The Cosmic Evolution of CIV Absorbers at $1.4<z<4.5$: Insights from $100,000$ Systems in DESI Quasars

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Hauptverfasser: Anand, Abhijeet, Aguilar, J., Ahlen, S., Bianchi, D., Brodzeller, A., Brooks, D., Canning, R., Claybaugh, T., Cuceu, A., de la Macorra, A., Doel, P., Ferraro, S., Font-Ribera, A., Forero-Romero, J. E., Gaztañaga, E., Gontcho, S. Gontcho A, Gutierrez, G., Guy, J., Herrera-Alcantar, H. K., Ishak, M., Juneau, S., Kehoe, R., Kremin, A., Landriau, M., Guillou, L. Le, Levi, M. E., Manera, M., Meisner, A., Miquel, R., Moustakas, J., Muñoz-Gutiérrez, A., Napolitano, L., Pérez-Ràfols, I., Rossi, G., Sanchez, E., Schlegel, D., Schubnell, M., Sprayberry, D., Tarlé, G., Temple, M. J., Weaver, B. A., Zhou, R.
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Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Anand, Abhijeet
Aguilar, J.
Ahlen, S.
Bianchi, D.
Brodzeller, A.
Brooks, D.
Canning, R.
Claybaugh, T.
Cuceu, A.
de la Macorra, A.
Doel, P.
Ferraro, S.
Font-Ribera, A.
Forero-Romero, J. E.
Gaztañaga, E.
Gontcho, S. Gontcho A
Gutierrez, G.
Guy, J.
Herrera-Alcantar, H. K.
Ishak, M.
Juneau, S.
Kehoe, R.
Kremin, A.
Landriau, M.
Guillou, L. Le
Levi, M. E.
Manera, M.
Meisner, A.
Miquel, R.
Moustakas, J.
Muñoz-Gutiérrez, A.
Napolitano, L.
Pérez-Ràfols, I.
Rossi, G.
Sanchez, E.
Schlegel, D.
Schubnell, M.
Sprayberry, D.
Tarlé, G.
Temple, M. J.
Weaver, B. A.
Zhou, R.
author_facet Anand, Abhijeet
Aguilar, J.
Ahlen, S.
Bianchi, D.
Brodzeller, A.
Brooks, D.
Canning, R.
Claybaugh, T.
Cuceu, A.
de la Macorra, A.
Doel, P.
Ferraro, S.
Font-Ribera, A.
Forero-Romero, J. E.
Gaztañaga, E.
Gontcho, S. Gontcho A
Gutierrez, G.
Guy, J.
Herrera-Alcantar, H. K.
Ishak, M.
Juneau, S.
Kehoe, R.
Kremin, A.
Landriau, M.
Guillou, L. Le
Levi, M. E.
Manera, M.
Meisner, A.
Miquel, R.
Moustakas, J.
Muñoz-Gutiérrez, A.
Napolitano, L.
Pérez-Ràfols, I.
Rossi, G.
Sanchez, E.
Schlegel, D.
Schubnell, M.
Sprayberry, D.
Tarlé, G.
Temple, M. J.
Weaver, B. A.
Zhou, R.
contents We present the largest catalog to date of triply ionized carbon (CIV) absorbers detected in quasar spectra from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. Using an automated matched-kernel convolution method with adaptive signal-to-noise thresholds, we identify $101,487$ CIV systems in the redshift range $1.4 < z < 4.5$ from $300,637$ quasar spectra. Completeness is estimated via Monte Carlo simulations and catalog is $50\%$ complete at $\mathrm{EW}_{\mathrm{CIV}} \geq 0.4$ Angstroms. The differential equivalent width frequency distribution declines exponentially and shows weak redshift evolution. The absorber incidence per unit comoving path increases by a factor of $2-5$ from $z \approx 4.5$ to $z \approx 1.4$, with stronger redshift evolution for strong systems. Using column densities derived from the apparent optical depth method, we constrain the cosmic mass density of CIV, $Ω_{\mathrm{CIV}}$, which increases by a factor of $\sim 3.8$ from $(0.82 \pm 0.05) \times 10^{-8}$ at $z \approx 4.5$ to $(3.16 \pm 0.2) \times 10^{-8}$ at $z \approx 1.4$. From $Ω_{\rm CIV}$, we estimate a lower limit on intergalactic medium metallicity $\log(Z_{\rm IGM}/Z_{\odot}) \gtrsim -3.25$ at $z \sim 2.3$, with a smooth decline at higher redshifts. These trends trace the cosmic star formation history and HeII photoheating rate, suggesting a link between CIV enrichment, star formation, and UV background over $\sim 3$ Gyr. The catalog also provides a critical resource for future studies connecting circumgalactic metals to galaxy evolution, especially near cosmic noon.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_20299
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Cosmic Evolution of CIV Absorbers at $1.4<z<4.5$: Insights from $100,000$ Systems in DESI Quasars
Anand, Abhijeet
Aguilar, J.
Ahlen, S.
Bianchi, D.
Brodzeller, A.
Brooks, D.
Canning, R.
Claybaugh, T.
Cuceu, A.
de la Macorra, A.
Doel, P.
Ferraro, S.
Font-Ribera, A.
Forero-Romero, J. E.
Gaztañaga, E.
Gontcho, S. Gontcho A
Gutierrez, G.
Guy, J.
Herrera-Alcantar, H. K.
Ishak, M.
Juneau, S.
Kehoe, R.
Kremin, A.
Landriau, M.
Guillou, L. Le
Levi, M. E.
Manera, M.
Meisner, A.
Miquel, R.
Moustakas, J.
Muñoz-Gutiérrez, A.
Napolitano, L.
Pérez-Ràfols, I.
Rossi, G.
Sanchez, E.
Schlegel, D.
Schubnell, M.
Sprayberry, D.
Tarlé, G.
Temple, M. J.
Weaver, B. A.
Zhou, R.
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
We present the largest catalog to date of triply ionized carbon (CIV) absorbers detected in quasar spectra from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. Using an automated matched-kernel convolution method with adaptive signal-to-noise thresholds, we identify $101,487$ CIV systems in the redshift range $1.4 < z < 4.5$ from $300,637$ quasar spectra. Completeness is estimated via Monte Carlo simulations and catalog is $50\%$ complete at $\mathrm{EW}_{\mathrm{CIV}} \geq 0.4$ Angstroms. The differential equivalent width frequency distribution declines exponentially and shows weak redshift evolution. The absorber incidence per unit comoving path increases by a factor of $2-5$ from $z \approx 4.5$ to $z \approx 1.4$, with stronger redshift evolution for strong systems. Using column densities derived from the apparent optical depth method, we constrain the cosmic mass density of CIV, $Ω_{\mathrm{CIV}}$, which increases by a factor of $\sim 3.8$ from $(0.82 \pm 0.05) \times 10^{-8}$ at $z \approx 4.5$ to $(3.16 \pm 0.2) \times 10^{-8}$ at $z \approx 1.4$. From $Ω_{\rm CIV}$, we estimate a lower limit on intergalactic medium metallicity $\log(Z_{\rm IGM}/Z_{\odot}) \gtrsim -3.25$ at $z \sim 2.3$, with a smooth decline at higher redshifts. These trends trace the cosmic star formation history and HeII photoheating rate, suggesting a link between CIV enrichment, star formation, and UV background over $\sim 3$ Gyr. The catalog also provides a critical resource for future studies connecting circumgalactic metals to galaxy evolution, especially near cosmic noon.
title The Cosmic Evolution of CIV Absorbers at $1.4<z<4.5$: Insights from $100,000$ Systems in DESI Quasars
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.20299