Measurement of the microwave background temperature at a redshift of 1.776

Songaila, A.; Cowie, L. L.; Vogt, Steven S.; Keane, Michael; Wolfei, A. M.; Hu, E. M.; Oren, A. L.; Tytleri, D.-R.; Lanzetta, Kenneth M.

doi:10.1038/371043a0

Cited by 98 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…C i has been detected only in few of the intervening damped Lyman-α systems [z abs = 1.776 toward Q 1331+170 (Songaila et al 1994); z abs = 1.97 toward Q 0013-00 (Ge et al 1997); z abs = 1.6748 toward PKS 1756+237 (Roth & Bauer 1999); z abs = 2.337 toward PKS 1232+0815 ]. Apart from the system toward PKS 1756+237 (where reliable estimate of the Hi column density is not possible due to poor S/N in the spectrum) all other systems are confirmed high column density DLAs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A near-solar metallicity damped Lyman-αsystem toward the BAL quasar Tol 1037-2703

Srianand

Petitjean

2001

A&A

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Abstract.We report the detection of a Broad Absorption Line (BAL) outflow in the spectrum of the zem (Mg ii) = 2.201 QSO Tol 1037−2703 with three main BALs at 36 000, 25 300 and 22 300 km s −1 outflow velocities. Although the overall flow is dominated by high ionization lines like N v and C iv, the gas of highest velocity shows absorption from Mg i, Mg ii and Fe ii. Covering factor arguments suggest that the absorbing complexes are physically associated with the QSO and have transverse dimensions smaller than that of the UV continuum emitting region (r < 0.1 pc). We show that the C iv absorption at z abs = 2.082 has a covering factor fc ∼ 0.86 and the absorption profile has varied over the last four years. The detection of absorption from excited fine structure levels of C ii and Si ii in narrow components embedded in the C iv trough reveals large density inhomogeneities. IR pumping is the most likely excitation process. The z abs = 2.139 system is a moderately damped Lyman-α system with log N(H i) ∼ 19.7. The weakness of the metal lines together with the high quality of the data make the metallicity measurements particularly reliable. The absolute metallicity is close to solar with −0.27, −0.49, −0.30). Lines from C i are detected but H2 is absent with a molecular to neutral hydrogen fraction less than 8×10 −6 . From the ionization state of the gas, we argue that the system is situated ∼few Mpc away from the QSO. High metallicity and low nitrogen abundance, [N/Zn] = −1.40, favor the idea that metals have been released by massive stars during a starburst of less than 0.5 Gyr of age. Using the upper limit on the C i * column density in two components, we obtain upper limits on the background temperature of 16.2 and 13.2 K respectively.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A near-solar metallicity damped Lyman-αsystem toward the BAL quasar Tol 1037-2703

Srianand

Petitjean

2001

A&A

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“…Common are carbon, nitrogen, silicon, and iron, but to date the list extends much further, including oxygen, magnesium, neon, and sulfur ͑Sargent et Meyer and York, 1987;Cowie et al, 1995;Koehler et al, 1996;Songaila and Cowie, 1996;Ellison et al, 1999aEllison et al, , 1999bSimcoe et al, 2002Simcoe et al, , 2004Richter et al, 2004;Savage et al, 2005͒. The metals provide invaluable insight into the structure of the IGM in several different ways.…”

Section: Metal Absorption Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Searches for Mg II absorption systems are by far the most common because of their established connection to galaxies. Mg II absorber surveys were carried out by Lanzetta et al ͑1987͒, Tytler et Kirkman and Tytler, 1997b͒, at low redshifts they are associated with a warm-hot intergalactic medium ͑WHIM͒ ͑Tripp and Savage, 2000;Savage et al, 2002;Richter et al, 2004;Shull, 2005, 2008;Tripp et al, 2008͒ that Bergeron et al, 1994;Cowie et al, 1995;Songaila and Cowie, 1996;Barlow and Tytler, 1998;Cowie and Songaila, 1998;Ellison et al, 2000;Songaila, 2001Songaila, , 2005Songaila, , 2006Aracil et al, 2004;Pieri et al, 2006;Scannapieco et al, 2006b;Simcoe et al, 2006͒. Updated solar abundances useful for modeling the abundances of the metal absorption systems are provided by Grevesse and Sauval ͑1998͒, Allende Prieto et al ͑2001, 2002͒, Holweger ͑2001͒, and Asplund ͑2003͒.…”

Section: Metal Absorption Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The physics of the intergalactic medium

2009

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Intergalactic space is filled with a pervasive medium of ionized gas, the intergalactic medium ͑IGM͒. A residual neutral fraction is detected in the spectra of quasistellar objects at both low and high redshifts, revealing a highly fluctuating medium with temperatures characteristic of photoionized gas. The statistics of the fluctuations are well reproduced by numerical gravity-hydrodynamics simulations within the context of standard cosmological structure formation scenarios. Thus, the study of the IGM offers an opportunity to probe the nature of the primordial density fluctuations on scales unavailable to other methods. The simulations also suggest that the IGM is the dominant reservoir of baryons produced by the Big Bang, and so the principal source of the matter from which galaxies formed. The detection of metal systems within the IGM shows that it was enriched by evolved stars early in its history, demonstrating an intimate connection between galaxy formation and the IGM. A comprehensive review of the current understanding of the structure and physical properties of the IGM and its relation to galaxies is presented, concluding with comments on prospects for furthering the study of the IGM using future ground-based facilities and space-based experiments.

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“…Meyer et al 1986;Lu et al 1996;Roth & Bauer 1999;Ge et al 2001). Assuming the CMB is the only source of excitation, Songaila et al (1994) measured T CMB = 7.4 ± 0.8 K from C 0 at z = 1.776 towards the quasar Q 1331+170. Cui et al (2005) later derived the physical conditions in the same system through the observation of molecular hydrogen (see also Carswell et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of the cosmic microwave background temperature

Noterdaeme

Petitjean

Srianand

et al. 2011

A&A

169

164

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A milestone of modern cosmology was the prediction and serendipitous discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the radiation leftover after decoupling from matter in the early evolutionary stages of the Universe. A prediction of the standard hot Big-Bang model is the linear increase with redshift of the black-body temperature of the CMB (T CMB ). This radiation excites the rotational levels of some interstellar molecules, including carbon monoxide (CO), which can serve as cosmic thermometers. Using three new and two previously reported CO absorption-line systems detected in quasar spectra during a systematic survey carried out using VLT/UVES, we constrain the evolution of T CMB to z ∼ 3. Combining our precise measurements with previous constraints, we obtain T CMB (z) = (2.725 ± 0.002) × (1 + z) 1−β K with β = −0.007 ± 0.027, a more than two-fold improvement in precision. The measurements are consistent with the standard (i.e. adiabatic, β = 0) Big-Bang model and provide a strong constraint on the effective equation of state of decaying dark energy (i.e. w eff = −0.996 ± 0.025).

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Measurement of the microwave background temperature at a redshift of 1.776

Cited by 98 publications

References 16 publications

A near-solar metallicity damped Lyman-αsystem toward the BAL quasar Tol 1037-2703

A near-solar metallicity damped Lyman-αsystem toward the BAL quasar Tol 1037-2703

The physics of the intergalactic medium

The evolution of the cosmic microwave background temperature

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