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arXiv 0806.0862astro-ph
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类星体探测类星体III:反馈、淬灭和大质量星系形成物理学的新线索

Quasars Probing Quasars III: New Clues to Feedback, Quenching, and the Physics of Massive Galaxy Formation

J. Xavier Prochaska, Joseph F. Hennawi

摘要:

z~2类星体所在的银河系是当今大质量“红死”星系的高$z$祖先。由于类星体的近配对具有不同的红移,背景类星体可以用来研究前景类星体的晕气体吸收,提供大量关于反馈、淬火和大质量星系形成的物理信息。我们给出了一个明亮背景类星体的Keck/HIRES光谱,它位于一个角距为13.3”的投影对中,对应于前景类星体的红移z_fg=2.4360 +/- 0.0005处的108 kpc,由Gemini/GNIRS近红外光谱精确测定。我们的中阶梯光谱揭示了光学厚的气体(NHI~10^19.7),与前景类星体的红移相一致。伴随金属线的离子跃迁揭示了前景类星体晕的以下性质:(1)运动学极端,吸收范围达相对于z_fg的+780km/s,(2)金属丰度接近太阳,(3)主要电离气体的温度T<~20, 000 K,(4)主要电离气体的温度T<~20, 000 K,(5)主要电离气体的温度T<~20, 000 K。(4)电子密度为n_e~1 cm^-3,表明吸收性“云”的特征尺寸为~10 - 100 pc;(7)在10^5K < T < 10^6K的温度范围内,存在可忽略不计的暖气体;(8)气体不太可能被前景类星体照亮,这意味着各向异性或间歇性发射。我们的观测结果所暗示的T~10^4K冷气体的质量是重要的,相当于前景类星体在r~ 100 kpc处暗晕的重子总质量密度的百分之几。这种材料的起源仍然不清楚,我们讨论了几种可能性的背景下,目前的反馈和大规模星系形成模型。

英文摘要:

Galaxies hosting z~2 quasars are the high-$z$ progenitors of today's massive `red-and-dead' galaxies. With close pairs of quasars at different redshifts, a background quasar can be used to study a foreground quasar's halo gas in absorption, providing a wealth of information about feedback, quenching, and the physics of massive galaxy formation. We present a Keck/HIRES spectrum of the bright background quasar in a projected pair with angular separation 13.3" corresponding to 108kpc at the redshift of the foreground quasar z_fg=2.4360 +/- 0.0005, precisely determined from Gemini/GNIRS near-IR spectroscopy. Our echelle spectrum reveals optically thick gas (NHI~10^19.7), coincident with the foreground quasar redshift. The ionic transitions of associated metal-lines reveal the following properties of the foreground quasar's halo: (1) the kinematics are extreme with absorption extending to +780km/s relative to z_fg; (2) the metallicity is nearly solar; (3) the temperature of the predominantly ionized gas is T<~20,000K; (4) the electron density is n_e~1 cm^-3 indicating a characteristic size ~10 - 100pc for the absorbing `clouds'; (7) there is a negligible amount of warm gas 10^5K < T < 10^6K; (8) the gas is unlikely illuminated by the foreground quasar, implying anisotropic or intermittent emission. The mass of cold T~10^4K gas implied by our observations is significant, amounting to a few percent of the total expected baryonic mass density of the foreground quasar's dark halo at r~100kpc. The origin of this material is still unclear, and we discuss several possibilities in the context of current models of feedback and massive galaxy formation.

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