A [CII]-158-micron Survey of DLA galaxies at z~4: Observations of Dense and Metal-Enriched Neutral Gas within the Circumgalactic Medium of Star-Forming Galaxies
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866910904213307392 |
|---|---|
| author | Neeleman, Marcel Kanekar, Nissim Prochaska, J. Xavier Rafelski, Marc A. Kahinga, Lordrick A. |
| author_facet | Neeleman, Marcel Kanekar, Nissim Prochaska, J. Xavier Rafelski, Marc A. Kahinga, Lordrick A. |
| contents | We present a survey undertaken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the galaxies associated with a representative sample of 16 damped Ly-alpha absorbers (DLAs) at z~4.1-4.5, using the [CII]-158-micron ([CII]) line. We detect seven [CII]-emitting galaxies in the fields of 5 DLAs, all of which have absorption metallicity [M/H] > -1.5. We find that the detectability of these HI-selected galaxies with ALMA is a strong function of DLA metallicity, with a detection rate of 71^{+11}_{-20}% for DLAs with [M/H] > -1.5 and 0^{+18}% for DLAs with [M/H] <-1.5. The identified DLA galaxies have far-infrared properties similar to those of typical star-forming galaxies at z ~ 4, with estimated obscured star-formation rates ranging from ~6 Msun/yr to 110 Msun/yr. High-metallicity DLAs therefore provide an efficient way to identify and study samples of high-redshift, star-forming galaxies without preselecting the galaxies by their emission properties. The agreement between the velocities of the metal absorption lines of the DLA and the [CII] emission line of the DLA galaxy indicates that the metals within the DLA originated in the galaxy. With observed impact parameters between 14 and 59 kpc, this indicates that star-forming galaxies at z ~ 4 have a substantial reservoir of dense, cold neutral gas within their circumgalactic medium that has been enriched with metals from the galaxy. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_03828 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A [CII]-158-micron Survey of DLA galaxies at z~4: Observations of Dense and Metal-Enriched Neutral Gas within the Circumgalactic Medium of Star-Forming Galaxies Neeleman, Marcel Kanekar, Nissim Prochaska, J. Xavier Rafelski, Marc A. Kahinga, Lordrick A. Astrophysics of Galaxies We present a survey undertaken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the galaxies associated with a representative sample of 16 damped Ly-alpha absorbers (DLAs) at z~4.1-4.5, using the [CII]-158-micron ([CII]) line. We detect seven [CII]-emitting galaxies in the fields of 5 DLAs, all of which have absorption metallicity [M/H] > -1.5. We find that the detectability of these HI-selected galaxies with ALMA is a strong function of DLA metallicity, with a detection rate of 71^{+11}_{-20}% for DLAs with [M/H] > -1.5 and 0^{+18}% for DLAs with [M/H] <-1.5. The identified DLA galaxies have far-infrared properties similar to those of typical star-forming galaxies at z ~ 4, with estimated obscured star-formation rates ranging from ~6 Msun/yr to 110 Msun/yr. High-metallicity DLAs therefore provide an efficient way to identify and study samples of high-redshift, star-forming galaxies without preselecting the galaxies by their emission properties. The agreement between the velocities of the metal absorption lines of the DLA and the [CII] emission line of the DLA galaxy indicates that the metals within the DLA originated in the galaxy. With observed impact parameters between 14 and 59 kpc, this indicates that star-forming galaxies at z ~ 4 have a substantial reservoir of dense, cold neutral gas within their circumgalactic medium that has been enriched with metals from the galaxy. |
| title | A [CII]-158-micron Survey of DLA galaxies at z~4: Observations of Dense and Metal-Enriched Neutral Gas within the Circumgalactic Medium of Star-Forming Galaxies |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.03828 |