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Abstract We combine 126 new galaxy-O vi absorber pairs from the CGM 2 survey with 123 pairs drawn from the literature to examine the simultaneous dependence of the column density of O vi absorbers ( N O VI ) on galaxy stellar mass, star-formation rate, and impact parameter. The combined sample consists of 249 galaxy-O vi absorber pairs covering z = 0–0.6, with host galaxy stellar masses M * = 10 7.8 –10 11.2 M ⊙ and galaxy-absorber impact parameters R ⊥ = 0–400 proper kiloparsecs. In this work, we focus on the variation of N O VI with galaxymore »mass and impact parameter among the star-forming galaxies in the sample. We find that the average N O VI within one virial radius of a star-forming galaxy is greatest for star-forming galaxies with M * = 10 9.2 –10 10 M ⊙ . Star-forming galaxies with M * between 10 8 and 10 11.2 M ⊙ can explain most O vi systems with column densities greater than 10 13.5 cm −2 . Sixty percent of the O vi mass associated with a star-forming galaxy is found within one virial radius, and 35% is found between one and two virial radii. In general, we find that some departure from hydrostatic equilibrium in the CGM is necessary to reproduce the observed O vi amount, galaxy mass dependence, and extent. Our measurements serve as a test set for CGM models over a broad range of host galaxy masses.« less

We use hydrodynamical simulations of two Milky Way-mass galaxies to demonstrate the impact of cosmic-ray pressure on the kinematics of cool and warm circumgalactic gas. Consistent with previous studies, we find that cosmic-ray pressure can dominate over thermal pressure in the inner 50 kpc of the circumgalactic medium (CGM), creating an overall cooler CGM than that of similar galaxy simulations run without cosmic rays. We generate synthetic sightlines of the simulated galaxies' CGM and use Voigt profile fitting methods to extract ion column densities, Doppler-b parameters, and velocity centroids of individual absorbers. We directly compare these synthetic spectral line fitsmore »with HST/COS CGM absorption-line data analyses, which tend to show that metallic species with a wide range of ionization potential energies are often kinematically aligned. Compared to the Milky-Way simulation run without cosmic rays, the presence of cosmic-ray pressure in the inner CGM creates narrower OVI absorption features and broader SiIII absorption features, a quality which is more consistent with observational data. Additionally, because the cool gas is buoyant due to nonthermal cosmic-ray pressure support, the velocity centroids of both cool and warm gas tend to align in the simulated Milky Way with feedback from cosmic rays. Our study demonstrates that detailed, direct comparisons between simulations and observations, focused on gas kinematics, have the potential to reveal the dominant physical mechanisms that shape the CGM.« less

ABSTRACT Quasar absorption systems encode a wealth of information about the abundances, ionization structure, and physical conditions in intergalactic and circumgalactic media. Simple (often single-phase) photoionization models are frequently used to decode such data. Using five discrete absorbers from the COS Absorption Survey of Baryon Harbors (CASBaH) that exhibit a wide range of detected ions (e.g. Mg ii, S ii – S vi, O ii – O vi, Ne viii), we show several examples where single-phase ionization models cannot reproduce the full set of measured column densities. To explore models that can self-consistently explain the measurements and kinematic alignment of disparate ions, we develop a Bayesianmore »multiphase ionization modelling framework that characterizes discrete phases by their unique physical conditions and also investigates variations in the shape of the UV flux field, metallicity, and relative abundances. Our models require at least two (but favour three) distinct ionization phases ranging from T ≈ 104 K photoionized gas to warm-hot phases at T ≲ 105.8 K. For some ions, an apparently single absorption ‘component' includes contributions from more than one phase, and up to 30 per cent of the H i is not from the lowest ionization phase. If we assume that all of the phases are photoionized, we cannot find solutions in thermal pressure equilibrium. By introducing hotter, collisionally ionized phases, however, we can achieve balanced pressures. The best models indicate moderate metallicities, often with subsolar N/α, and, in two cases, ionizing flux fields that are softer and brighter than the fiducial Haardt & Madau UV background model.« less

As part of our Survey of the Circumgalactic Regions of the ALFALFA Galaxies (CRAG), we report on the analysis of QSO sightlines that pass within ~100 kpc of ALFALFA galaxies that show no discernable evidence of a circumgalactic medium (CGM) as probed by the presence of Lyα absorption. Many of these corresponding galaxies reside in group or cluster environments, in agreement with recent studies that indicate the nearby galaxy environment plays a significant role in determining the physical conditions of the CGM. However, we also identify a sample of isolated ALFALFA galaxies that show no evidence of HI within ~100more »kpc - suggesting the physical distribution of the CGM around these galaxies is patchy and non-uniform, even within relatively small volumes around the galaxies. We explore photometric, spectroscopic, and imaging observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in an attempt to characterize the properties these galaxies and the environments in which they reside. This work has been supported by NSF grant AST-1716569.« less

As part of our Survey of the Circumgalactic Regions of the ALFALFA Galaxies (CRAG), we report on the identification and analysis of strong HI absorption in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of the ALFALFA galaxies as identified in archival HST/COS G130M QSO spectroscopic observations. We characterize the HI and metal content of these strong absorbers and explore the physical distribution of the CGM for these galaxies. Using photometric, spectroscopic, and imaging observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we analyze the environments of these galaxies. We also summarize the gas-galaxy connection for this sample of strong HI absorbers and HI-rich galaxies.more »This work has been supported by NSF grant AST-1716569.« less

We report the initial findings of our Survey of the Circumgalactic Regions of the ALFALFA Galaxies (CRAG). We combine the blindly detected 21-cm HI sources of the ALFALFA catalog with archival HST/COS G130M QSO spectroscopic observations taken from the HST Spectroscopic Legacy Archive to quantify and characterize the circumgalactic medium (CGM) around these local, HI-rich galaxies. We find the covering factor of HI, as probed by Lyα, to be near unity within 50 kpc of all ALFALFA galaxies, regardless of HI mass, MHI. However, we have identified a significant correlation between the extent of the HI-bearing CGM beyond 50 kpcmore »and MHI of the ALFALFA galaxies. We find the galaxies with log(MHI/M☉) > 9.5 give rise to Lyα covering factors > 0.5 out to 300 kpc, indicating the CGM of the most HI-rich galaxies of the ALFALFA sample fills a significant volume. At the same time we find the galaxies with log(MHI/M☉) < 9.5 give rise to substantively lower Lyα covering factors beyond 50 kpc. Most notably, the log(MHI/M☉) < 7.5 galaxies give rise to a Lyα covering factor < 0.3 beyond 50 kpc and negligible covering factors beyond 150 kpc. This work has been supported by NSF grant AST-1716569.« less

Quasar absorption-line studies in the ultraviolet (UV) can uniquely probe the nature of the multiphase cool–warm (104 < T < 106 K) gas in and around galaxy clusters, promising to provide unprecedented insights into (1) interactions between the circumgalactic medium (CGM) associated with infalling galaxies and the hot (T > 106 K) X-ray emitting intracluster medium (ICM), (2) the stripping of metal-rich gas from the CGM, and (3) a multiphase structure of the ICM with a wide range of temperatures and metallicities. In this work, we present results from a high-resolution simulation of an $\sim 10^{14} \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ galaxy clustermore »to study the physical properties and observable signatures of this cool–warm gas in galaxy clusters. We show that the ICM becomes increasingly multiphased at large radii, with the cool–warm gas becoming dominant in cluster outskirts. The diffuse cool–warm gas also exhibits a wider range of metallicity than the hot X-ray emitting gas. We make predictions for the covering fractions of key absorption-line tracers, both in the ICM and in the CGM of cluster galaxies, typically observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We further extract synthetic spectra to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting and characterizing the thermal, kinematic, and chemical composition of the cool–warm gas using H i, O vi, and C iv lines, and we predict an enhanced population of broad Ly α absorbers tracing the warm gas. Lastly, we discuss future prospects of probing the multiphase structure of the ICM beyond HST.

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Abstract This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 survey that publicly releases infrared spectra of over 650,000 stars.more »The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the subsurvey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey subsurvey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated value-added catalogs. This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper, Local Volume Mapper, and Black Hole Mapper surveys.« less