Where are the Cosmic Metals at z~3?
| dc.creator | Sommer-Larsen, Jesper | |
| dc.creator | Fynbo, Johan P. U. | |
| dc.date | 2007-03-28 | |
| dc.date | 2007-10-23 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T11:42:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T11:42:52Z | |
| dc.description | The temperature distribution of the cosmic gas-phase oxygen at z~3 is determined by combining high resolution cosmological simulations with the observed, (rest-frame) V-band galaxy LF. The simulations invoke three different stellar IMFs, a Kroupa (K98), a Salpeter (S) and an Arimoto-Yoshii (AY), spanning a range of a factor of five in chemical yield and specific SNII energy feedback. Oxygen is found in all T phases (cold: logT<~4, warm: logT~4.5, hot: logT>~5), in particular for the (top-heavy) AY IMF. For the K98 and S IMFs, the most important phase is the cold one. Moreover, the cold phase alone contains 1-3 times the mass of oxygen in galactic stars for the three IMFs. The implications of this in relation to DLA studies are discussed. In relation to ``missing metals'' it is found that a significant fraction of the oxygen is located in a warm/hot phase that may be very difficult to detect. Moreover, it is found that less than about 20-25% of the cosmic oxygen is associated with galaxies brighter than M_V~-22, the faintest LBGs probed by current metallicity determinations. From the LBG based, lambda~1500 AA luminosity density history at z>3, the mean oxygen density at z=3 is inferred. Comparing this to the models, it is found that the (solar neighbourhood type) K98 IMF is strongly excluded (too small yield), the S is marginally excluded, and the AY matches the constraint well. The optimal IMF has a yield between the S and AY. A similar conclusion is reached on the basis of the C IV abundance of the moderate density IGM. | |
| dc.description | 22 Pages, 16 Figures, MNRAS, Accepted version, Printing in colour recommended | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703698 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703698 | |
| dc.identifier | Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.385:3-22,2008 | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.12618.x | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/201037 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | Where are the Cosmic Metals at z~3? | |
| dc.type | text |