Significant H i and Metal Differences around the z = 0.83 Lens Galaxy toward the Doubly Lensed Quasar SBS 0909+532

We report a large difference in neutral hydrogen (H i ) and metal column densities between the two sight lines probing opposite sides of the lensing galaxy at z lens = 0.83 toward the doubly lensed quasar SBS 0909+532. Using archival HST-STIS and Keck HIRES spectra of the lensed quasar images, we me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 2021-02, Vol.161 (2), p.90
Main Authors: Cashman, Frances H., Kulkarni, Varsha P., Lopez, Sebastian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ABUNDANCE
ANISOTROPY
Astronomical models
Astronomy
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
CLOUDS
Cold gas
DENSITY
Elliptical galaxies
GALAXIES
Galaxy abundances
Gravitational lensing
Hydrogen
IMPACT PARAMETER
Lenses
METALS
Parameters
Quasar absorption line spectroscopy
QUASARS
SPECTRA
SUPERNOVAE
Visual perception
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Summary:We report a large difference in neutral hydrogen (H i ) and metal column densities between the two sight lines probing opposite sides of the lensing galaxy at z lens = 0.83 toward the doubly lensed quasar SBS 0909+532. Using archival HST-STIS and Keck HIRES spectra of the lensed quasar images, we measure log N H I = 18.77 ± 0.12 cm −2 toward the brighter image ( A ) at an impact parameter of r A = 3.15 kpc and log N H I = 20.38 ± 0.20 cm −2 toward the fainter image ( B ) at an impact parameter of r B = 5.74 kpc. This difference by a factor of ∼41 is the highest difference between sight lines for a lens galaxy in which H i has been measured, suggesting patchiness and/or anisotropy on these scales. We estimate an average Fe abundance gradient between the sight lines to be ≥+0.35 dex kpc −1 . The N Fe II / N Mg II ratios for the individual components detected in the Keck HIRES spectra have supersolar values for all components in sight line A and for 11 out of 18 components in sight line B , suggesting that Type Ia supernovae may have contributed to the chemical enrichment of the galaxy’s environment. Additionally, these observations provide complementary information to detections of cold gas in early-type galaxies and the tension between these and some models of cloud survival.
ISSN:0004-6256
1538-3881
1538-3881
DOI:10.3847/1538-3881/abd2b0