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In this work, we investigate the abundance and distribution of metals in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at 〈z〉 ≃ 2.8 through the analysis of an ultra-high signal-to-noise ratio UVES spectrum of the quasar HE0940-1050. In the CIV forest, our deep spectrum is sensitive at 3σ to lines with column density down to log NCIV ≃ 11.4 and in 60 per cent of the considered redshift range down to ≃11.1. In our sample, all H I lines with log NHI ≥ 14.8 show an associated C IV absorption. In the range 14.0 ≤ log NHI < 14.8, 43 per cent of H I lines has an associated C IV absorption. At log NHI < 14.0, the detection rates drop to <10 per cent, possibly due to our sensitivity limits and not to an actual variation of the gas abundance properties. In the range log NHI ≥ 14, we observe a fraction of H I lines with detected C IV a factor of 2 larger than the fraction of H I lines lying in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of relatively bright Lyman-break galaxies hosted by dark matter haloes with 〈M〉 ~ 1012 M☉. The comparison of our results with the output of a grid of photoionization models and of two cosmological simulations implies that the volume filling factor of the IGM gas enriched to a metallicity logZ/Z☉≳-3log⁡Z/Z☉≳-3 should be of the order of ~10-13 per cent. In conclusion, our results favour a scenario in which metals are found also outside the CGM of bright star-forming galaxies, possibly due to pollution by lower mass objects and/or to an early enrichment by the first sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We investigate the thermal history of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the redshift interval z = 1.7-3.2 by studying the small-scale fluctuations in the Lyman α forest transmitted flux. We apply a wavelet filtering technique to 18 high-resolution quasar spectra obtained with the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph, and compare these data to synthetic spectra drawn from a suite of hydrodynamical simulations in which the IGM thermal state and cosmological parameters are varied. From the wavelet analysis we obtain estimates of the IGM thermal state that are in good agreement with other recent, independent wavelet-based measurements. We also perform a reanalysis of the same data set using the Lyman α forest flux probability distribution function (PDF), which has previously been used to measure the IGM temperature-density relation. This provides an important consistency test for measurements of the IGM thermal state, as it enables a direct comparison of the constraints obtained using these two different methodologies. We find the constraints obtained from wavelets and the flux PDF are formally consistent with each other, although in agreement with previous studies, the flux PDF constraints favour an isothermal or inverted IGM temperature-density relation. We also perform a joint analysis by combining our wavelet and flux PDF measurements, constraining the IGM thermal state at z = 2.1 to have a temperature at mean density of T0/[103 K] = 17.3 ± 1.9 and a power-law temperature-density relation exponent γ = 1.1 ± 0.1 (1σ). Our results are consistent with previous observations that indicate there may be additional sources of heating in the IGM at z < 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the properties of 1D flux ‘voids’ (connected regions in the flux distribution above the mean-flux level) by comparing hydrodynamical simulations of large cosmological volumes with a set of observed high-resolution spectra at z∼ 2. After addressing the effects of box size and resolution, we study how the void distribution changes when the most significant cosmological and astrophysical parameters are varied. We find that the void distribution in the flux is in excellent agreement with predictions of the standard Λcold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology, which also fits other flux statistics remarkably well. We then model the relation between flux voids and the corresponding 1D gas-density field along the line of sight and make a preliminary attempt to connect the 1D properties of the gas-density field to the 3D dark matter distribution at the same redshift. This provides a framework that allows statistical interpretations of the void population at high redshift using observed quasar spectra, and eventually it will enable linking the void properties of the high-redshift universe with those at lower redshifts, which are better known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare the improved measurement of the Lyα forest flux probability distribution at 1.7 < z < 3.2 presented by Kim et al. to a large set of hydrodynamical simulations of the Lyα forest with different cosmological parameters and thermal histories. The simulations are in good agreement with the observational data if the temperature–density relation for the low-density intergalactic medium (IGM), , is either close to isothermal or inverted (γ < 1). Our results suggest that the voids in the IGM may be significantly hotter and the thermal state of the low-density IGM may be substantially more complex than is usually assumed at these redshifts. We discuss radiative transfer effects which alter the spectral shape of ionizing radiation during the epoch of He ii reionization as a possible physical mechanism for achieving an inverted temperature–density relation at z≃ 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed an extensive Voigt profile analysis of the neutral hydrogen (H i) and metal absorption present in a sample of 18 high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio quasi-stellar object (QSO) spectra observed with the Very Large Telescope Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph. We use this analysis to separate the metal contribution from the H i absorption and present an improved measurement of the flux probability distribution function (PDF) due to H i absorption alone at , 2.52 and 2.94. The flux PDF is sensitive to the continuum fit in the normalized flux range 0.8 < F < 1.0 and to metal absorption at 0.2 < F < 0.8. Our new measurements of the flux PDF due to H i absorption alone are systematically lower at 0.2 < F < 0.8 by up to 30 per cent compared to the widely used measurement of McDonald et al., based on a significantly smaller sample of Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer data. This discrepancy is probably due to a combination of our improved removal of the metal absorption and cosmic variance, since variations in the flux PDF between different lines-of-sight are large. The H i effective optical depth τeffH i at 1.7 < z < 4 is best fit with a single power law, , in good agreement with previous measurements from comparable data. As also found previously, the effect of noise on the flux distribution is not significant in high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flux power spectra of the Lyman α forest from a sample of 27 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) taken with the high-resolution Ultraviolet Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) are presented. We find a similar fluctuation amplitude at the peak of the ‘3D’ flux power spectrum at as the study by , in the same redshift range. The amplitude of the flux power spectrum increases with decreasing redshift if corrected for the increase in the mean flux level as expected if the evolution of the flux power spectrum is sensitive to the gravitational growth of matter density fluctuations. This is in agreement with the findings of at larger redshift. The logarithmic slope of the ‘3D’ flux power spectrum, PF( k), at large scales , is , i.e. 0.3 shallower than that found by Croft et al. but consistent within the errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this first paper of a series, we report on the use of quasar spectra obtained with the high-resolution Ultraviolet–Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) and available through the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) archive to build the first homogeneous and unbiased sample of sub-damped Lyman α (sub-DLA) systems, absorbers with H i column densities >1019 cm−2 but lower than the classical definition of damped Lyman α systems . A systematic investigation of the properties of these systems and a comparison with those of the DLAs (Paper II of this series) is expected to provide new clues on the association of high column density absorbers with galaxies and on the overall evolution of the neutral hydrogen gas mass and metal content in the Universe. In the spectra of 22 quasars which were found suitable for a sub-DLA search, we identified 12 sub-DLAs and one borderline case between the DLA and sub-DLA systems in the redshift interval . We measured the column densities of H i and of up to 16 additional ions of low, intermediate and high ionization: O i, C ii, C iv, Si ii, Si iv, N i, S ii, Mg i, Mg ii, Al ii, Al iii, Fe ii, Fe iii, Ni ii, Zn ii and Cr ii. We further investigated the significance of the ionization corrections in the determination of the chemical abundances from the low-ionization ions in the sub-DLA H i column density range. Using the predictions of different ion ratios as a function of the ionization parameter computed using the cloudy software package, we have estimated that with the exception of one case, the ionization corrections to the abundances of nine systems for which we were able to constrain the ionization parameter are lower than 0.2 dex for all of the elements except Al ii and Zn ii down to H i column densities of log N(H i)=19.3 cm−2. Finally, we present the first sub-DLA chemical abundance data base, which contains the abundance measurements of 11 different elements (O, C, Si, N, S, Mg, Al, Fe, Ni, Zn and Cr). We took advantage of the lower H i column densities in sub-DLAs to measure, in particular, the O and C abundances using lines that are normally saturated in DLAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Combining a new, increased data set of eight quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) covering the Lyα forest at redshifts 1.5 > z < 3.6 from VLT/UVES observations with previously published results, we have investigated the properties of the Lyα forest at 1.5 < z <4 . With the six QSOs covering the Lyα forest at 1.5 < z < 2.5 , we have extended previous studies in this redshift range. In particular, we have concentrated on the evolution of the line number density and the clustering of the Lyα forest at z≤ 2.5 , where the Lyα forest starts to show some inhomogeneity from sightline to sightline. We have fitted Voigt profiles to the Lyα absorption lines as in previous studies, and have, for two QSOs with z[sub em]∼ 2.4 , fitted Lyα and higher order of Lyman lines down to 3050 Å simultaneously. This latter approach has been taken in order to study the Lyβ forest at z∼ 2.2 and the higher H i column density Lyα forest in the Lyβ forest region. For a given N[sub H I] range, the Lyα forest at 1.5 < z < 4 shows the monotonic evolution, which is governed mainly by the Hubble expansion at this redshift range. In general, the Lyα forest line number density (dn/dz) is best approximated with dn/dz= 6.1(1 +z)[sup 2.47 ± 0.18] for the H i column density N[sub H I]= 10[sup 13.64-17] cm[sup -2] at 1.5 < z < 4 . When the results at 0 < z < 1.5 from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations are combined, the slow-down in the number density evolution occurs at z < 1.5 . For higher column density clouds at N[sub Hi] > 10[sup 14] cm[sup -2] , there is a variation in the line number density from sightline to sightline at z < 2.5 . This variation is stronger for higher column density systems, probably due to more gravitationally evolved structures at lower z. The mean H i opacity is at 1.5 < z < 4 . HST observations show evidence for slower evolution of at z < 1 . For N[sub Hi]= 10[sup 12.5–15] cm[sup -2] , the differential column density distribution function, f(N[sub Hi]) , can be best fitted by f(N[sub HI]∝N[sub Hi][sup -β] with β≈ 1.5 for 1.5 < z < 4 . When combined with HST observations, the exponent β increases as z decreases at 0 < z < 4 for N[sub Hi]= 10[sup 13–17] cm[sup -2] . The correlation strength of the step optical depth correlation function shows the strong evolution from = 3.3 to = 2.1 , although there is a large scatter along different sightlines. The analyses of the Lyβ forest at z∼ 2.2 are, in general, in good agreement with those of the Lyα forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature of the low-density intergalactic medium (IGM) is set by the balance between adiabatic cooling resulting from the expansion of the Universe , and photoheating by the ultraviolet (UV) background. We have analysed the Lyα forest of 11 high-resolution quasar spectra using wavelets, and find strong evidence of a marked jump in the temperature at the mean density, T[sub 0], of 60±14 per cent over the redshift interval z=[3.5,3.1], which we attribute to reionization of He ii. The jump can be seen in all three of our spectra that straddle redshift 3.3, at a significance of &ges;99 per cent. Below z∼3.1, our results are consistent with a smooth cooling down of the universe, as expected when adiabatic expansion dominates over photoheating by a UV background from quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) and galaxies. We find no evidence of thermal fluctuations on scales &ges;5000 km s[sup -1] larger than 50 per cent, which could be detected by our method, suggesting that the IGM follows a reasonably well-defined temperature–density relation. We demonstrate that the mean wavelet amplitude ∝1/T[sub 0], and calibrate the relation with hydrodynamical simulations. We find T[sub 0]&ges;1.2×10[sup 4] K at z&ges;3.6. Such high temperatures suggest that H i reionization occurred relatively recently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a determination of the bispectrum of the flux in the Lyman α forest of quasi-stellar object (QSO) absorption spectra obtained from a large sample of Ultraviolet Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) QSO absorption spectra (LUQAS), which consists of spectra observed with the high-resolution UVES. Typical errors on the observed bispectrum as obtained from a jack-knife estimator are ∼ 50 per cent. For wavenumbers in the range the observed bispectrum agrees within the errors with that of the synthetic absorption spectra obtained from numerical hydro-simulations of a ΛCDM model with and without feedback from star formation. Including galactic feedback changes the bispectrum by less than 10 per cent. At smaller wavenumbers, the associated metal absorption lines contribute about 50 per cent to the bispectrum and the observed bispectrum exceeds that of the simulations. At wavenumbers , second-order perturbation theory applied to the flux spectrum gives a reasonable (errors smaller than 30 per cent) approximation to the bispectra of observed and simulated absorption spectra. The bispectrum of the observed absorption spectra also agrees, within the errors, with that of a randomized set of absorption spectra where a random shift in wavelength has been added to absorption lines identified with vpfit. This suggests that for a sample of the size presented here, the errors on the bispectrum are too large to discriminate between models with very different 3D distribution of Lyman α absorption. If it were possible to substantially reduce these errors for larger samples of absorption spectra, the bispectrum might become an important statistical tool for probing the growth of gravitational structure in the Universe at redshift . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]