NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series

John Stocke

University of Colorado


Enriching the Universe: Do Starburst Winds Escape to the IGM



QSO absorption lines allow us to sample the physical characteristics of galaxies and the cosmic web for > 90% of all time. So-called "damped Ly alpha absorbers" (log N_H I > 20.3 cm-2) sample the neutral gas associated with galaxy disks and so trace the evolution of the gas that makes stars. "Lyman limits systems" (log N_H I = 17.3-20.3) are probably high velocity clouds in the bound halos of massive galaxies. In this talk I will focus on the Lyman limit systems and the weaker metal-enriched systems (log N_ HI = 13.3 -17.3), which contain most of the baryons in the detected IGM. I will present statistical and anecdotal evidence that these weak metal-line absorbers are produced by so-called superwinds primarily from dwarf galaxies.

 


 

December 5,2008
11:00 am

Array Operations Center Auditorium

All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville Room 230, Green Bank Room 137 and Tucson N525.

Local Host: Chris Carilli