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http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/32051
Title: | Sub-damped Lyman α systems in the XQ-100 survey - II. Chemical evolution at 2.4 ≤ z ≤ 4.3 | Authors: | Berg, Trystyn A. M. FUMAGALLI, MICHELE D'ODORICO, Valentina Ellison, Sara L. López, Sebastián Becker, George D. Christensen, Lise CUPANI, Guido Denney, Kelly D. SANCHEZ RAMIREZ, RUBEN Worseck, Gábor |
Issue Date: | 2021 | Journal: | MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY | Number: | 502 | Issue: | 3 | First Page: | 4009 | Abstract: | We present the measured gas-phase metal column densities in 155 sub-damped Ly α systems (subDLAs) with the aim to investigate the contribution of subDLAs to the chemical evolution of the Universe. The sample was identified within the absorber-blind XQ-100 quasar spectroscopic survey over the redshift range 2.4 ≤ z<SUB>abs</SUB> ≤ 4.3. Using all available column densities of the ionic species investigated (mainly C IV, Si II, Mg II, Si IV, Al II, Fe II, C II, and O I; in order of decreasing detection frequency), we estimate the ionization-corrected gas-phase metallicity of each system using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques to explore a large grid of CLOUDY ionization models. Without accounting for ionization and dust depletion effects, we find that the H I-weighted gas-phase metallicity evolution of subDLAs is consistent with damped Ly α systems (DLAs). When ionization corrections are included, subDLAs are systematically more metal poor than DLAs (between ≍0.5σ and ≍3σ significance) by up to ≍1.0 dex over the redshift range 3 ≤ z<SUB>abs</SUB> ≤ 4.3. The correlation of gas phase [Si/Fe] with metallicity in subDLAs appears to be consistent with that of DLAs, suggesting that the two classes of absorbers have a similar relative dust depletion pattern. As previously seen for Lyman limit systems, the gas phase [C/O] in subDLAs remains constantly solar for all metallicities indicating that both subDLAs and Lyman limit systems could trace carbon-rich ejecta, potentially in circumgalactic environments. | URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/32051 | URL: | http://arxiv.org/abs/2101.07821v1 https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/502/3/4009/6108280?login=true |
ISSN: | 0035-8711 | DOI: | 10.1093/mnras/stab184 | Bibcode ADS: | 2021MNRAS.502.4009B | Fulltext: | open |
Appears in Collections: | 1.01 Articoli in rivista |
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stab184-2.pdf | Pdf editoriale | 1.27 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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