Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies In Enzo (FOGGIE). XIV. The Observability of Emission from Accretion and Feedback in the Circumgalactic Medium with Current and Future Instruments

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Main Authors: Saeedzadeh, Vida, Tumlinson, Jason, Peeples, Molly S., O'Shea, Brian W., Lochhaas, Cassandra, Corlies, Lauren, Trapp, Cameron W., Smith, Britton D., Werk, Jessica K., Acharyya, Ayan, Augustin, Ramona, Fox, Andrew J., Lehner, Nicolas, Wright, Anna C.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Saeedzadeh, Vida
Tumlinson, Jason
Peeples, Molly S.
O'Shea, Brian W.
Lochhaas, Cassandra
Corlies, Lauren
Trapp, Cameron W.
Smith, Britton D.
Werk, Jessica K.
Acharyya, Ayan
Augustin, Ramona
Fox, Andrew J.
Lehner, Nicolas
Wright, Anna C.
author_facet Saeedzadeh, Vida
Tumlinson, Jason
Peeples, Molly S.
O'Shea, Brian W.
Lochhaas, Cassandra
Corlies, Lauren
Trapp, Cameron W.
Smith, Britton D.
Werk, Jessica K.
Acharyya, Ayan
Augustin, Ramona
Fox, Andrew J.
Lehner, Nicolas
Wright, Anna C.
contents Observing the circumgalactic medium (CGM) in emission lines from ionized gas enables direct mapping of its spatial and kinematic structure, offering new insight into the gas flows that regulate galaxy evolution. Using the high-resolution Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies In Enzo (FOGGIE) simulations, we generate mock emission-line maps for six Milky Way-mass halos. Different ions (e.g., HI, OVI) trace distinct CGM phases and structures, highlighting the importance of observations in multiple species. We quantify the observable CGM mass fraction as a function of instrument spatial resolution and surface brightness sensitivity, finding that sensitivity is the dominant factor limiting detectability across all ions. At fixed sensitivity, higher spatial resolution reveals more structures; at fixed spatial resolution, higher sensitivity recovers a higher percentage of the total mass. We explore CGM kinematics by constructing emissivity-weighted projected velocity maps and comparing line-of-sight velocities between ions. OVI shows the largest kinematic deviation from HI, while MgII and SiII most closely follow HI velocities. Distinguishing these phases out to 50kpc from the galaxy center requires spectral resolution better than 30km/s for most ion pairs. Additionally, separating inflowing from outflowing gas based on projected kinematics also requires high spectral resolution: at 30km/s, more than 80% of gas above the emission detection threshold can be distinguished kinematically, but this fraction drops to <40% with a resolution of 200km/s. Our results provide predictions for future UV and optical instruments, showing that recovering the multiphase structure and kinematics of circumgalactic emission will require both high sensitivity and fine kinematic resolution.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_05644
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies In Enzo (FOGGIE). XIV. The Observability of Emission from Accretion and Feedback in the Circumgalactic Medium with Current and Future Instruments
Saeedzadeh, Vida
Tumlinson, Jason
Peeples, Molly S.
O'Shea, Brian W.
Lochhaas, Cassandra
Corlies, Lauren
Trapp, Cameron W.
Smith, Britton D.
Werk, Jessica K.
Acharyya, Ayan
Augustin, Ramona
Fox, Andrew J.
Lehner, Nicolas
Wright, Anna C.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Observing the circumgalactic medium (CGM) in emission lines from ionized gas enables direct mapping of its spatial and kinematic structure, offering new insight into the gas flows that regulate galaxy evolution. Using the high-resolution Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies In Enzo (FOGGIE) simulations, we generate mock emission-line maps for six Milky Way-mass halos. Different ions (e.g., HI, OVI) trace distinct CGM phases and structures, highlighting the importance of observations in multiple species. We quantify the observable CGM mass fraction as a function of instrument spatial resolution and surface brightness sensitivity, finding that sensitivity is the dominant factor limiting detectability across all ions. At fixed sensitivity, higher spatial resolution reveals more structures; at fixed spatial resolution, higher sensitivity recovers a higher percentage of the total mass. We explore CGM kinematics by constructing emissivity-weighted projected velocity maps and comparing line-of-sight velocities between ions. OVI shows the largest kinematic deviation from HI, while MgII and SiII most closely follow HI velocities. Distinguishing these phases out to 50kpc from the galaxy center requires spectral resolution better than 30km/s for most ion pairs. Additionally, separating inflowing from outflowing gas based on projected kinematics also requires high spectral resolution: at 30km/s, more than 80% of gas above the emission detection threshold can be distinguished kinematically, but this fraction drops to <40% with a resolution of 200km/s. Our results provide predictions for future UV and optical instruments, showing that recovering the multiphase structure and kinematics of circumgalactic emission will require both high sensitivity and fine kinematic resolution.
title Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies In Enzo (FOGGIE). XIV. The Observability of Emission from Accretion and Feedback in the Circumgalactic Medium with Current and Future Instruments
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.05644