arXiv subjects

Alexander J. Richings

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander J. Richings.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Metals in the circumgalactic medium are out of ionization equilibrium due to fluctuating active galactic nuclei

We study the effect of a fluctuating active galactic nucleus (AGN) on the abundance of circumgalactic OVI in galaxies selected from the EAGLE simulations. We follow the time-variable OVI abundance in post-processing around four galaxies - two at $z=0.1$ with stellar masses of $M_{\ast} \sim 10^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$ and $M_{\ast} \sim 10^{11}$ M$_{\odot}$, and two at $z=3$ with similar stellar masses - out to impact parameters of twice their virial radii, implementing a fluctuating central source of ionizing radiation. Due to delayed recombination, the AGN leave significant `AGN proximity zone fossils' around all four galaxies, where OVI and other metal ions are out of ionization equilibrium for several megayears after the AGN fade. The column density of OVI is typically enhanced by $\approx 0.3-1.0$ dex at impact parameters within $0.3R_{\rm vir}$, and by $\approx 0.06-0.2$ dex at $2R_{\rm vir}$, thereby also enhancing the covering fraction of OVI above a given column density threshold. The fossil effect tends to increase with increasing AGN luminosity, and towards shorter AGN lifetimes and larger AGN duty cycle fractions. In the limit of short AGN lifetimes, the effect converges to that of a continuous AGN with a luminosity of $(f_{\rm duty}/100\%)$ times the AGN luminosity. We also find significant fossil effects for other metal ions, where low-ionization state ions are decreased (SiIV, CIV at $z=3$) and high-ionization state ions are increased (CIV at $z=0.1$, NeVIII, MgX). Using observationally motivated AGN parameters, we predict AGN proximity zone fossils to be ubiquitous around $M_{\ast} \sim 10^{10-11}$ M$_{\odot}$ galaxies, and to affect observations of metals in the circumgalactic medium at both low and high redshifts.

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arXiv2016

Bimodality of low-redshift circumgalactic O VI in non-equilibrium EAGLE zoom simulations

We introduce a series of 20 cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Lstar (M_200 =10^11.7 - 10^12.3 Msol) and group-sized (M_200 = 10^12.7 - 10^13.3 Msol) haloes run with the model used for the EAGLE project, which additionally includes a non-equilibrium ionization and cooling module that follows 136 ions. The simulations reproduce the observed correlation, revealed by COS-Halos at z~0.2, between O VI column density at impact parameters b < 150 kpc and the specific star formation rate (sSFR=SFR/Mstar) of the central galaxy at z~0.2. We find that the column density of circumgalactic O VI is maximal in the haloes associated with Lstar galaxies, because their virial temperatures are close to the temperature at which the ionization fraction of O VI peaks (T~10^5.5 K). The higher virial temperature of group haloes (> 10^6 K) promotes oxygen to higher ionization states, suppressing the O VI column density. The observed NO VI-sSFR correlation therefore does not imply a causal link, but reflects the changing characteristic ionization state of oxygen as halo mass is increased. In spite of the mass-dependence of the oxygen ionization state, the most abundant circumgalactic oxygen ion in both Lstar and group haloes is O VII; O VI accounts for only 0.1% of the oxygen in group haloes and 0.9-1.3% with Lstar haloes. Nonetheless, the metals traced by O VI absorbers represent a fossil record of the feedback history of galaxies over a Hubble time; their characteristic epoch of ejection corresponds to z > 1 and much of the ejected metal mass resides beyond the virial radius of galaxies. For both Lstar and group galaxies, more of the oxygen produced and released by stars resides in the circumgalactic medium (within twice the virial radius) than in the stars and ISM of the galaxy.

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arXiv2016

Chemical evolution of giant molecular clouds in simulations of galaxies

We present an analysis of Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) within hydrodynamic simulations of isolated, low-mass (M* ~ 10^9 M_sol) disc galaxies. We study the evolution of molecular abundances and the implications for CO emission and the X_CO conversion factor in individual clouds. We define clouds either as regions above a density threshold n_H,min = 10 cm^-3, or using an observationally motivated CO intensity threshold of 0.25 K km s^-1. Our simulations include a non-equilibrium chemical model with 157 species, including 20 molecules. We also investigate the effects of resolution and pressure floors (i.e. Jeans limiters). We find cloud lifetimes up to ~40 Myr, with a median of 13 Myr, in agreement with observations. At one tenth solar metallicity, young clouds (<10-15 Myr) are underabundant in H2 and CO compared to chemical equilibrium, by factors of ~3 and 1-2 orders of magnitude, respectively. At solar metallicity, GMCs reach chemical equilibrium faster (within ~1 Myr). We also compute CO emission from individual clouds. The mean CO intensity, I_CO, is strongly suppressed at low dust extinction, A_v, and possibly saturates towards high A_v, in agreement with observations. The I_CO - A_v relation shifts towards higher A_v for higher metallicities and, to a lesser extent, for stronger UV radiation. At one tenth solar metallicity, CO emission is weaker in young clouds (<10-15 Myr), consistent with the underabundance of CO. Consequently, X_CO decreases by an order of magnitude from 0 to 15 Myr, albeit with a large scatter.

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arXiv2016

The effects of metallicity, UV radiation and non-equilibrium chemistry in high-resolution simulations of galaxies

We present a series of hydrodynamic simulations of isolated galaxies with stellar mass of $10^{9} \, \rm{M}_{\odot}$. The models use a resolution of $750 \, \rm{M}_{\odot}$ per particle and include a treatment for the full non-equilibrium chemical evolution of ions and molecules (157 species in total), along with gas cooling rates computed self-consistently using the non-equilibrium abundances. We compare these to simulations evolved using cooling rates calculated assuming chemical (including ionisation) equilibrium, and we consider a wide range of metallicities and UV radiation fields, including a local prescription for self-shielding by gas and dust. We find higher star formation rates and stronger outflows at higher metallicity and for weaker radiation fields, as gas can more easily cool to a cold (few hundred Kelvin) star forming phase under such conditions. Contrary to variations in the metallicity and the radiation field, non-equilibrium chemistry generally has no strong effect on the total star formation rates or outflow properties. However, it is important for modelling molecular outflows. For example, the mass of H$_{2}$ outflowing with velocities $> 50 \, \rm{km} \, \rm{s}^{-1}$ is enhanced by a factor $\sim 20$ in non-equilibrium. We also compute the observable line emission from CII and CO. Both are stronger at higher metallicity, while CII and CO emission are higher for stronger and weaker radiation fields respectively. We find that CII is generally unaffected by non-equilibrium chemistry. However, emission from CO varies by a factor of $\sim 2 - 4$. This has implications for the mean $X_{\rm{CO}}$ conversion factor between CO emission and H$_{2}$ column density, which we find is lowered by up to a factor $\sim 2.3$ in non-equilibrium, and for the fraction of CO-dark molecular gas.

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arXiv2014

Non-equilibrium chemistry and cooling in the diffuse interstellar medium - II. Shielded gas

We extend the non-equilibrium model for the chemical and thermal evolution of diffuse interstellar gas presented in Richings et al. (2014) to account for shielding from the UV radiation field. We attenuate the photochemical rates by dust and by gas, including absorption by HI, H2, HeI, HeII and CO where appropriate. We then use this model to investigate the dominant cooling and heating processes in interstellar gas as it becomes shielded from the UV radiation. We consider a one-dimensional plane-parallel slab of gas irradiated by the interstellar radiation field, either at constant density and temperature or in thermal and pressure equilibrium. The dominant thermal processes tend to form three distinct regions in the clouds. At low column densities cooling is dominated by ionised metals such as SiII, FeII, FeIII and CII, which are balanced by photoheating, primarily from HI. Once the hydrogen-ionising radiation becomes attenuated by neutral hydrogen, photoelectric dust heating dominates, while CII becomes dominant for cooling. Finally, dust shielding triggers the formation of CO and suppresses photoelectric heating. The dominant coolants in this fully shielded region are H2 and CO. The column density of the HI-H2 transition predicted by our model is lower at higher density (or at higher pressure for gas clouds in pressure equilibrium) and at higher metallicity, in agreement with previous PDR models. We also compare the HI-H2 transition in our model to two prescriptions for molecular hydrogen formation that have been implemented in hydrodynamic simulations.

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arXiv2014

Non-equilibrium chemistry and cooling in the diffuse interstellar medium - I. Optically thin regime

An accurate treatment of the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) in hydrodynamic galaxy simulations requires that we follow not only the thermal evolution of the gas, but also the evolution of its chemical state, including its molecular chemistry, without assuming chemical (including ionisation) equilibrium. We present a reaction network that can be used to solve for this thermo-chemical evolution. Our model follows the evolution of all ionisation states of the 11 elements that dominate the cooling rate, along with important molecules such as H2 and CO, and the intermediate molecular species that are involved in their formation (20 molecules in total). We include chemical reactions on dust grains, thermal processes involving dust, cosmic ray ionisation and heating and photochemical reactions. We focus on conditions typical for the diffuse ISM, with densities of 10^-2 cm^-3 < nH < 10^4 cm^-3 and temperatures of 10^2 K < T < 10^4 K, and we consider a range of radiation fields, including no UV radiation. In this paper we consider only gas that is optically thin, while paper II considers gas that becomes shielded from the radiation field. We verify the accuracy of our model by comparing chemical abundances and cooling functions in chemical equilibrium with the photoionisation code Cloudy. We identify the major coolants in diffuse interstellar gas to be CII, SiII and FeII, along with OI and H2 at densities nH > 10^2 cm^-3. Finally, we investigate the impact of non-equilibrium chemistry on the cooling functions of isochorically or isobarically cooling gas. We find that, at T < 10^4 K, recombination lags increase the electron abundance above its equilibrium value at a given temperature, which can enhance the cooling rate by up to two orders of magnitude. The cooling gas also shows lower H2 abundances than in equilibrium, by up to an order of magnitude.

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