arXiv subjects

Caleb R. Choban

Publications and source records attributed to Caleb R. Choban.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Observing Co-Located Neutral and Ionized Gas-Phase Iron Depletion in the Magellanic Clouds

Depletion is the observed phenomenon where gas-phase elemental abundances are reduced through accretion onto dust grains. We measure neutral gas-phase elemental abundances (S, Fe) in the Magellanic Clouds along 33 sightlines using high-resolution UV spectroscopy (HST/COS and HST/STIS), and compare them to ionized gas-phase abundances (S, Fe) adopted from the literature for six co-located H\,\textsc{ii} regions (with the furthest separation of $\lesssim3'$, 50 pc). Comparing S abundances show that S is minimally depleted in the H\,\textsc{ii} regions and surrounding diffuse ISM. However, we find that the gas-phase Fe abundances in H\,\textsc{ii} regions can be lower than those of the neighboring neutral ISM by 0.3 to 2 dex. This difference is likely an offset in the amount of Fe depleted into dust grains. As accretion of gas-phase Fe is likely not effective at the temperatures of the H\,\textsc{ii} regions, Fe depletion into solid form would have occurred in the dense atomic or molecular clouds prior to star formation. Stronger depletion in the H\,\textsc{ii} regions shows that Fe-bearing grains survive destruction in the first few million years following ionization. Our observations highlight that Fe depletion in H\,\textsc{ii} regions can be a useful tracer of Fe depletion in dense molecular clouds, which are challenging to observe directly via UV absorption.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Ashes of FIRE: Modeling Dust Grain Size Evolution in the Local Group with FIRE

We introduce a new, discretized grain size evolution model, incorporated into the GIZMO code and coupled with FIRE-3 stellar feedback and ISM physics, to investigate variations in dust abundance, chemical composition, and grain sizes observed in the Local Group. This model tracks the size evolution of specific dust species, and includes stellar production of dust, dust growth through gas-phase metal accretion, dust destruction by sputtering, SNe shocks, and astration, grain-grain collisional shattering and coagulation, and turbulent dust diffusion. Using idealized galaxy simulations, we test the dependence of MW dust properties on variations in each dust process and find that our model uniquely predicts a bimodal grain size distribution. This bimodality is due to our simulation's ability to resolve each dust process and where they occur in the ISM, unlike other works. We find that Local Group dust abundances are determined by dust growth and destruction, with little dependence on coagulation or shattering, explaining why models that do not include these processes can match abundance observations. We also find that variations in Local Group extinction curve slopes are determined by coagulation, with inefficient coagulation leading to steeper slopes. However, inefficient coagulation also results in stronger extinction curve bumps, which are not observed. We also do not predict a population of very small (${<}1$ nm) carbonaceous grains, required for MIR emission features, due to their rapid growth by accretion. These results highlight the possible necessity of ``top-down'' PAH formation from preexisting grains as a means to inhibit carbonaceous dust growth.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

A Dusty Dawn: Galactic Dust Buildup at $z\gtrsim5$

Over the last decade, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array has revealed massive, dusty star-forming galaxies at $z\gtrsim5$, and the James Webb Space Telescope is primed to uncover even more information about them. These observations need dust evolution theory to provide context and are excellent benchmarks to test this theory. Here, we investigate the evolution of galactic dust budget at cosmic dawn using a suite of cosmological zoom-in simulations of moderately massive, high-redshift ($M_{\rm star}\gtrsim10^9 M_{\odot}$; $z\gtrsim5$) galaxies from the FIRE project, the highest resolution ($m_{\rm b} \approx 7100\, M_{\odot}$) of such simulations to date. Our simulations incorporate a dust evolution model that accounts for the dominant sources of dust production, growth, and destruction and follows the evolution of specific dust species, allowing it to replicate a wide range of present-day observations. We find, similar to other theoretical works, that dust growth via gas-dust accretion is the dominant producer of dust mass for these massive, $z\gtrsim 5$ galaxies. However, our fiducial model produces $M_{\rm dust}$ that fall ${\gtrsim}1$ dex below observations at any given $M_{\rm star}$ (typical uncertainties are ${\sim}1$ dex), which we attribute to reduced accretion efficiencies caused by a combination of low galactic metallicities and extremely bursty star formation. Modest enhancements (i.e., within observational/theoretical uncertainties) to accretion and SNe II dust creation raise $M_{\rm dust}$ by ${\lesssim}1$ dex, but this still falls below observations which assume $T_{\rm dust}\sim25$ K. One possibility is that inferred dust masses for $z\gtrsim4$ galaxies are overestimated, and recent observational/analytical works that find $T_{\rm dust}\sim50$ K along with metallicity constraints tentatively support this.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A Dusty Locale: Evolution of Galactic Dust Populations from Milky Way to Dwarf-Mass Galaxies

Observations indicate dust populations vary between galaxies and within them, suggesting a complex life cycle and evolutionary history. Here we investigate the evolution of galactic dust populations across cosmic time using a suite of cosmological zoom-in simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) project, spanning $M_{\rm vir}=10^{9-12}M_{\odot};\,M_{*}=10^{6-11}\,M_{\odot}$. Our simulations incorporate a dust evolution model that accounts for the dominant sources of dust production, growth, and destruction and follows the evolution of specific dust species. All galactic dust populations in our suite exhibit similar evolutionary histories, with gas-dust accretion being the dominant producer of dust mass for all but the most metal-poor galaxies. Similar to previous works, we find the onset of efficient gas-dust accretion occurs above a `critical' metallicity threshold ($Z_{\rm crit}$). Due to this threshold, our simulations reproduce observed trends between galactic D/Z and metallicity and element depletion trends in the ISM. However, we find $Z_{\rm crit}$ varies between dust species due to differences in key element abundances, dust physical properties, and life cycle processes resulting in $Z_{\rm crit}\sim0.05Z_{\odot},\,0.2Z_{\odot},\,0.5Z_{\odot}$ for metallic iron, silicates, and carbonaceous dust, respectively. These variations could explain the lack of small carbonaceous grains observed in the Magellanic Clouds. We also find a delay between the onset of gas-dust accretion and when a dust population reaches equilibrium, which we call the equilibrium timescale ($τ_{\rm eq}$). The relation between $τ_{\rm eq}$ and the metal enrichment timescale of a galaxy, determined by its recent evolutionary history, can contribute to the scatter in the observed relation between galactic D/Z and metallicity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The Galactic Dust-Up: Modeling Dust Evolution in FIRE

Recent strides have been made developing dust evolution models for galaxy formation simulations but these approaches vary in their assumptions and degree of complexity. Here we introduce and compare two separate dust evolution models (labelled 'Elemental' and 'Species'), based on recent approaches, incorporated into the GIZMO code and coupled with FIRE-2 stellar feedback and ISM physics. Both models account for turbulent dust diffusion, stellar production of dust, dust growth via gas-dust accretion, and dust destruction from time-resolved supernovae, thermal sputtering in hot gas, and astration. The "Elemental" model tracks the evolution of generalized dust species and utilizes a simple, 'tunable' dust growth routine, while the "Species" model tracks the evolution of specific dust species with set chemical compositions and incorporates a physically motivated, two-phase dust growth routine. We test and compare these models in an idealized Milky Way-mass galaxy and find that while both produce reasonable galaxy-integrated dust-to-metals (D/Z) ratios and predict gas-dust accretion as the main dust growth mechanism, a chemically motivated model is needed to reproduce the observed scaling relation between individual element depletions and D/Z with column density and local gas density. We also find the inclusion of theoretical metallic iron and O-bearing dust species are needed in the case of specific dust species in order to match observations of O and Fe depletions, and the integration of a sub-resolution dense molecular gas/CO scheme is needed to both match observed C depletions and ensure carbonaceous dust is not overproduced in dense environments.

astro-ph.GA↗