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On the Nature of Velocity Fields in High-z Galaxies

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Jason X. Prochaska1, Hsiao-Wen Chen2, Arthur M. Wolfe3, Miroslava Dessauges-Zavadsky4 and Joshua S. Bloom5

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We analyze the gas kinematics of damped Lyα systems (DLAs) hosting high-z gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and those toward quasars (QSO-DLAs), focusing on three statistics: (1) Δv90, the velocity interval encompassing 90% of the integrated optical depth, and (2) W1526 and (3) W1548, the rest equivalent widths of the Si II 1526 and C IV 1548 transitions, respectively. The Δv90 distributions of the GRB-DLAs and QSO-DLAs are similar; each has median Δv90 ≈ 80 km s−1 and a significant tail, extending to several hundred km s−1. This suggests comparable galaxy masses for the parent populations of GRB-DLAs and QSO-DLAs, and we infer that the average dark matter halo mass of GRB galaxies is lesssim1012 Msun. The unique configuration of GRB-DLA sight lines and the presence (and absence) of fine-structure absorption together give special insight into the nature of high-z protogalactic velocity fields. The data support a scenario in which the Δv90 statistic reflects dynamics in the interstellar medium (ISM) and W1526 traces motions outside the ISM (e.g., halo gas and galactic-scale winds). The W1526 statistic and gas metallicity [M/H] are tightly correlated, especially for the QSO-DLAs: [M/H] = a + blog(W1526/1Å) with a = −0.92 ± 0.05 and b = 1.41 ± 0.10. We argue that the W1526 statistic primarily tracks dynamical motions in the halos of high-z galaxies and interpret this correlation as a mass-metallicity relation with very similar slope to the trend observed in local, low-metallicity galaxies. Finally, the GRB-DLAs exhibit systematically larger W1526 values (>0.5 Å) than the QSO-DLAs (langleW1528rangle ≈ 0.5 Å), which may suggest that galactic-scale outflows contribute to the largest observed velocity fields.

Subject headings

quasars: absorption lines


Dates

Issue 1 (2008 January 1)

Received 2007 March 27, accepted for publication 2007 August 31



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