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Abstract The shallow potential wells of star-forming dwarf galaxies make their surrounding circumgalactic and intergalactic medium (CGM/IGM) sensitive laboratories for studying the inflows and outflows thought to regulate galaxy evolution. We present new absorption-line measurements in quasar sight lines, probing within projected distances of <300 kpc from 91 star-forming field dwarf galaxies with a median stellar mass of at 0.077 <z< 0.73, from the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey (CUBS). In this redshift range, the CUBS quasar spectra cover a suite of transitions including Hi, low, and intermediate metal ions (e.g., Cii, Siii, Ciii, and Siiii), and highly ionized Ovi. This CUBS-Dwarfs survey enables constraints with samples nine times larger than past dwarf CGM/IGM studies with similar ionic coverage. We find that low and intermediate ionization metal absorption is rare around dwarf galaxies, consistent with previous surveys of local dwarfs. In contrast, highly ionized Oviis commonly observed in sight lines that pass within the virial radius of a dwarf, and Ovidetection rates are nonnegligible at projected distances of 1−2× the virial radius. Based on these measurements, we estimate that the Ovi-bearing phase of the CGM/IGM accounts for a dominant share of the metal budget of dwarf galaxies. The absorption kinematics suggest that a relatively modest fraction of the Ovi-bearing gas is formally unbound. Together, these results imply that low-mass systems atz≲ 1 effectively retain a substantial fraction of their metals within the nearby CGM and IGM.
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This content will become publicly available on January 5, 2027
MUSEQuBES: Physical Conditions, Origins, and Multielement Abundances of the Circumgalactic Medium of an Isolated, Star-forming Dwarf Galaxy at z = 0.57
Abstract In dwarf galaxy models, outflows expel metal-enriched interstellar medium (ISM) into the circumgalactic medium (CGM) to reproduce their observed low metallicities, but measurements of dwarf CGM properties are scarce. We present a study of the CGM of an isolated dwarf atz= 0.5723 with a stellar mass of ≈5 × 107M⊙and star formation rate (≈0.05M⊙yr−1) and ISM metallicity ([O/H] ≈ −0.9) consistent with the star-forming main sequence and mass–metallicity relation. A background quasar sight line with archival UV spectra probes the dwarf’s CGM at a projected distance of 28 kpc, corresponding to approximately half of the estimated virial radius. The dwarf’s CGM is detected in Hi;intermediate metal ions of Ciii, Oiii, Oiv, and Sv; and kinematically broader, highly ionized Ovibut is undetected in Nivand Neviii. Photoionization modeling of the intermediate ions indicates a modest volume filling factor (∼6% along the sight line or ∼2% globally) and a mass of ∼2 × 108M⊙, ∼4× higher than the dwarf’s stellar mass but ∼10× less than the highly ionized CGM. The Ovikinematics are comparable to the dwarf’s estimated virial velocity, suggesting that it is likely associated with cool, photoionized, and volume-filling CGM, with bulk motion or turbulence dominating over thermal pressure. The metallicity inferred for the intermediate ions is [O/H] = −0.6, but with low relative abundances of [C/O] = −0.6 and [N/O] < −1.0. The [N/O] is below levels expected of the dwarf’s ISM but consistent with core-collapse supernova ejecta, suggesting that supernova-enriched gas escaped the dwarf without mixing significantly with ISM enriched in nitrogen from evolved, low-mass stars.
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- PAR ID:
- 10694815
- Publisher / Repository:
- ApJL
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Volume:
- 996
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2041-8205
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- L30
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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