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This study addresses how the incidence rate of strong O vi absorbers in a galaxy's circumgalactic medium (CGM) depends on galaxy mass and, independently, on the amount of star formation in the galaxy. We use Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph absorption spectroscopy of quasars to measure O vi absorption within 400 projected kpc and 300 km s−1 of 52 galaxies with M * ∼ 3 × 1010 M ⊙. The galaxies have redshifts 0.12 < z < 0.6, stellar masses 1010.1 M ⊙ < M * < 1010.9 M ⊙, and spectroscopic classifications as star-forming or passive. We compare the incidence rates of high column density O vi absorption (N O VI ≥ 1014.3 cm−2) near star-forming and passive galaxies in two narrow ranges of stellar mass and, separately, in a matched range of halo mass. In all three mass ranges, the O vi covering fraction within 150 kpc is higher around star-forming galaxies than around passive galaxies with greater than 3 σ -equivalent statistical significance. On average, the CGM of star-forming galaxies with M * ∼ 3 × 1010 M ⊙ contains more O vi than the CGM of passive galaxies with the same mass. This difference is evidence for a CGM transformation that happens together with galaxy quenching and is not driven primarily by halo mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combine data sets from the CGM2 and CASBaH surveys to model a transition point, R cross, between circumgalactic and intergalactic media (CGM and IGM, respectively). In total, our data consist of 7244 galaxies at z < 0.5 with precisely measured spectroscopic redshifts, all having impact parameters of 0.01–20 comoving Mpc from 28 QSO sightlines with high-resolution UV spectra that cover H i Ly α. Our best-fitting model is a two-component model that combines a 3D absorber–galaxy cross-correlation function with a simple Gaussian profile at inner radii to represent the CGM. By design, this model gives rise to a determination of R cross as a function of galaxy stellar mass, which can be interpreted as the boundary between the CGM and IGM. For galaxies with 108 ≤ M ⋆/ M ⊙ ≤ 1010.5, we find that R cross(M ⋆) ≈ 2.0 ± 0.6 R vir. Additionally, we find excellent agreement between R cross(M ⋆) and the theoretically determined splashback radius for galaxies in this mass range. Overall, our results favor models of galaxy evolution at z < 0.5 that distribute T ≈ 104K gas to distances beyond the virial radius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use medium-resolution Keck/Echellette Spectrograph and Imager spectroscopy of bright quasars to study cool gas traced by Ca ii λλ 3934, 3969 and Na i λλ 5891, 5897 absorption in the interstellar/circumgalactic media of 21 foreground star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0.03 < z < 0.20 with stellar masses 7.4 ≤ log M */ M ⊙ ≤ 10.6. The quasarâ€"galaxy pairs were drawn from a unique sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar spectra with intervening nebular emission, and thus have exceptionally close impact parameters (R ⊥ < 13 kpc). The strength of this line emission implies that the galaxies’ star formation rates (SFRs) span a broad range, with several lying well above the star-forming sequence. We use Voigt profile modeling to derive column densities and component velocities for each absorber, finding that column densities N (Ca ii) > 1012.5 cmâˆ'2 (N (Na i) > 1012.0 cmâˆ'2) occur with an incidence f C(Ca ii) = 0.63+0.10âˆ'0.11 (f C(Na i) = 0.57+0.10âˆ'0.11). We find no evidence for a dependence of f C or the rest-frame equivalent widths W r (Ca ii K) or W r (Na i 5891) on R ⊥ or M *. Instead, W r (Ca ii K) is correlated with local SFR at >3 σ significance, suggesting that Ca ii traces star formation-driven outflows. While most of the absorbers have velocities within ±50 km sâˆ'1 of the host redshift, their velocity widths (characterized by Î" v 90) are universally 30â€"177 km sâˆ'1 larger than that implied by tilted-ring modeling of the velocities of interstellar material. These kinematics must trace galactic fountain flows and demonstrate that they persist at R ⊥ > 5 kpc. Finally, we assess the relationship between dust reddening and W r (Ca ii K) (W r (Na i 5891)), finding that 33% (24%) of the absorbers are inconsistent with the best-fit Milky Way E (B âˆ'V)- W r relations at >3 σ significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combine 126 new galaxy-O vi absorber pairs from the CGM2 survey with 123 pairs drawn from the literature to examine the simultaneous dependence of the column density of O vi absorbers (N O VI) on galaxy stellar mass, star-formation rate, and impact parameter. The combined sample consists of 249 galaxy-O vi absorber pairs covering z = 0â€"0.6, with host galaxy stellar masses M * = 107.8â€"1011.2 M ⊙ and galaxy-absorber impact parameters R ⊥ = 0â€"400 proper kiloparsecs. In this work, we focus on the variation of N O VI with galaxy mass and impact parameter among the star-forming galaxies in the sample. We find that the average N O VI within one virial radius of a star-forming galaxy is greatest for star-forming galaxies with M * = 109.2â€"1010 M ⊙. Star-forming galaxies with M * between 108 and 1011.2 M ⊙ can explain most O vi systems with column densities greater than 1013.5 cmâˆ'2. Sixty percent of the O vi mass associated with a star-forming galaxy is found within one virial radius, and 35% is found between one and two virial radii. In general, we find that some departure from hydrostatic equilibrium in the CGM is necessary to reproduce the observed O vi amount, galaxy mass dependence, and extent. Our measurements serve as a test set for CGM models over a broad range of host galaxy masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of metal-enriched halo gas traced by Mg  ii and C  iv absorption at z < 2 in the MUSE Analysis of Gas around Galaxies survey and the Quasar Sightline and Galaxy Evolution survey. Using these large and complete galaxy surveys in quasar fields, we study the dependence of the metal distribution on galaxy properties and overdensities, out to physical projected separations of 750 kpc. We find that the cool, low-ionization gas is significantly affected by the environment across the full redshift range probed, with ≈2–3 times more prevalent and stronger Mg  ii absorption in higher overdensity group environments and in regions with greater overall stellar mass and star formation rates. Complementary to these results, we have further investigated the more highly ionized gas as traced by C  iv absorption, and found that it is likely to be more extended than the Mg  ii gas, with ≈2 times higher covering fraction at a given distance. We find that the strength and covering fraction of C  iv absorption show less significant dependence on galaxy properties and environment than the Mg  ii absorption, but more massive and star-forming galaxies nevertheless also show ≈2 times higher incidence of C  iv absorption. The incidence of Mg  ii and C  iv absorption within the virial radius shows a tentative increase with redshift, being higher by a factor of ≈1.5 and ≈4, respectively, at z > 1. It is clear from our results that environmental processes have a significant impact on the distribution of metals around galaxies and need to be fully accounted for when analysing correlations between gaseous haloes and galaxy properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present initial results from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and Gemini Mapping the Circumgalactic Medium (CGMCGM ≡ CGM2) survey. The CGM2 survey consists of 1689 galaxies, all with high-quality Gemini-GMOS spectra, within 1 Mpc of 22 z ≲ 1 quasars, all with a signal-to-noise ratio of ∼10 Hubble Space Telescope/COS G130M+G160M spectra. For 572 of these galaxies with stellar masses 107 M⊙ < M⋆ < 1011 M⊙ and z ≲ 0.5, we show that the H i covering fraction above a threshold of NHI > 1014cm−2 is ≳0.5 within 1.5 virial radii (Rvir ∼ R200m). We examine the H i kinematics and find that the majority of absorption lies within ±250 km s−1 of the galaxy systemic velocity. We examine H i covering fractions over a range of impact parameters to infer a characteristic size of the CGM, , as a function of galaxy mass. is the impact parameter at which the probability of observing an absorber with NHI >1014 cm−2 is >50%. In this framework, the radial extent of the CGM of M⋆ > 109.9 M⊙ galaxies is kpc or. Intermediate-mass galaxies with 109.2 < M⋆/M⊙ < 109.9 have an extent of kpc or. Low-mass galaxies, M⋆ < 109.2 M⊙, show a smaller physical scale of kpc and extend to. Our analysis suggests that using Rvir as a proxy for the characteristic radius of the CGM likely underestimates its extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]