Imaging pristine gas systems at z ~ 3
Abstract
Gas inflow on collapsing structures is the most fundamental aspect of galaxy formation. Despite a well-developed theoretical framework, our empirical knowledge of this process remains limited. This proposal aims to move a step forward in detecting gas accretion onto galaxies. We propose to obtain multiband imaging and spectroscopy of the surroundings of three gas clouds at z~ 3. These clouds have been discovered in the foreground of quasars using absorption spectroscopy and are known to be nearly pristine in their composition, being at very low metallicity (below 1/100 to 1/10000 the solar value) and, in two cases, exhibiting a primordial abundance of deuterium. Because of the high column density of neutral hydrogen that is observed in these systems, this gas likely resides in overdense regions that are common to the halo of galaxies. All these characteristics are consistently predicted by models to be signatures of infalling material. By associating pristine gas to galaxies, this program would offer the best candidates for gas accretion in the high redshift universe.
- Publication:
-
NOAO Proposal
- Pub Date:
- August 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013noao.prop..102F