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arXiv 0905.1329astro-ph.CO
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关于邻近恒星爆发中莱曼α吸收的起源及其对其他星系的启示

On The Origin of Lyman-alpha Absorption in Nearby Starbursts and Implications for Other Galaxies

Hakim Atek, Daniel Schaerer, Daniel Kunth

摘要:

尽管Lyman-alpha(Lya)发射线在遥远宇宙的探索和现代观测宇宙学中具有特殊的地位,但观测到的Lya谱线多样性的起源仍有待彻底解释。对附近恒星形成星系的观测带来了Lya发射和它们的物理参数之间的一系列明显矛盾,并要求详细了解工作中的物理过程。IZw 18是已知最缺乏金属的星系之一,在这方面特别令人感兴趣。我们使用一个三维Lya辐射传输代码来模拟哈勃太空望远镜(HST)观测到的IZw 18,并拟合其Lya光谱。不同的几何配置的源和中性气体进行了探讨。利用观测到的少量尘埃(E(B-V)~ 0.05)和N(HI)= 6.5 x 10^(21)cm^(-2)的球形HI壳层,再现了IZw 18西北区的积分Lya廓线。如此高的柱密度使得即使具有小的消光也可以将强的Lya发射(EW(Lya)= 60 A)转换为阻尼吸收。当应用平板几何形状并选择给定的视线时,可以成功地复制Lya轮廓,完全没有灰尘,N(HI)= 3 x 10^(21)cm^(-2)。轮廓形状的空间变化自然地由辐射传递效应来解释。在外流星际介质(ISM)的情况下,如在莱曼Break Galvanie(LBG)中通常观察到的那样,需要高N(H)和尘埃含量才能观察到Lya的吸收。对于在IZw 18和其他低光度星系中观察到的接近静态的中性气体,只要足够高的N(H)覆盖星系,就只需要少量的尘埃。

英文摘要:

(Abridged) Despite the privileged position that Lyman-alpha (Lya) emission line holds in the exploration of the distant universe and modern observational cosmology, the origin of the observed diversity of lya profiles remains to be thoroughly explained. Observations of nearby star forming galaxies bring their batch of apparent contradictions between Lya emission and their physical parameters, and call for a detailed understanding of the physical processes at work. IZw 18, one of the most metal-poor galaxies known is of particular interest in this context. We use a 3D Lya radiation transfer code to model Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of IZw 18 and to fit its Lya spectrum. Different geometrical configurations of the source and the neutral gas are explored. The integrated Lya profile of NW region of IZw 18 is reproduced using the observed small amount of dust (E(B-V) ~ 0.05) and a spherical HI shell with N(HI) = 6.5 x 10^(21) cm^(-2). Such a high column density makes it possible to transform a strong Lya emission (EW(Lya) = 60 A) into a damped absorption even with a small extinction. When a slab geometry is applied and a given line of sight is chosen, the Lya profile can be successfully reproduced with no dust at all and N(HI) = 3 x 10^(21) cm^(-2). The spatial variations of the profile shape are naturally explained by radiation transfer effects. In the case of outflowing Inter Stellar Medium (ISM), as commonly observed in Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs), a high N(H) and dust content are required to observe Lya in absorption. For nearly static neutral gas as observed in IZw 18 and other low luminosity galaxies only a small amount of dust is required provided a sufficiently high N(H) covers the galaxy.

机构、总结、中文摘要均由AI分析而来,可能存在错误,请以论文正文为准。

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