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Abstract The circumgalactic medium (CGM) is host to gas flows into and out of galaxies and regulates galaxy growth, but the multiphase, diffuse gas in this region is challenging to observe. We investigate the properties of gas giving rise to Oviemission from the CGM that upcoming missions, such as the Aspera smallsat, will be able to map in local galaxies. We use the FOGGIE simulations to predict the Oviemission from edge-on galaxies across the redshift rangez= 1 → 0. Oviemission is brightest surrounding small, clumpy structures near the galaxy where the gas density is high. Most of the Ovisurface brightness originates from collisionally ionized,T∼ 10^5.5K, inflowing gas and is not preferentially aligned with the major or minor axis of the galaxy disk. Simulated galaxies with higher halo masses, higher median CGM gas density, and higher star formation rates produce brighter and more widespread Oviemission in their CGM. We show that while Oviemission primarily originates in inflowing gas, turning off outflows in a simulation without star formation feedback eliminates most of the Oviemission. Enrichment from feedback is necessary to mix with the inflowing gas and allow it to glow in Ovi. Collectively, our findings point toward a picture where Oviemission traces warm, ionized envelopes of cooler clouds that are accreting onto the galaxy in a metal-enriched galactic fountain. Finally, we show that the detection limit of Aspera is sufficient to detect Oviemission tens of kiloparsecs from the galaxy center for ∼L^⋆galaxies. 

Abstract One of the main unknowns in galaxy evolution is how gas flows into and out of galaxies in the circumgalactic medium (CGM). Studies observing the CGM in absorption using multiple or extended background objects suggest a high degree of variation on relatively small (≲1 kpc) spatial scales. Similarly, high-resolution simulations generally exhibit small-scale substructure in the gas around galaxies. We examine the small-scale structure of thez= 1 CGM using simulations from the Figuring Out Gas and Galaxies in Enzo (FOGGIE) project. We select gaseous substructures (“clumps”) by their local overdensity and investigate their physical properties, including temperature, metallicity, and kinematics with respect to the galaxy and the nearby surroundings. FOGGIE resolves clumps down to sphericalized radiiR ∼ 0.25 kpc atz= 1. The distribution of clumps peaks at ∼10⁵M_⊙and 10⁴K, consistent with relatively condensed, cool gas with a slight preference for inflow-like velocities. Many clumps show internal temperature and density variations, and thus internally varying ionization levels for key diagnostic ions such as Hi, Mgii, and Ovi. The average metallicity in clumps is about a factor 1.5–2× lower in metallicity than nearby gas, suggesting that the metals are not well mixed between structured and diffuse CGMs, which may have implications for observational metallicity estimations of dense CGM clouds. We estimate the survivability of CGM clumps and find that structures larger than 0.5 kpc are generally long-lived. Finally, we qualitatively compare the simulated cloud properties to Milky Way high-velocity clouds. 

Abstract We investigate the coevolution of the angular momentum of Milky Way–like galaxies, their circumgalactic gas, and their dark matter halos using zoom-in simulations from the Figuring Out Gas and Galaxies in Enzo suite. We examine how the magnitude and orientation of the angular momentum vary over time within the halo and between the components of mass. Fromz ∼ 2 to today, and in general across the simulated halos, the specific angular momenta of the central galaxies and the cool gas in their circumgalactic media (T < 10⁵K) increase together. Over that same period, the specific angular momenta of the hot (>10⁶K) and dark components of the halo change minimally. Byz ∼ 1, the central galaxies have generally lost association with the angular momentum of their full dark matter halo, both in magnitude and orientation. We find a wide distribution of angular momentum orientations in the halo, varying by up to 180° over small (∼tens of kiloparsecs) scales and between the different components of mass. The net angular momenta of the galaxies, their circumgalactic gas, and their dark matter halos are generally misaligned with one another at all cosmic times. The present-day orientation of the central galaxies is established at late times (afterz= 1), after the rates of cosmic accretion and mergers decline and the disks are able to settle and stabilize their orientation. 

Abstract The inner circumgalactic medium (CGM) of galaxies, where disk and halo processes intersect, remains poorly characterized despite its critical role in regulating galaxy evolution. We present results from Project AMIGA Insider, mapping Andromeda’s (M31) inner CGM within 0.25R_vir(∼75 kpc) using 11 QSO sightlines, bringing our total sample to 54 sightlines from the disk to 2R_vir. We detect a clear transition between M31’s thick disk and CGM atR ≲ 30 kpc, where low/intermediate ions show thick-disk corotating components with higher column densities than the CGM ones, while high ions exhibit similar column densities in both the CGM and thick disk. Beyond this region, all ion column densities decrease with impact parameter, with steeper gradients for low ions than high ions. The inner CGM (R ≲ 100 kpc) shows more complex gas phases and multicomponent absorption compared to the predominantly single-component outer CGM. We find no significant azimuthal dependence for any observed ions, suggesting M31’s CGM is shaped by radial processes (e.g., cooling flows, precipitation) rather than disk-aligned outflows. We estimate the total metal mass in M31’s cool (Siii, Siiii, Siiv) CGM withinR_virto be (1.9 ± 0. 3_stat ± 0. 7_sys) × 10⁷M_⊙, leading to a cool gas mass of $\approx 6\times 10^9{(Z/0.3Z_{\odot })}^{-1}$ M_⊙. The warmer Ovigas may contain at least 10 times more metal and gas mass. Compared to the COS-HalosL*galaxies, M31’s cool CGM shows lower Si column densities atR ≲ 0.4R₂₀₀and overall lower cool CGM masses, likely reflecting differences in galaxy mass and environment. 

Abstract This study addresses how the incidence rate of strong O vi absorbers in a galaxy’s circumgalactic medium (CGM) depends on galaxy mass and, independently, on the amount of star formation in the galaxy. We use Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph absorption spectroscopy of quasars to measure O vi absorption within 400 projected kpc and 300 km s −1 of 52 galaxies with M * ∼ 3 × 10 10 M ⊙ . The galaxies have redshifts 0.12 < z < 0.6, stellar masses 10 10.1 M ⊙ < M * < 10 10.9 M ⊙ , and spectroscopic classifications as star-forming or passive. We compare the incidence rates of high column density O vi absorption ( N O VI ≥ 10 14.3 cm −2 ) near star-forming and passive galaxies in two narrow ranges of stellar mass and, separately, in a matched range of halo mass. In all three mass ranges, the O vi covering fraction within 150 kpc is higher around star-forming galaxies than around passive galaxies with greater than 3 σ -equivalent statistical significance. On average, the CGM of star-forming galaxies with M * ∼ 3 × 10 10 M ⊙ contains more O vi than the CGM of passive galaxies with the same mass. This difference is evidence for a CGM transformation that happens together with galaxy quenching and is not driven primarily by halo mass. 

Abstract We combine data sets from the CGM 2 and CASBaH surveys to model a transition point, R cross , between circumgalactic and intergalactic media (CGM and IGM, respectively). In total, our data consist of 7244 galaxies at z < 0.5 with precisely measured spectroscopic redshifts, all having impact parameters of 0.01–20 comoving Mpc from 28 QSO sightlines with high-resolution UV spectra that cover H i Ly α . Our best-fitting model is a two-component model that combines a 3D absorber–galaxy cross-correlation function with a simple Gaussian profile at inner radii to represent the CGM. By design, this model gives rise to a determination of R cross as a function of galaxy stellar mass, which can be interpreted as the boundary between the CGM and IGM. For galaxies with 10 8 ≤ M ⋆ / M ⊙ ≤ 10 10.5 , we find that R cross ( M ⋆ ) ≈ 2.0 ± 0.6 R vir . Additionally, we find excellent agreement between R cross ( M ⋆ ) and the theoretically determined splashback radius for galaxies in this mass range. Overall, our results favor models of galaxy evolution at z < 0.5 that distribute T ≈ 10 4 K gas to distances beyond the virial radius. 

Abstract The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) are the closest massive satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. They are probably on their first passage on an infalling orbit towards our Galaxy 1 and trace the continuing dynamics of the Local Group 2 . Recent measurements of a high mass for the LMC ( M halo  ≈ 10 11.1–11.4   M ⊙ ) 3–6 imply that the LMC should host a Magellanic Corona: a collisionally ionized, warm-hot gaseous halo at the virial temperature (10 5.3–5.5  K) initially extending out to the virial radius (100–130 kiloparsecs (kpc)). Such a corona would have shaped the formation of the Magellanic Stream 7 , a tidal gas structure extending over 200° across the sky 2,8,9 that is bringing in metal-poor gas to the Milky Way 10 . Here we show evidence for this Magellanic Corona with a potential direct detection in highly ionized oxygen (O +5 ) and indirectly by means of triply ionized carbon and silicon, seen in ultraviolet (UV) absorption towards background quasars. We find that the Magellanic Corona is part of a pervasive multiphase Magellanic circumgalactic medium (CGM) seen in many ionization states with a declining projected radial profile out to at least 35 kpc from the LMC and a total ionized CGM mass of log 10 ( M H II,CGM / M ⊙ ) ≈ 9.1 ± 0.2. The evidence for the Magellanic Corona is a crucial step forward in characterizing the Magellanic group and its nested evolution with the Local Group. 

Abstract We present the KODIAQ-Z survey aimed to characterize the cool, photoionized gas at 2.2 ≲z≲ 3.6 in 202 Hi-selected absorbers with 14.6 ≤ $\log N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}$ < 20 that probe the interface between galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM). We find that gas with $14.6\le \log N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}<20$ at 2.2 ≲z≲ 3.6 can be metal-rich (−1.6 ≲ [X/H] ≲ − 0.2) as seen in damped Lyαabsorbers (DLAs); it can also be very metal-poor ([X/H] < − 2.4) or even pristine ([X/H] < − 3.8), which is not observed in DLAs but is common in the IGM. For $16<\log N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}<20$ absorbers, the frequency of pristine absorbers is about 1%–10%, while for $14.6\le \log N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}\le 16$ absorbers it is 10%–20%, similar to the diffuse IGM. Supersolar gas is extremely rare (<1%) at these redshifts. The factor of several thousand spread from the lowest to highest metallicities and large metallicity variations (a factor of a few to >100) between absorbers separated by less than Δv< 500 km s⁻¹imply that the metals are poorly mixed in $14.6\le \log N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}<20$ gas. We show that these photoionized absorbers contribute to about 14% of the cosmic baryons and 45% of the cosmic metals at 2.2 ≲z≲ 3.6. We find that the mean metallicity increases withN_Hi, consistent with what is found inz< 1 gas. The metallicity of gas in this column density regime has increased by a factor ∼8 from 2.2 ≲z≲ 3.6 toz< 1, but the contribution of the $14.6\le \log N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}<19$ absorbers to the total metal budget of the universe atz< 1 is a quarter of that at 2.2 ≲z≲ 3.6. We show that FOGGIE cosmological zoom-in simulations have a similar evolution of [X/H] withN_Hi, which is not observed in lower-resolution simulations. In these simulations, very metal-poor absorbers with [X/H] < − 2.4 atz∼ 2–3 are tracers of inflows, while higher-metallicity absorbers are a mixture of inflows and outflows. 

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 galaxy 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. 

Abstract The bimodal absorption system imaging campaign (BASIC) aims to characterize the galaxy environments of a sample of 36 H i -selected partial Lyman limit systems (pLLSs) and Lyman limit systems (LLSs) in 23 QSO fields at z ≲ 1. These pLLSs/LLSs provide a unique sample of absorbers with unbiased and well-constrained metallicities, allowing us to explore the origins of metal-rich and low-metallicity circumgalactic medium (CGM) at z < 1. Here we present Keck/KCWI and Very Large Telescope/MUSE observations of 11 of these QSO fields (19 pLLSs) that we combine with Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging to identify and characterize the absorber-associated galaxies at 0.16 ≲ z ≲ 0.84. We find 23 unique absorber-associated galaxies, with an average of one associated galaxy per absorber. For seven absorbers, all with <10% solar metallicities, we find no associated galaxies with log M ⋆ ≳ 9.0 within ρ / R vir and ∣Δ v ∣/ v esc ≤ 1.5 with respect to the absorber. We do not find any strong correlations between the metallicities or H i column densities of the gas and most of the galaxy properties, except for the stellar mass of the galaxies: the low-metallicity ([X/H] ≤ −1.4) systems have a probability of 0.39 − 0.15 + 0.16 for having a host galaxy with log M ⋆ ≥ 9.0 within ρ / R vir ≤ 1.5, while the higher metallicity absorbers have a probability of 0.78 − 0.13 + 0.10 . This implies metal-enriched pLLSs/LLSs at z < 1 are typically associated with the CGM of galaxies with log M ⋆ > 9.0 , whereas low-metallicity pLLSs/LLSs are found in more diverse locations, with one population arising in the CGM of galaxies and another more broadly distributed in overdense regions of the universe. Using absorbers not associated with galaxies, we estimate the unweighted geometric mean metallicity of the intergalactic medium to be [X/H] ≲ −2.1 at z < 1, which is lower than previously estimated.