Mitchell, PD;
Blaizot, J;
Cadiou, C;
Dubois, Y;
Garel, T;
Rosdahl, J;
(2021)
Tracing the simulated high-redshift circumgalactic medium with Lyman α emission.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
, 501
(4)
pp. 5757-5775.
10.1093/mnras/stab035.
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Abstract
With the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), it is now possible to detect spatially extended Lyman α (Lyα) emission from individual faint (MUV ∼ −18) galaxies at redshifts, 3 < z < 6, tracing gas out to circumgalactic scales. To explore the implications of such observations, we present a cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulation of a single galaxy, chosen to be typical of the Lyα-emitting galaxies detected by MUSE in deep fields. We use this simulation to study the origin and dynamics of the high-redshift circumgalactic medium (CGM). We find that the majority of the mass in the diffuse CGM is comprised of material infalling for the first time towards the halo centre, but with the inner CGM also containing a comparable amount of mass that has moved past first-pericentric passage, and is in the process of settling into a rotationally supported configuration. Making the connection to Lyα emission, we find that the observed extended surface brightness profile is due to a combination of three components: scattering of galactic Lyα emission in the CGM, in situ emission of CGM gas (mostly infalling), and Lyα emission from small satellite galaxies. The weight of these contributions vary with distance from the galaxy such that (1) scattering dominates the inner regions (r<7kpc), at surface brightness larger than a few 10−19 cgs, (2) all components contribute equally around r∼10kpc (or SB ∼ 10−19), and (3) the contribution of small satellite galaxies takes over at large distances (or SB ∼ 10−20).
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Tracing the simulated high-redshift circumgalactic medium with Lyman α emission |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/mnras/stab035 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab035 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | galaxies: evolution, galaxies: formation |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10119284 |
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