MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3
We present a comprehensive analysis of H i absorption around 96 Ly α emitters (LAEs) at z ≈ 3.3 (median Ly α luminosity ≈10 ^42 erg s ^−1 ). These LAEs were identified within eight MUSE fields, each $1^{\prime} \times 1^{\prime} $ on the sky and centered on a bright background quasar, as part of th...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada7e9 |
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| author | Eshita Banerjee Sowgat Muzahid Joop Schaye Jérémy Blaizot Nicolas Bouché Sebastiano Cantalupo Sean D. Johnson Jorryt Matthee Anne Verhamme |
| author_facet | Eshita Banerjee Sowgat Muzahid Joop Schaye Jérémy Blaizot Nicolas Bouché Sebastiano Cantalupo Sean D. Johnson Jorryt Matthee Anne Verhamme |
| author_sort | Eshita Banerjee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present a comprehensive analysis of H i absorption around 96 Ly α emitters (LAEs) at z ≈ 3.3 (median Ly α luminosity ≈10 ^42 erg s ^−1 ). These LAEs were identified within eight MUSE fields, each $1^{\prime} \times 1^{\prime} $ on the sky and centered on a bright background quasar, as part of the MUSEQuBES survey. Using Voigt profile fitting for all H i absorbers detected within ±500 km s ^−1 of these LAEs, we compiled a catalog of 800 H i absorption components. Our analysis shows that H i absorption is enhanced near the LAEs compared to the intergalactic medium. However, no trend is found between the column densities of H i absorbers and their impact parameters from the LAEs (spanning ≈54–260 pkpc). Additionally, all galaxies associated with Lyman-limit systems have impact parameters >50 pkpc from the quasar sightlines, suggesting that true absorber hosts may be too faint to detect. The LAEs show an overall H i covering fraction ( f _c (H i )) of ≈88% for a threshold ${{\rm{log}}}_{10}(N/{{\rm{cm}}}^{-2})$ (H i ) = 15. Notably, at the same threshold, the LAEs in pairs/groups exhibit a 100% H i covering fraction out to ≈250 pkpc. In contrast, isolated LAEs consistently show a lower f _c (H i ) of ≈80%. This environmental influence on f _c (H i ) is also evident up to ≈300 km s ^−1 in differential bins of line-of-sight velocity. We find an anticorrelation between f _c (H i ) and the equivalent width of rest-frame Ly α emission (EW _0 ). Based on the Ly α shell model, this could imply that gas-rich galaxies tend to reside in gas-rich environments or that the LAEs with higher EW _0 are more efficient at ionizing their surrounding medium. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-20b416e49f1e4456b8185dfd008f7ddc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-20b416e49f1e4456b8185dfd008f7ddc2025-08-20T03:17:18ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01980217110.3847/1538-4357/ada7e9MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3Eshita Banerjee0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7382-3078Sowgat Muzahid1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3938-8762Joop Schaye2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0668-5560Jérémy Blaizot3Nicolas Bouché4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0068-9920Sebastiano Cantalupo5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5804-1428Sean D. Johnson6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9487-8583Jorryt Matthee7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2871-127XAnne Verhamme8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2201-1865IUCAA , Post Bag 04, Ganeshkhind, Pune, 411007, India ; eshitaban18@iucaa.in, sowgat@iucaa.inIUCAA , Post Bag 04, Ganeshkhind, Pune, 411007, India ; eshitaban18@iucaa.in, sowgat@iucaa.inLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, NL-2300 AA Leiden, The NetherlandsCNRS, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL) , Université Lyon 1, Saint-Genis-Laval, FranceCNRS, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL) , Université Lyon 1, Saint-Genis-Laval, FranceDepartment of Physics, University of Milan Bicocca , Piazza della Scienza 3, I-20126 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , 1085 S. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAInstitute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) , Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg, AustriaObservatoire de Genève, Université de Genève , 51 Ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Versoix, SwitzerlandWe present a comprehensive analysis of H i absorption around 96 Ly α emitters (LAEs) at z ≈ 3.3 (median Ly α luminosity ≈10 ^42 erg s ^−1 ). These LAEs were identified within eight MUSE fields, each $1^{\prime} \times 1^{\prime} $ on the sky and centered on a bright background quasar, as part of the MUSEQuBES survey. Using Voigt profile fitting for all H i absorbers detected within ±500 km s ^−1 of these LAEs, we compiled a catalog of 800 H i absorption components. Our analysis shows that H i absorption is enhanced near the LAEs compared to the intergalactic medium. However, no trend is found between the column densities of H i absorbers and their impact parameters from the LAEs (spanning ≈54–260 pkpc). Additionally, all galaxies associated with Lyman-limit systems have impact parameters >50 pkpc from the quasar sightlines, suggesting that true absorber hosts may be too faint to detect. The LAEs show an overall H i covering fraction ( f _c (H i )) of ≈88% for a threshold ${{\rm{log}}}_{10}(N/{{\rm{cm}}}^{-2})$ (H i ) = 15. Notably, at the same threshold, the LAEs in pairs/groups exhibit a 100% H i covering fraction out to ≈250 pkpc. In contrast, isolated LAEs consistently show a lower f _c (H i ) of ≈80%. This environmental influence on f _c (H i ) is also evident up to ≈300 km s ^−1 in differential bins of line-of-sight velocity. We find an anticorrelation between f _c (H i ) and the equivalent width of rest-frame Ly α emission (EW _0 ). Based on the Ly α shell model, this could imply that gas-rich galaxies tend to reside in gas-rich environments or that the LAEs with higher EW _0 are more efficient at ionizing their surrounding medium.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada7e9Circumgalactic mediumGalaxy evolutionLyα galaxiesQuasar absorption line spectroscopy |
| spellingShingle | Eshita Banerjee Sowgat Muzahid Joop Schaye Jérémy Blaizot Nicolas Bouché Sebastiano Cantalupo Sean D. Johnson Jorryt Matthee Anne Verhamme MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3 The Astrophysical Journal Circumgalactic medium Galaxy evolution Lyα galaxies Quasar absorption line spectroscopy |
| title | MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3 |
| title_full | MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3 |
| title_fullStr | MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3 |
| title_full_unstemmed | MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3 |
| title_short | MUSEQuBES: Connecting H i Absorption with Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 3.3 |
| title_sort | musequbes connecting h i absorption with lyα emitters at z ≈ 3 3 |
| topic | Circumgalactic medium Galaxy evolution Lyα galaxies Quasar absorption line spectroscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada7e9 |
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