable information about the fraction of cosmic baryons in different forms, particularly the warm-hot intergalactic medium where the majority of the bary…
Approximately 30-40% of all baryons in the present day universe reside in a warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM), with temperatures between 10^5<T<10^7 K. This is a generic prediction from six hydrodynamic simulations of currently favored structure formation models having a wide variety of numerical methods, input physics, volumes, and spatial resolutions. Most of these warm-hot baryons reside in diffuse large-scale structures with a median overdensity around 10-30, not in virialized objects such as galaxy groups or galactic halos. The evolution of the WHIM is primarily driven by shock heating…
We present an analysis of the Lyman alpha forests of five quasar spectra in the near UV. Properties of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at an intermediate redshift interval (0.9 < z < 1.9) are studied. The amount of baryons in the diffuse photoionised IGM and the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) are traced to get constraints on the redshift evolution of the different phases of the intergalactic gas. The baryon density of the diffuse IGM is determined with photoionisation calculations under the assumption of local hydrostatic equilibrium. We assume that the gas is ionised by a metagalactic ba…
We present the results of spectroscopic observations of galaxies associated with the diffuse X-ray emitting structure discovered by Zappacosta et al. (2002). After measuring the redshifts of 161 galaxies, we confirm an overdensity of galaxies with projected dimensions of at least 2 Mpc, determine its spectroscopic redshift in z=0.401+/-0.002, and show that it is spatially coincident with the diffuse X-ray emission. This confirms the original claim that this X-ray emission has an extragalactic nature and is due to the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM). We used this value of the redshift to c…
We discuss physical properties and the baryonic content of the Warm-hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) at low redshifts. Cosmological simulations predict that the WHIM contains a large fraction of the baryons at z=0 in the form of highly-ionized gas at temperatures between 10^5 and 10^7 K. Using high-resolution ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) we have studied the WHIM at low redshifts by searching for intervening OVI and thermally broadened Lyman alpha (BL) absorption toward a number of quasars …
We present a simple method for tracing the spatial distribution and predicting the physical properties of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), from the map of galaxy light in the local universe. Under the assumption that biasing is local and monotonic we map the ~ 2 Mpc/h smoothed density field of galaxy light into the mass density field from which we infer the spatial distribution of the WHIM in the local supercluster. Taking into account the scatter in the WHIM density-temperature and density-metallicity relation, extracted from the z=0 outputs of high-resolution and large box size hydr…
Hyperfine structure lines of highly-charged ions may open a new window in observations of hot rarefied astrophysical plasmas. In this paper we discuss spectral lines of isotopes and ions abundant at temperatures 10^5-10^7 K, characteristic for warm-hot intergalactic medium, hot interstellar medium, starburst galaxies, their superwinds and young supernova remnants. Observations of these lines will allow to study bulk and turbulent motions of the observed target and will broaden the information about the gas ionization state, chemical and isotopic composition. The most prospective is the line of…
We study the temperature structure of the intergalactic medium (IGM) using a large cosmological N-body/SPH simulation. We employ a two-temperature model for the thermal evolution of the ionized gas, in which the relaxation process between electrons and ions is explicitly included. In the diffuse, hot IGM, the relaxation time is comparable to the age of the Universe and hence the electron temperature in post-shock regions remains significantly smaller than the ion temperature. We show that, at the present epoch, a large fraction of the warm/hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) has a well-developed t…
Recent Cosmological measurements indicate that baryons comprise about four percent of the total mass-energy density of the Universe, which is in accord with the predictions arising from studies of the production of the lightest elements. It also is in agreement with the actual number of baryons detected at early times (redshifts>2). However, close to our own epoch (z<2), the number of baryons actually detected add up to just over half (~55 percent) of the number seen at z>2, meaning that about 45 percent are 'missing'. Here we report a determination of the mass-density of a previously undetect…
We present an analysis of mock spectral observation of warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) using a constrained simulation of the local universe. The simulated map of oxygen emission lines from local WHIM reproduces well the observed structures traced by galaxies in the real local universe. We further attempt to perform mock observations of outer parts of simulated Coma cluster and A3627 adopting the expected performance of DIOS (Diffuse Intergalactic Oxygen Surveyor), which is proposed as a dedicated soft X-ray mission to search for cosmic missing baryons. We find that WHIMs surrounding nearb…
We discuss physical properties and baryonic content of broad Ly alpha absorbers (BLAs) at low redshift. These absorption systems, recently discovered in high-resolution, high-signal to noise quasar absorption line spectra, possibly trace the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) in the temperature range between 10^5 and 10^6 K. To extend previous BLA measurements we have analyzed STIS data of the two quasars H 1821+643 and PG 0953+415 and have identified 13 BLA candidates along a total (unblocked) redshift path of dz=0.440. Combining our measurements with previous results for the lines of sight…
In this paper we review the current predictions of numerical simulations for the origin and observability of the warm hot intergalactic medium (WHIM), the diffuse gas that contains up to 50 per cent of the baryons at z~0. During structure formation, gravitational accretion shocks emerging from collapsing regions gradually heat the intergalactic medium (IGM) to temperatures in the range T~10^5-10^7 K. The WHIM is predicted to radiate most of its energy in the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray bands and to contribute a significant fraction of the soft X-ray background emission. While O VI and C IV abso…
We present the high-resolution X-ray spectra of Mkn 421 obtained in November 2003 with the RGS aboard the XMM-Newton satellite. This Target of Opportunity observation was triggered because the source was in a high state of activity in the X-ray band. These data are compared with three archival RGS observations of the same source performed in November and December 2002 and one in June 2003. We searched for the presence of absorption features due to warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). We identify various spectral features, most of which are of instrumental origin. With the sensitivity provided…
The number of detected baryons in the Universe at z<0.5 is much smaller than predicted by standard big bang nucleosynthesis and by the detailed observation of the Lyman alpha forest at red-shift z=2. Hydrodynamical simulations indicate that a large fraction of the baryons today is expected to be in a ``warm-hot'' (10^5-10^7K) filamentary gas, distributed in the intergalactic medium. This gas, if it exists, should be observable only in the soft X-ray and UV bands. Using the predictions of a particular hydrodynamic model, we simulated the expected X-ray flux as a function of energy in the 0.1-2 …
We present a survey of six low to moderate redshift quasars with Chandra and XMM-Newton. The primary goal is to search for the narrow X-ray absorption lines produced by highly ionized metals in the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium. All the X-ray spectra can be fitted by a power law with neutral hydrogen absorption method. The residuals that may caused by additional emission mechanisms or calibration uncertainties are taken account by polynomial in order to search for narrow absorption features. No real absorption line is detected at above 3-sigma level in all the spectra. We discuss the implicati…
Several popular cosmological models predict that most of the baryonic mass in the local universe is located in filamentary and sheet-like structures associated with galaxy overdensities. This gas is expected to be gravitationally heated to ~10^6 K and therefore emitting in the soft X-rays. We have detected diffuse soft X-ray structures in a high Galactic latitude ROSAT field after point source subtraction and correction for Galactic absorption. These diffuse structures have an X-ray energy distribution that is much softer than expected from clusters, groups or unresolved emission from AGNs, bu…
The ionizing spectral energy distribution of quasars exhibits a steepening of the distribution shortward of ~ 1200 A. The change of the power-law index from approximately -1 (near-UV) to -2 (far-UV) has so far been interpreted as being intrinsic to quasars. We consider the possibility that the steepening may result from a tenuous absorption component that is anticorrelated with large mass overdensities. UV sensitive satellites, whose detectors can extend down to 1000 A, can set a useful limit to such an absorption component through the search of a flux increase in the window 1050-1190 A (obser…
We searched for redshifted O emission lines from the possible warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) surrounding the cluster of galaxies A2218 at z=0.1756 using the XIS instrument on Suzaku. This cluster is thought to have an elongated structure along the line of sight based on previous studies. We studied systematic uncertainties in the spectrum of the Galactic emission and in the soft X-ray response of the detectors due to the contamination building up on the XIS filters. We detected no significant redshifted O lines, and set a tight constraint on the intensity with upper limits for the surfac…
We present a comparison between the 2001 XMM-Newton and 2005 Suzaku observations of the quasar, PG1211+143 at z=0.0809. Variability is observed in the 7 keV iron K-shell absorption line (at 7.6 keV in the quasar frame), which is significantly weaker in 2005 than during the 2001 XMM-Newton observation. From a recombination timescale of <4 years, this implies an absorber density n>0.004 particles/cm3, while the absorber column is 5e22<N_H <1 1e24 particles/cm2. Thus the sizescale of the absorber is too compact (pc scale) and the surface brightness of the dense gas too high (by 9-10 orders of mag…
The recent detection with Chandra of two warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) filaments toward Mrk 421 by Nicastro et al. provides a measurement of the bulk of the "missing baryons" in the nearby universe. Since Mrk 421 is a bright X-ray source, it is also frequently observed by the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) for calibration purposes. Using all available archived XMM observations of this source with small pointing offsets (<15"), we construct the highest-quality XMM grating spectrum of Mrk 421 to date with a net exposure time (excluding periods of high background flux) of…
Hydrodynamical simulations indicate that substantial fraction of baryons in the Universe remains in a diffuse component - Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM). To determine physical properties (spatial distribution, temperature and density) of the WHIM, spatial structure of the soft extended X-ray emission surrounding field galaxies is carefully investigated using the XMM-Newton EPIC/MOS observations. Angular correlations between the galaxy distribution and the soft X-ray background extending over several arcmin are determined. The correlations at large scales result from the clustering of gal…
Most of cosmic baryons predicted by the big-bang nucleosynthesis has evaded the direct detection. Recent numerical simulations indicate that approximately 30 to 50 percent of the total baryons in the present universe is supposed to take a form of warm/hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) whose X-ray continuum emission is very weak. To identify those missing baryons, we consider in detail the detectability of WHIM directly through emission lines of OVII (561, 568, 574, 665eV) and OVIII (653eV). For this purpose, we create mock spectra of the emission lines of WHIM using a light-cone output of the co…
To detect a warm-hot intergalactic medium associated with the large-scale structure of the universe, we observed a quasar behind the Virgo cluster with XMM-Newton. With a net exposure time of 54 ks, we marginally detected an OVIII K alpha absorption line at 650.9 +0.8/-1.9 eV in the RGS spectra, with a statistical confidence of 96.4 %. The observed line center energy is consistent with the redshift of M87, and hence the absorber is associated with the Virgo cluster. From the curve of growth, the OVIII column density was estimated to be > 7 x 10^16 cm^-2. In the EPIC spectra, excess emission wa…
We observed the Seyfert I active galaxy/broad line radio galaxy 3C120 with the Chandra high energy transmission gratings and present an analysis of the soft X-ray spectrum. We identify the strongest absorption feature (detected at >99.9% confidence) with O VIII Lya (FWHM=1010^{+295}_{-265} km/s), blueshifted by -5500 +/- 140 km/s from systemic velocity. The absorption may be due to missing baryons in warm/hot intergalactic medium (WHIGM) along the line-of-sight to 3C 120 at z=0.0147 +/- 0.0005, or it could be intrinsic to the jet of 3C 120. Assuming metallicities of 0.1 solar, we estimate an i…
Results are presented for our search for warm-hot gas towards the quasar Q 0329-385. We identify ten OVI systems of which two are within 5000 km/s of z_em and a third one should be of intrinsic origin. The seven remaining systems have HI column densities 10^13.7<N(HI)<10^15.6 cm^-2. At least ~1/3 of the individual OVI sub-systems have temperatures T<1x10^5 K and cannot originate in collisionally ionized gas. Photoionization by a hard UV background field reproduces well the ionic ratios for metallicities in the range 10^-2.5 - 10^-0.5 solar, with possibly sub-solar N/C relative abundance. For […
Three observational constraints can be placed on a warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) using \rosat PSPC pointed and survey data, the emission strength, the energy spectrum, and the fluctuation spectrum. The upper limit to the emission strength of the WHIM is 7.5 +/- 1.0 keV s^-1 cm^-2 sr^-1 keV^-1 in the 3/4 keV band, an unknown portion of which value may be due to our own Galactic halo. The spectral shape of the WHIM emission can be described as thermal emission with log T=6.42, although the true spectrum is more likely to come from a range of temperatures. The values of emission strength a…
Cosmological hydrodynamic simulations predict that the low redshift universe comprises a web of warm-hot intergalactic gas and galaxies, with groups of galaxies and clusters forming at dense knots in these filaments. Our own Galaxy being no exception is also expected to be surrounded by the warm-hot intergalactic medium, filling the Local Group. Some theoretical models also predict the existence of a hot Galactic corona. With X-ray and FUV observations of extragalactic sources, we can probe the warm-hot gas through absorption lines of highly ionized elements. Indeed, Chandra, XMM and FUSE obse…
We have analyzed the soft X-ray emission in a wide area of the Sculptor supercluster by using overlapping ROSAT PSPC pointings. After subtraction of the point sources we have found evidence for extended, diffuse soft X-ray emission. We have investigated the nature of such extended emission through the cross-correlation with the density of galaxies as inferred from the Muenster Redshift Survey. In particular we have analyzed the correlation as a function of the temperature of the X-ray emitting gas. We have found a significant correlation of the galaxy distribution only with the softest X-ray e…
The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) is thought to contribute about 40-50 % to the baryonic budget at the present evolution stage of the universe. The observed large scale structure is likely to be due to gravitational growth of density fluctuations in the post-inflation era. The evolving cosmic web is governed by non-linear gravitational growth of the initially weak density fluctuations in the dark energy dominated cosmology. Non-linear structure formation, accretion and merging processes, star forming and AGN activity produce gas shocks in the WHIM. Shock waves are converting a fraction …
We use FUSE and STIS spectra to study intergalactic absorption towards the quasar PG1259+593 (z=0.478). We identify 135 intergalactic absorption lines with equivalent widths >10mA, tracing 78 absorption components in 72 Ly alpha/beta absorption-line systems. We concentrate on the distribution and physical properties of the WHIM as sampled by OVI and intrinsically broad Ly alpha lines. The number of intervening OVI absorbers for equivalent widths W>24 mA is 3-6 over an unobscured redshift path of dz=0.368. This implies a number density of OVI systems, dN/dz, of ~8-16 along this sight line. This…
We present our XMM-Newton RGS observations of X Comae, an AGN behind the Coma cluster. We detect absorption by NeIX and OVIII at the redshift of Coma with an equivalent width of 3.3+/-1.8 eV and 1.7+/-1.3 eV, respectively (90% confidence errors or 2.3 sigma and 1.9 sigma confidence detections determined from Monte Carlo simulations). The combined significance of both lines is 3.0 sigma, again determined from Monte Carlo simulations. The same observation yields a high statistics EPIC spectrum of the Coma cluster gas at the position of X Comae. We detect emission by NeIX with a flux of 2.5+/-1.2…
I present an overview of some of the recent advances in our understanding of the distribution and evolution of the ordinary, baryonic matter in the universe. Two observations that strongly suggest that most of the baryons seen at high redshift ($z\ge 2$) have turned into some forms yet undetected at $z=0$ are highlighted. With the aid of large-scale cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, it is shown that most of the baryons today are in a gaseous form with a temperature of $10^5-10^7~$Kelvin -- the "warm/hot gas", shock heated during the gravitational collapse and formation of the large-scale …
Hydrodynamic simulations of growth of cosmic structure suggest that 30-50% of the total baryons at z=0 may be in a warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) with temperatures ~10^5-10^7K. The O VI λλ1032, 1038 absorption line doublet in the FUV portion of QSO spectra provides an important probe of this gas. Utilizing recent hydrodynamic simulations, it is found that there should be ~5 O VI absorption lines per unit redshift with equivalent widths >= 35 mA, decreasing rapidly to ~0.5 per unit redshift at >= 350 mA. About 10% of the total baryonic matter or 20-30% of the WHIM is expected to be in the…
Intergalactic absorbers along lines of sight to distant quasars are a powerful diagnostic for the evolution and content of the intergalactic medium (IGM). In this study, we use the FUSE satellite to search 129 known lya absorption systems at z<0.15 toward 31 AGN for corresponding absorption from higher Lyman lines and the important metal ions OVI. We detect OVI in 40 systems over a smaller range of column density than seen in HI. The co-existence of OVI and HI suggests a multiphase IGM, with warm photoionized and hot ionized components. With improved OVI detection statistics, we find a steep d…
Recent far-ultraviolet (FUV) absorption line measurements of low-redshift quasars have unveiled a population of intervening broad HI Lya absorbers (BLAs) with large Doppler parameters (b> 40 km/s). If the large width of these lines is dominated by thermal line broadening, the BLAs may trace highly-ionized gas in the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) in the temperature range T ~ 10^5-10^6 K, a gas phase that is expected to contain a large fraction of the baryons at low redshift. In this paper we use a hydrodynamical simulation to study frequency, distribution, physical conditions, and baryon…
We re-examine {\em Voyager} Ultraviolet Spectrograph data used to establish upper limits to the $λ$ 500-900 Åand $λ$ 900-1100 Åcosmic diffuse background. The measurement of diffuse flux with the {\em Voyager} UVS data requires complex corrections for noise sources which are far larger than the astronomical signal. In the analyses carried out to date, the upper limits obtained on the diffuse background show statistical anomalies which indicate that substantial systematic errors are present. We detail these anomalies and identify specific problems with the analysis. We derive statistically robus…
We present a high resolution (R~500) X-ray spectrum of the bright quasar H1821+643 (z=0.297), obtained in a 470 ksec Chandra observation. We search for X-ray absorption by highly ionized metal species, OVII and OVIII in particular, at the redshifts of the six intervening OVI absorption systems known from UV studies. We detect features with >~2-sigma significance at the predicted OVII and OVIII wavelengths of one OVI system, at the OVII wavelength of a second, and at the NeIX wavelength of a third. We find two additional features of comparable strength (one OVII and one OVIII) within 1000 km/s …
For the low density filamentary and sheet-like structures in the warm ($\sim 10^4$ to $\sim 10^6$ K) IGM predicted by numerical simulations the resonant line scattering of X-ray background (XRB) photons by He and H-like ions of heavy elements can exceed the ``local'' thermal emission by a factor of a few or more. Due to the conservative nature of scattering this resonantly scattered radiation can only be identified if a significant fraction of the XRB is resolved and removed. While the combined spectrum of the resolved sources will contain X-ray absorption features, the residual background wil…
We present results of gasdynamics+N-body constrained cosmological simulations of the Local Supercluster region (LSC; about 30/h Mpc around the Virgo cluster), which closely mimic the real Universe within 100 Mpc by imposing constraints from Mark III catalog of galaxy peculiar velocities. The simulations are used to study the properties and possible observational signatures of intergalactic medium in the LSC region. We find that, in agreement with previous unconstrained simulations, about 30% of the gas in this region is in the warm/hot phase at T~10^5-10^7 K, and about 40% in the diffuse phase…
Recently, with the Chandra X-ray Telescope we have detected several local X-ray absorption lines along lines-of-sight towards distant quasars. These absorption lines are produced by warm/hot gas located in local intergalactic space and/or in our Galaxy. I will present our observations and discuss the origin of the X-ray absorption and its implications in probing the warm/hot component of local baryons.
We briefly review the use of UV absorption lines in the spectra of low-redshift QSOs for the study of the physical conditions, metallicity, and baryonic content of the low-z IGM, with emphasis on the missing baryons problem. Current results on the statistics and baryonic content of intervening, low-z O VI and Lya absorption-line systems are presented with some comments on overlap between these two classes of absorbers and consequent baryon double-counting problems. From observations of a sample of 16 QSOs observed with the E140M echelle mode of STIS, we find 44 intervening O VI absorbers and 1…
In this paper, we try to detect the SZ effect in the 2MASS DWT clusters and less bound objects in order to constrain the warm-hot intergalactic medium distribution on large scales by cross-correlation analysis. The results of both observed WMAP and mock SZ effect map indicate that the hot gas distributes from inside as well as outside of the high density regions of galaxy clusters, which is consistent with the results of both observation and hydro simulation. Therefore, the DWT measurement of the cross-correlation would be a powerful tool to probe the missing of baryons in the Universe.
There is increasing observational evidence that hot, highly ionized interstellar and intergalactic gas plays a significant role in the evolution of galaxies in the local universe. The primary spectral diagnostics of the warm-hot interstellar/intergalactic medium are ultraviolet and X-ray absorption lines of O VI and O VII. In this paper, I summarize some of the recent highlights of spectroscopic studies of hot gas in the Local Group and low-redshift universe. These highlights include investigations of the baryonic content of low-z O VI absorbers,evidence for a hot Galactic corona or Local Grou…
We investigate the 21-cm signature that may arise from the intergalactic medium (IGM) prior to the epoch of full reionization (z>5). In scenarios in which the IGM is reionized by discrete sources of photoionizing radiation, the neutral gas which has not yet been engulfed by an H II region may easily be preheated to temperatures well above that of the cosmic background radiation (CBR), rendering the IGM invisible in absorption against the CBR. We identify three possible preheating mechanisms: (1) photoelectric heating by soft X-rays from QSOs, (2) photoelectric heating by soft X-rays from early…
We review our attempts to discover lost baryons at low redshift with ``X-ray forest'' of absorption lines from the warm-hot intergalactic medium. We discuss the best evidence to date along the Mrk 421 sightline. We then discuss the missing baryons in the Local Group and the significance of the z=0 absorption systems in X-ray spectra. We argue that the debate over the Galactic vs. extragalactic origin of the z=0 systems is premature as these systems likely contain both components. Observations with next generation X-ray missions such as Constellation-X and XEUS will be crucial to map out the wa…
We present our proposal for a small X-ray mission DIOS (Diffuse Intergalactic Oxygen Surveyor), consisting of a 4-stage X-ray telescope and an array of TES microcalorimeters, cooled with mechanical coolers, with a total weight of about 400 kg. The mission will perform survey observations of warm-hot intergalactic medium using OVII and OVIII emission lines, with the energy coverage up to 1.5 keV. The wide field of view of about 50' diameter, superior energy resolution close to 2 eV FWHM, and very low background will together enable us a wide range of science for diffuse X-ray sources. We briefl…
I present a review by epoch of baryons in the intergalactic medium (IGM), from the first star until today. Recent observations indicate a protracted period of reionization, suggesting multiple populations of reionizers; detection of these z>6 sources is a key goal that is now coming within reach. The optical Lyman alpha forest (2<z<4) is well-described by the Fluctuating Gunn-Peterson Approximation, but puzzling observations of associated metal lines and nearby galaxies may provide insights into galactic feedback processes. IGM studies at z<1.5 are progressing rapidly thanks to ultraviolet abs…
Most of the baryons in the low-redshift universe reside in a warm/hot component which is difficult to detect with standard absorption/emission line techniques. We propose to use quasar refractive scintillation as an useful, complementary probe of such ionized, intergalactic gas. In particular, an application to the case of the intracluster medium is presented. We show that clusters located at z approx 0.02 should produce a source rms intensity fluctuation at 50-100 GHz of several tens of percent and on time scales ranging from days to months, depending on the projected location of the source o…
Simulations predict that shocks from large-scale structure formation and galactic winds have reduced the fraction of baryons in the warm, photoionized phase (the Lya forest) from nearly 100% in the early universe to less than 50% today. Some of the remaining baryons are predicted to lie in the warm-hot ionized medium (WHIM) phase at T=10^5-10^7 K, but the quantity remains a highly tunable parameter of the models. Modern UV spectrographs have provided unprecedented access to both the Lya forest and potential WHIM tracers at z~0, and several independent groups have constructed large catalogs of …
