The Metallicity of the Local IGM from the HST/STIS Spectrum of 3C273

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dc.creatorDavé, Romeel
dc.creatorHeap, S. R.
dc.creatorWilliger, G. M.
dc.creatorWeymann, R. J.
dc.creatorTripp, T. M.
dc.creatorJenkins, E. B.
dc.date2001-09-17
dc.date2001-11-05
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T01:59:59Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T01:59:59Z
dc.descriptionWe present a preliminary study of the metallicity of low-redshift Lyman alpha absorbers from the HST/STIS spectrum of 3C273. Using a pixel-based shift-and-coadd technique, we compare observations to carefully-constructed mock quasar spectra from a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. We place an upper limit of [C/H]<-1.5 at >90% confidence using two Ly-alpha absorbers with N_HI>10^14 cm^-2, from the fact that we see little absorption near the expected CIV positions, whereas the artificial spectra predict significant absorption. We assume a Haardt & Madau (quasar-based) ionizing background spectrum, but a softer spectrum results in a stronger constraint on the metallicity. With only two absorbers and various modeling uncertainties, it is too early to make a definitive determination of the diffuse IGM metallicity, but upcoming observations should improve constraints.
dc.description4 pages, to appear in the Proceedings of the Meeting on Gaseous Matter in Galactic and Intergalactic Space, XVIIth IAP Colloquium, Paris, June 2001
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0109242
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0109242
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/3329
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleThe Metallicity of the Local IGM from the HST/STIS Spectrum of 3C273
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