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A Submillimeter Galaxy Illuminating its Circumgalactic Medium: Lyα Scattering in a Cold, Clumpy Outflow

Geach, J.E.; Bower, R.G.; Alexander, D.M.; Blain, A.W.; Bremer, M.N.; Chapin, E.L.; Chapman, S.C.; Clements, D.L.; Coppin, K.E.K.; Dunlop, J.S.; Farrah, D.; Jenness, T.; Koprowski, M.P.; Micha\lowski, M.J.; Robson, E.I.; Scott, D.; Smith, D.J.B.; Spaans, M.; Swinbank, A.M.; van der Werf, P.

A Submillimeter Galaxy Illuminating its Circumgalactic Medium: Lyα Scattering in a Cold, Clumpy Outflow Thumbnail


Authors

J.E. Geach

R.G. Bower

A.W. Blain

M.N. Bremer

E.L. Chapin

S.C. Chapman

D.L. Clements

K.E.K. Coppin

J.S. Dunlop

D. Farrah

T. Jenness

M.P. Koprowski

M.J. Micha\lowski

E.I. Robson

D. Scott

D.J.B. Smith

M. Spaans

A.M. Swinbank

P. van der Werf



Abstract

We report the detection at 850 μm of the central source in SSA22-LAB1, the archetypal "Lyman-α Blob" (LAB), a 100 kpc scale radio-quiet emission-line nebula at z = 3.1. The flux density of the source, S 850 = 4.6 ± 1.1 mJy, implies the presence of a galaxy or group of galaxies with a total luminosity of L IR ≈ 1012 L ☉. The position of an active source at the center of a ~50 kpc radius ring of linearly polarized Lyα emission detected by Hayes et al. suggests that the central source is leaking Lyα photons preferentially in the plane of the sky, which undergo scattering in H I clouds at a large galactocentric radius. The Lyα morphology around the submillimeter detection is reminiscent of a biconical outflow, and the average Lyα line profiles of the two "lobes" are dominated by a red peak, which is expected for a resonant line emerging from a medium with a bulk velocity gradient that is outflowing relative to the line center. Taken together, these observations provide compelling evidence that the central active galaxy (or galaxies) is responsible for a large fraction of the extended Lyα emission and morphology. Less clear is the history of the cold gas in the circumgalactic medium being traced by Lyα: is it mainly pristine material accreting into the halo that has not yet been processed through an interstellar medium (ISM), now being blown back as it encounters an outflow, or does it mainly comprise gas that has been swept-up within the ISM and expelled from the galaxy?

Citation

Geach, J., Bower, R., Alexander, D., Blain, A., Bremer, M., Chapin, E., …van der Werf, P. (2014). A Submillimeter Galaxy Illuminating its Circumgalactic Medium: Lyα Scattering in a Cold, Clumpy Outflow. Astrophysical Journal, 793(1), Article 22. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/793/1/22

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 21, 2014
Publication Date Sep 20, 2014
Deposit Date May 15, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Astrophysical Journal
Print ISSN 0004-637X
Electronic ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher American Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 793
Issue 1
Article Number 22
DOI https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/793/1/22
Keywords Galaxies: active, Galaxies: formation, Galaxies: high-redshift.
Related Public URLs http://arxiv.org/pdf/1402.6335v2.pdf

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Copyright Statement
© 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.





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