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Abstract Cool, dusty interstellar material plays an important role in the chemical evolution of galaxies. We present an analysis of this material across galaxy type through a spatially resolved spectral stacking analysis of galaxies from the MaNGA survey. With stellar population synthesis, we isolate neutral gas signals from resonance lines, comparing outcomes across model types, galactic geometry, and host stellar mass and age. We find that both synthetic and empirical models fail to capture the range of galactic chemical abundances. There is also notable Naicontamination from the Galaxy’s interstellar medium (ISM) in the MILES empirical stellar library. We are unable to reliably determine the column density of the gas due to the accuracy of absorption measurements, but differential analysis across radius and inclination reveals consistent and significant path-length dependent absorption in the equivalent width of Nai. We note similar but lesser trends in a narrow Caiiindex. We find no trends in Caior in a broad Caiiindex, indicating its ISM insensitivity and providing evidence in favor of its utility in determining the age and chemical content of stellar populations. Our data shows there is a cool ISM component in most external galaxies withD_n(4000) < 1.7 that can be traced by Nai. Lastly, we caution that the characterization of gas kinematics traced by Naiin such low-resolution spectra is subject to systematic effects due to the chosen approach to stellar population modeling. 

Abstract We assess the impact of Caiiλλ3934, 3969 and Naiλλ5891, 5897 absorption arising in the interstellar medium (ISM) on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) and produce corrected spectroscopy for 80% of the 24,162-star catalog. We model the absorption strength of these transitions as a function of the stellar distance, Galactic latitude, and dust reddening based on high-spectral resolution studies. With this model, we identify 6342 MaStar stars that have negligible ISM absorption (W^ISM(CaiiK) < 0.07 Å andW^ISM(Nai5891) < 0.05 Å). For 12,110 of the remaining stars, we replace their NaiD profile (and their Caiiprofile for effective temperaturesT_eff> 9000 K) with a coadded spectrum of low-ISM stars with similarT_eff, surface gravity, and metallicity. For 738 additional stars withT_eff> 9000 K, we replace these spectral regions with a matching ATLAS9-based BOSZ model. This results in a mean reduction inW(CaiiK) (W(NaiD)) of 0.4–0.7 Å (0.6–1.1 Å) for hot stars (T_eff> 7610 K), and a mean reduction inW(NaiD) of 0.1–0.2 Å for cooler stars. We show that interstellar absorption in the simple stellar population (SSP) model spectra constructed from the original library artificially enhancesW(CaiiK) by ≳20% at young ages (<400 Myr); dramatically enhances the strength of stellar NaiD in starbursting systems (by ≳50%); and enhances stellar NaiD in older stellar populations (≳10 Gyr) by ≳10%. We provide SSP spectra constructed from the cleaned library and discuss the implications of these effects for stellar population synthesis analyses constraining the stellar age, [Na/Fe] abundance, and initial mass function. 

ABSTRACT We have re-observed $$\rm \sim$$40 low-inclination, star-forming galaxies from the MaNGA survey (σ ∼ 65 km s−1) at ∼6.5 times higher spectral resolution (σ ∼ 10 km s−1) using the HexPak integral field unit on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. The aim of these observations is to calibrate MaNGA’s instrumental resolution and to characterize turbulence in the warm interstellar medium and ionized galactic outflows. Here we report the results for the Hα region observations as they pertain to the calibration of MaNGA’s spectral resolution. Remarkably, we find that the previously reported MaNGA line-spread-function (LSF) Gaussian width is systematically underestimated by only 1 per cent. The LSF increase modestly reduces the characteristic dispersion of H ii regions-dominated spectra sampled at 1–2 kpc spatial scales from 23 to 20 km s−1 in our sample, or a 25 per cent decrease in the random-motion kinetic energy. This commensurately lowers the dispersion zeropoint in the relation between line-width and star-formation rate surface-density in galaxies sampled on the same spatial scale. This modest zero-point shift does not appear to alter the power-law slope in the relation between line-width and star-formation rate surface-density. We also show that adopting a scheme whereby corrected line-widths are computed as the square root of the median of the difference in the squared measured line width and the squared LSF Gaussian avoids biases and allows for lower signal-to-noise data to be used reliably. 

Abstract We use medium- and high-resolution spectroscopy of close pairs of quasars to analyze the circumgalactic medium (CGM) surrounding 32 damped Lyαabsorption systems (DLAs). The primary quasar sightline in each pair probes an intervening DLA in the redshift range 1.6 <z_abs< 3.5, such that the secondary sightline probes absorption from Lyαand a large suite of metal-line transitions (including Oi, Cii, Civ, Siii, and Siiv) in the DLA host galaxy’s CGM at transverse distances 24 kpc ≤R_⊥≤ 284 kpc. Analysis of Lyαin the CGM sightlines shows an anticorrelation betweenR_⊥and Hicolumn density (N_HI) with 99.8% confidence, similar to that observed around luminous galaxies. The incidences of Ciiand SiiiwithN> 10¹³cm⁻²within 100 kpc of DLAs are larger by 2σthan those measured in the CGM of Lyman break galaxies (C_f(N_CII) > 0.89 and ${\mathrm{C}}_f\left(N_{\mathrm{Si}\mathrm{II}}\right)={0.75}_{-0.17}^{+0.12}$). Metallicity constraints derived from ionic ratios for nine CGM systems with negligible ionization corrections andN_HI> 10^18.5cm⁻²show a significant degree of scatter (with metallicities/limits across the range $-2.06\lesssim \log Z/Z_{\odot }\lesssim -0.75$), suggesting inhomogeneity in the metal distribution in these environments. Velocity widths of Civλ1548 and low-ionization metal species in the DLA versus CGM sightlines are strongly (>2σ) correlated, suggesting that they trace the potential well of the host halo overR_⊥≲ 300 kpc scales. At the same time, velocity centroids for Civλ1548 differ in DLA versus CGM sightlines by >100 km s⁻¹for ∼50% of velocity components, but few components have velocities that would exceed the escape velocity assuming dark matter host halos of ≥10¹²M_⊙. 

Abstract The circumgalactic medium (CGM) plays a vital role in the formation and evolution of galaxies, acting as a lifeline between galaxies and the surrounding intergalactic medium. In this study, we leverage a unique sample of quasar pairs to investigate the properties of the CGM with absorption line tomography. We present a new sample of medium-resolution Keck/ESI, Magellan/MagE, and VLT/XSHOOTER spectra of 29 quasar pairs at redshift 2 <z< 3. We supplement the sample with additional spectra of 32 pairs from the literature, creating a catalog of 61 quasar pairs with angular separations between 1.″7 and 132.″9 and projected physical separations (r_⊥) between 14 kpc and 887 kpc. We construct a catalog of 906 metal-line absorption doublets of Civ(λλ1548, 1550) with equivalent widths ranging from 6 m Å ≤W_r,1550≤ 2053 m Å. The best-fit linear model to the log-space equivalent width frequency distribution ( $\log f\left(W_r\right)=m\log \left(W_r\right)+b$) of the sample yields coefficients ofm= −1.44 ± 0.16 andb= −0.43 ± 0.16. To constrain the projected extent of Civ, we calculate the transverse autocorrelation function. The flattening of the autocorrelation function at lowr_⊥provides a lower limit for the coherence length of the metal enriched CGM—on the order of 200h⁻¹comoving kpc. This physical size constraint allows us to refine our understanding of the metals in the CGM, where the extent of Civin the CGM depends on gas flows, feedback, timescale of metal injection and mixing, and the mass of the host galaxies. 

Abstract We use medium-resolution Keck/Echellette Spectrograph and Imager spectroscopy of bright quasars to study cool gas traced by Caiiλλ3934, 3969 and Naiλλ5891, 5897 absorption in the interstellar/circumgalactic media of 21 foreground star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0.03 <z< 0.20 with stellar masses 7.4 ≤ logM_*/M_⊙≤ 10.6. The quasar–galaxy pairs were drawn from a unique sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar spectra with intervening nebular emission, and thus have exceptionally close impact parameters (R_⊥< 13 kpc). The strength of this line emission implies that the galaxies’ star formation rates (SFRs) span a broad range, with several lying well above the star-forming sequence. We use Voigt profile modeling to derive column densities and component velocities for each absorber, finding that column densitiesN(Caii) > 10^12.5cm⁻²(N(Nai) > 10^12.0cm⁻²) occur with an incidencef_C(Caii) = 0.63^+0.10_−0.11(f_C(Nai) = 0.57^+0.10_−0.11). We find no evidence for a dependence off_Cor the rest-frame equivalent widthsW_r(CaiiK) orW_r(Nai5891) onR_⊥orM_*. Instead,W_r(CaiiK) is correlated with local SFR at >3σsignificance, suggesting that Caiitraces star formation-driven outflows. While most of the absorbers have velocities within ±50 km s⁻¹of the host redshift, their velocity widths (characterized by Δv₉₀) are universally 30–177 km s⁻¹larger than that implied by tilted-ring modeling of the velocities of interstellar material. These kinematics must trace galactic fountain flows and demonstrate that they persist atR_⊥> 5 kpc. Finally, we assess the relationship between dust reddening andW_r(CaiiK) (W_r(Nai5891)), finding that 33% (24%) of the absorbers are inconsistent with the best-fit Milky WayE(B−V)-W_rrelations at >3σsignificance. 

{"Abstract":["This file contains simple stellar population (SSP) model spectra constructed from a version of the SDSS-IV MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar; Yan et al. 2019, Abdurro'uf et al. 2022) that has been corrected for the effects of absorption in the CaII 3934, 3969 and NaI D 5891, 5897 transitions arising in the Milky Way's interstellar medium (ISM).  These corrections are described in full in Rubin et al. (2025), and our approach to constructing these SSP models is described in Maraston et al. (2020) and Rubin et al. (2025).  In brief, our models are calculated with the evolutionary population synthesis code of Maraston (2005), which is based on the fuel consumption theorem for the evaluation of the energetics of post-Main Sequence phases.  We use the calibrated median values of the stellar parameters calculated for the MaStar sample to generate representative stellar spectra as functions of effective temperature, surface gravity, and chemical composition.  These representative spectra are then used as input for the stellar population models.  The stellar parameter estimates are described in R. Yan et al. (2025, in preparation) and at https://www.sdss4.org/dr17/mastar/mastar-stellar-parameters/.  \n\nWe calculate SSPs using stars in metallicity bins centered at [Z/H] = -1.35, -0.33, 0.0, and +0.35 with an approximate bin width of 0.1 dex assuming a Salpeter IMF.  The SSP ages span 3 Myr to 15 Gyr and are calculated at 51 gridpoints.  For comparison, we also calculate the equivalent SSPs using the uncorrected MaStar spectra.  The datamodel is described below.\n\nHDU1: 51 x 4 x 1 x 3 matrix describing the parameters of each SSP spectrum.  Each gridpoint (i,j,k) contains a 3-element array listing the age (in Gyr), metallicity, and IMF slope (in linear mass units)\n\nHDU2: 2 x 4563 array containing the vacuum wavelength and spectral resolution (R) grids for models constructed from the uncorrected (original) stellar library.  The wavelength sampling is logarithmic and the wavelengths have units of Angstroms.  R = wave / (FWHM dwave)\n\nHDU3: 51 x 4 x 1 x 4563 matrix containing the SSPs constructed from the uncorrected (original) stellar library in units of erg/s/Ang/Msun  \n\nHDU4: 2 x 4542 array containing the vacuum wavelength and spectral resolution (R) grids for models constructed from the corrected (cleaned) stellar library.  The wavelength sampling is logarithmic and the wavelengths have units of Angstroms.  R = wave / (FWHM dwave)\n\nHDU5: 51 x 4 x 1 x 4542 matrix containing the SSPs constructed from the corrected (cleaned) stellar library in units of erg/s/Ang/Msun  "],"Other":["Preferred Citation\n\nIf you use these model spectra in your research, we ask that you please cite our article, "Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV MaStar: Quantification and Abatement of Interstellar Absorption in the Largest Empirical Stellar Spectral Library," Rubin et al. (2025), ApJ, 981 31, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad8eb6.  Please also cite this Zenodo deposit."]} 

{"Abstract":["This file contains a version of the SDSS-IV MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) which has been corrected for the effects of absorption in the CaII 3934, 3969 and NaI D 5891, 5897 transitions arising in the Milky Way's interstellar medium (ISM).  These corrections are described in full in Rubin et al. (2025).  In brief, we first develop a model of the absorption strengths of these transitions as a function of stellar distance, Galactic latitude, and dust reddening based upon high-spectral resolution studies.  We use this model to identify 6342 MaStar stars with negligible ISM absorption.  For 12110 of the remaining stars, we replace their NaI D profile (and their CaII profile for effective temperatures > 9000 K) with a coadded spectrum of low-ISM stars with similar effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity.  For 738 additional stars with effective temperatures > 9000 K, we replace these spectral regions with a matching ATLAS9-based BOSZ model.  This procedure yields corrected spectroscopy for 80% of the 24162-star catalog.\n\nThe spectra in this file are identical to those which have been unified to the 99.5th-percentile spectral resolution curve for MaStar and made available at https://www.sdss4.org/dr17/mastar/mastar-spectra (with the exception of the corrected spectral regions described above).  The datamodel is described below.    \n\nMANGAID - The XX-XXXXXX format MaNGA IDWAVE - Vacuum wavelength grid. The wavelength sampling is logarithmic (Angstroms)FLUX - Observed flux, corrected for Milky Way ISM contamination.  Extinction-corrected to above the Earth's atmosphere but not corrected for Galactic extinction (10^-17 erg/s/cm^2/Ang)IVAR - Inverse variance of the flux (10^34 s^2cm^4Ang^2/erg^2)PREDISP - Instrumental broadening sigma.  Does not include the effect of pixel integration (Angstroms)SRES - Spectral resolution = WAVE/(sqrt(8*ln(2)) * PREDISP)REPLACEMENT_CAII_FLG - Flag indicating treatment of the CaII spectral region.  Described in Table 3REPLACEMENT_NAID_FLG - Flag indicating treatment of the NaID spectral region.  Described in Table 3NSIG_THRESH - Maximum 3D distance in stellar parameter space from stars included in empirical replacement stack, if one was constructed.  Described in Sec. 3.1 and 3.2 (Psi_thresh)ewCaIIK_pred - Interstellar CaII K EW predicted by model described in Sec. 2.2 (Angstroms)ewNaI5891_pred - Interstellar NaI D 5891 EW predicted by model described in Sec. 2.2 (Angstroms)ewNaI5897_pred - Interstellar NaI D 5897 EW predicted by model described in Sec. 2.2 (Angstroms)"],"Other":["Preferred Citation\n\nIf you use these library spectra in your research, we ask that you please cite our article, "Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV MaStar: Quantification and Abatement of Interstellar Absorption in the Largest Empirical Stellar Spectral Library," Rubin et al. (2025), ApJ, 981 31, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad8eb6.  Please also cite this Zenodo deposit."]} 

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. 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.