The MOSDEF-LRIS survey: detection of inflowing gas towards three star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2

Andrew Weldon; Naveen A. Reddy; Michael W. Topping; Alice E. Shapley; Xinnan Du; Sedona H. Price; Ryan L. Sanders; Alison L. Coil; Bahram Mobasher; Mariska Kriek; Brian Siana; Saeed Rezaee

doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1615

The MOSDEF-LRIS survey: detection of inflowing gas towards three star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2

Andrew Weldon
, Naveen A. Reddy
, Michael W. Topping
, Alice E. Shapley
, Xinnan Du
, Sedona H. Price
, Ryan L. Sanders
, Alison L. Coil
, Bahram Mobasher
, Mariska Kriek
, Brian Siana
, Saeed Rezaee

Physics And Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report on the discovery of cool gas inflows towards three star-forming galaxies at <z> ∼ 2.30. Analysis of Keck Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopy reveals redshifted low-ionization interstellar (LIS) metal absorption lines with centroid velocities of 60–130 km s⁻¹. These inflows represent some of the most robust detections of inflowing gas into isolated, star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Our analysis suggests that the inflows are due to recycling metal-enriched gas from previous ejections. Comparisons between the galaxies with inflows and a larger parent sample of 131 objects indicate that galaxies with detected inflows may have higher specific star formation rates (sSFRs) and star-formation-rate surface densities (Σ_SFR). However, when additional galaxies without robustly detected inflows based on centroid velocity but whose LIS absorption line profiles indicate large red-wing velocities are considered, galaxies with inflows do not show unique properties relative to those lacking inflows. Additionally, we calculate the covering fraction of cool inflowing gas as a function of red-wing inflow velocity, finding an enhancement in high-sSFR binned galaxies, likely due to an increase in the amount of recycling gas. Together, these results suggest that the low detection rate of galaxies with cool inflows is primarily related to the viewing angle rather than the physical properties of the galaxies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	5624-5634
Number of pages	11
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	523
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad1615
State	Published - Aug 1 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.

Funding

We thank the anonymous referee for providing constructive feedback that improved the paper. We acknowledge support from NSF AAG grants AST1312780, 1312547, 1312764, and 1313171, grant AR13907 from the Space Telescope Science Institute, and grant NNX16AF54G from the NASA ADAP program. We thank the 3D-HST Collaboration, which provided the spectroscopic and photometric catalogues used to select the MOSDEF targets and derive stellar population parameters. This research made use of astropy , a community-developed core python package for astronomy (Astropy Collaboration , ). We wish to extend special thanks to those of Hawaiian ancestry on whose sacred mountain we are privileged to be guests. Without their generous hospitality, most of the observations presented herein would not have been possible.

Funders	Funder number
National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program	1312764, AST1312780, AR13907, 1313171, 1312547
National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Space Telescope Science Institute	NNX16AF54G
Space Telescope Science Institute

Keywords

galaxies: evolution
galaxies: haloes
galaxies: high-redshift

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.1093/mnras/stad1615

Cite this

Weldon, A., Reddy, N. A., Topping, M. W., Shapley, A. E., Du, X., Price, S. H., Sanders, R. L., Coil, A. L., Mobasher, B., Kriek, M., Siana, B., & Rezaee, S. (2023). The MOSDEF-LRIS survey: detection of inflowing gas towards three star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 523(4), 5624-5634. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad1615

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abstract = "We report on the discovery of cool gas inflows towards three star-forming galaxies at ∼ 2.30. Analysis of Keck Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopy reveals redshifted low-ionization interstellar (LIS) metal absorption lines with centroid velocities of 60–130 km s−1. These inflows represent some of the most robust detections of inflowing gas into isolated, star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Our analysis suggests that the inflows are due to recycling metal-enriched gas from previous ejections. Comparisons between the galaxies with inflows and a larger parent sample of 131 objects indicate that galaxies with detected inflows may have higher specific star formation rates (sSFRs) and star-formation-rate surface densities (ΣSFR). However, when additional galaxies without robustly detected inflows based on centroid velocity but whose LIS absorption line profiles indicate large red-wing velocities are considered, galaxies with inflows do not show unique properties relative to those lacking inflows. Additionally, we calculate the covering fraction of cool inflowing gas as a function of red-wing inflow velocity, finding an enhancement in high-sSFR binned galaxies, likely due to an increase in the amount of recycling gas. Together, these results suggest that the low detection rate of galaxies with cool inflows is primarily related to the viewing angle rather than the physical properties of the galaxies.",

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author = "Andrew Weldon and Reddy, \{Naveen A.\} and Topping, \{Michael W.\} and Shapley, \{Alice E.\} and Xinnan Du and Price, \{Sedona H.\} and Sanders, \{Ryan L.\} and Coil, \{Alison L.\} and Bahram Mobasher and Mariska Kriek and Brian Siana and Saeed Rezaee",

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AU - Du, Xinnan

AU - Price, Sedona H.

AU - Sanders, Ryan L.

AU - Coil, Alison L.

AU - Mobasher, Bahram

AU - Kriek, Mariska

AU - Siana, Brian

AU - Rezaee, Saeed

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AB - We report on the discovery of cool gas inflows towards three star-forming galaxies at ∼ 2.30. Analysis of Keck Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopy reveals redshifted low-ionization interstellar (LIS) metal absorption lines with centroid velocities of 60–130 km s−1. These inflows represent some of the most robust detections of inflowing gas into isolated, star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Our analysis suggests that the inflows are due to recycling metal-enriched gas from previous ejections. Comparisons between the galaxies with inflows and a larger parent sample of 131 objects indicate that galaxies with detected inflows may have higher specific star formation rates (sSFRs) and star-formation-rate surface densities (ΣSFR). However, when additional galaxies without robustly detected inflows based on centroid velocity but whose LIS absorption line profiles indicate large red-wing velocities are considered, galaxies with inflows do not show unique properties relative to those lacking inflows. Additionally, we calculate the covering fraction of cool inflowing gas as a function of red-wing inflow velocity, finding an enhancement in high-sSFR binned galaxies, likely due to an increase in the amount of recycling gas. Together, these results suggest that the low detection rate of galaxies with cool inflows is primarily related to the viewing angle rather than the physical properties of the galaxies.

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The MOSDEF-LRIS survey: detection of inflowing gas towards three star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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