CGM2 I: The Extent of the Circumgalactic Medium Traced by Neutral Hydrogen.

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]