2013ApJ...769...54N -
Astrophys. J., 769, 54 (2013/May-3)
The fundamental plane of damped Lyα systems.
NEELEMAN M., WOLFE A.M., PROCHASKA J.X. and RAFELSKI M.
Abstract (from CDS):
Using a sample of 100 H I-selected damped Lyα (DLA) systems, observed with the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer on the Keck I telescope, we present evidence that the scatter in the well-studied correlation between the redshift and metallicity of a DLA is largely due to the existence of a mass-metallicity relationship at each redshift. To describe the fundamental relations that exist between redshift, metallicity, and mass, we use a fundamental plane description, which is described by the following equation: [M/H] = (- 1.9±0.5) + (0.74±0.21). log Δv90- (0.32±0.06). z. Here, we assert that the velocity width, Δv90, which is defined as the velocity interval containing 90% of the integrated optical depth, traces the mass of the underlying dark matter halo. This description provides two significant improvements over the individual descriptions of the mass-metallicity correlation and metallicity-redshift correlation. Firstly, the fundamental equation reduces the scatter around both relationships by about 20%, providing a more stringent constraint on numerical simulations modeling DLAs. Secondly, it confirms that the dark matter halos that host DLAs satisfy a mass-metallicity relationship at each redshift between redshifts 2 through 5.
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Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: abundances - galaxies: evolution - galaxies: fundamental parameters - galaxies: ISM - galaxies: kinematics and dynamics - quasars: absorption lines
VizieR on-line data:
<Available at CDS (J/ApJ/769/54): table1.dat table2.dat refs.dat>
Simbad objects:
86
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