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arXiv 0904.4901astro-ph.GAastro-ph.CO
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星系晕中电离气体的巨大储存:高速和中速云中的电离硅

A Large Reservoir of Ionized Gas in the Galactic Halo: Ionized Silicon in High-Velocity and Intermediate-Velocity Clouds

J. Michael Shull, Jennifer R. Jones, Charles W. Danforth, Joseph A. Collins

摘要:

低星系晕被电离的低金属度气体鞘所包围,这些气体可以提供大量(1兆太阳/年)的冷却流入,以补充盘中的恒星形成。利用HST和FUSE对37个活动星系核在高纬度的吸收光谱,我们检测到广泛的星际SiIII 1206.5吸收:61高速云(HVC)沿30视线和22中速云(IVC)沿20视线。我们发现一个隔离的红移和蓝移的吸收在银河系的旋转轴在l=180,一致的滞后在银河系平面以上的旋转速度。HVC的天空覆盖范围很大(30/37方向为81 ± 5%),SiIII光学深度通常是OVI 1032的4-5倍。每条视线的平均HVC柱密度<log N_SiIII>=13.42+-0.21,相当于电离低金属丰度气体的总柱密度N_HII~ 6 × 10 ~(18)/(Z_Si/0.2Z_sun),与OVI中推断的结果相似。该水库的总容量为10^8兆太阳,产生的质量下降率约为1兆太阳/年。通过在吸收体的子集中模拟Si II、Si III、Si IV和HI,我们限制了低晕中的平均光电离参数,<log U>= -3.0(+0.3,-0.4),比在低红移星系际介质中观察到的低约10倍。来自[Si II/HI]的一些HVC中的金属丰度为10-30%太阳能,而在纯光电离模型中从所有三种硅离子中发现的值较低。这些形式上较低的金属丰度是高度不确定的,因为一些较高的离子可能是碰撞电离的。17颗HVC和19颗IVC的平均Si金属丰度&lt;logZ_Si/Z_sun)&gt;= -2.1(+1.1,-0.3)和-1.0(+0.6,-1.0),由于电离模型的原因有些不确定,但与SDSS中~ 2 e5晕F/G星的中值光度金属丰度[Fe/H]=-1.46+-0.30一致。

英文摘要:

The low Galactic halo is enveloped by a sheath of ionized, low-metallicity gas, which can provide a substantial (1 M_sun/yr) cooling inflow to replenish star formation in the disk. Using absorption spectra from the HST and FUSE toward 37 active galactic nuclei at high latitude, we detect widespread interstellar SiIII 1206.5 absorption: 61 high-velocity clouds (HVCs) along 30 sight lines and 22 intermediate-velocity clouds (IVCs) along 20 sight lines. We find a segregation of redshifted and blueshifted absorbers across the Galactic rotation axis at l=180, consistent with a lag in the rotation velocity above the Galactic plane. The HVC sky coverage is large (81+-5% for 30/37 directions) with SiIII optical depth typically 4-5 times that of OVI 1032. The mean HVC column density per sight line, <log N_SiIII>=13.42+-0.21, corresponds to total column density N_HII~6x10^18)/(Z_Si/0.2Z_sun) of ionized low-metallicity gas, similar to that inferred in OVI. This reservoir could total 10^8 M_sun and produce a mass infall rate ~1 M_sun/yr. By modeling SiII, SiIII, SiIV, and HI in a subset of absorbers, we constrain the mean photoionization parameter in the low halo, <log U> = -3.0 (+0.3,-0.4), approximately ten times lower than observed in the low-redshift intergalactic medium. The metallicities in some HVCs, derived from [SiII/HI], are 10-30% solar, whereas values found from all three silicon ions are lower in the pure-photoionization models. Thse formally lower metallicities are highly uncertain, since some of the higher ions may be collisionally ionized. The mean Si metallicities, <logZ_Si/Z_sun)>= -2.1(+1.1,-0.3) in 17 HVCs and -1.0(+0.6,-1.0) in 19 IVCs, are somewhat uncertain owing to ionization modeling, but consistent with the median photometric metallicity, [Fe/H]=-1.46+-0.30, for ~2e5 halo F/G stars in SDSS.

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