Gas inflow and outflow in an interacting high-redshift galaxy: The remarkable host environment of GRB 080810 at $z=3.35$

Abstract

We reveal multiple components of an interacting galaxy system at $z\approx 3.35$ through a detailed analysis of the exquisite high-resolution Keck/HIRES spectrum of the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst (GRB). Through Voigt-profile fitting of absorption lines from the Lyman-series, we constrain the neutral hydrogen column density to $N_{\mathrm{HI}}\le 10^{18.35}$ cm${}^{-2}$ for the densest of four distinct systems at the host redshift of GRB~080810, among the lowest $N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ ever observed in a GRB host, despite the line of sight passing within a projected 5 kpc of the galaxy centres. By detailed analysis of the corresponding metal absorption lines, we derive chemical, ionic and kinematic properties of the individual absorbing systems, and thus build a picture of the host as a whole. Striking differences between the systems imply that the line of sight passes through several phases of gas: the star-forming regions of the GRB host; enriched material in the form of a galactic outflow; the hot and ionised halo of a second, interacting galaxy falling towards the host at a line-of-sight velocity of 700 km s${}^{-1}$; and a cool, metal-poor cloud which may represent one of the best candidates yet for the inflow of metal-poor gas from the intergalactic medium.

arXiv comment18 pages, 15 figures. A&A, Accepted. Updated to accepted version

References in corpus (104)

• The NumPy array: a structure for efficient numerical computation
• Planck 2013 results. XVI. Cosmological parameters
• The Swift X-ray Telescope
• The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope
• Discovery of the peculiar supernova 1998bw in the error box of GRB980425
• Galaxy Bimodality due to Cold Flows and Shock Heating
• The Supernova -- Gamma-Ray Burst Connection
• The Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on the Swift MIDEX Mission
• A very energetic supernova associated with the gamma-ray burst of 29 March 2003
• Rest-Frame Ultraviolet Spectra of z~3 Lyman Break Galaxies
• The Structure and Kinematics of the Circum-Galactic Medium from Far-UV Spectra of z~2-3 Galaxies
• A Unified Representation of Gas-Phase Element Depletions in the Interstellar Medium
• The merger rate of galaxies in the Illustris Simulation: a comparison with observations and semi-empirical models
• Damped Lyman alpha Systems
• Galaxy formation in the Planck Cosmology - I. Matching the observed evolution of star formation rates, colours and stellar masses
• Mapping Large-Scale Gaseous Outflows in Ultraluminous Galaxies with Keck II ESI Spectra: Variations in Outflow Velocity with Galactic Mass
• Ubiquitous outflows in DEEP2 spectra of star-forming galaxies at z=1.4
• Simulating galactic outflows with thermal supernova feedback
• Simulating galactic outflows with kinetic supernova feedback
• Properties of Galactic Outflows: Measurements of the Feedback from Star Formation
• New Observations of the Interstellar Medium in the Lyman Break Galaxy MS 1512-cB58
• A cosmic web filament revealed in Lyman-alpha emission around a luminous high-redshift quasar
• Low-Resolution Spectroscopy of Gamma-ray Burst Optical Afterglows: Biases in the Swift Sample and Characterization of the Absorbers
• Evidence for Ubiquitous Collimated Galactic-Scale Outflows along the Star-Forming Sequence at z~0.5
• The Afterglows of Swift-era Gamma-Ray Bursts. I. Comparing pre-Swift and Swift era Long/Soft (Type II) GRB Optical Afterglows
• The Systematic Properties of the Warm Phase of Starburst-Driven Galactic Winds
• Metallicity Evolution of Damped Lyman-alpha Systems out to z~5
• A very luminous magnetar-powered supernova associated with an ultra-long gamma-ray burst
• Absorption line systems in simulated galaxies fed by cold streams
• The Observer's Guide to the Gamma-Ray Burst-Supernova Connection
• The COS-Halos Survey: Metallicities in the Low-Redshift Circumgalactic Medium
• Quasar Quartet Embedded in Giant Nebula Reveals Rare Massive Structure in Distant Universe
• Signatures of Cool Gas Fueling a Star-Forming Galaxy at Redshift 2.3
• The merger rate of massive galaxies
• Probing the ISM Near Star Forming Regions with GRB Afterglow Spectroscopy: Gas, Metals, and Dust
• The Bimodal Metallicity Distribution of the Cool Circumgalactic Medium at z<1
• A Population of Massive, Luminous Galaxies Hosting Heavily Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts: Implications for the Use of GRBs as Tracers of Cosmic Star Formation
• Host-Galaxy Properties of 32 Low-Redshift Superluminous Supernovae from the Palomar Transient Factory
• The UCSD HIRES/KeckI Damped Lya Abundance Database: II. The Implications
• The COS-Halos Survey: Origins of the Highly Ionized Circumgalactic Medium of Star-Forming Galaxies
• Chemical Abundances of the Damped Lya Systems at z>1.5
• The Swift GRB Host Galaxy Legacy Survey - II. Rest-Frame NIR Luminosity Distribution and Evidence for a Near-Solar Metallicity Threshold
• Probing Cosmic Chemical Evolution with Gamma-Ray Bursts: GRB060206 at z=4.048
• Detection of Pristine Gas Two Billion Years after the Big Bang
• The Direct Detection of Cool, Metal-Enriched Gas Accretion onto Galaxies at z ~ 0.5
• Heavy Element Abundances and Dust Depletions in the Host Galaxies of Three Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Dissecting the Circumstellar Environment of Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitors
• Pairing of Supermassive Black Holes in unequal-mass galaxy mergers
• The Rapid Decline in Metallicity of Damped Ly-alpha Systems at z~5
• Less than 10 percent of star formation in z=0.6 massive galaxies is triggered by major interactions
• A log N(HI) = 22.6 DLA in a dark gamma-ray burst: the environment of GRB 050401
• On the Nature of Velocity Fields in High z Galaxies
• Dust and elemental abundances in Damped Ly alpha absorbers
• Dust-to-metal ratios in damped Lyman-alpha absorbers: Fresh clues to the origins of dust and optical extinction towards gamma-ray bursts
• Metallicity of the intergalactic medium using pixel statistics: III. Silicon
• Super-solar Metal Abundances in Two Galaxies at z ~ 3.57 revealed by the GRB 090323 Afterglow Spectrum
• The Dust Extinction Curves of Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies
• Dissecting the properties of optically-thick hydrogen at the peak of cosmic star formation history
• Physical conditions in high-redshift GRB-DLA absorbers observed with VLT/UVES: Implications for molecular hydrogen searches
• GRB 100219A with X-shooter - abundances in a galaxy at z = 4.7
• Gas Accretion via Condensation and Fountains
• The COS-Halos Survey: Keck LRIS and Magellan MagE Optical Spectroscopy
• Evolution of the dust-to-metals ratio in high-redshift galaxies probed by GRB-DLAs
• High-Redshift Starbursting Dwarf Galaxies Revealed by GRB Afterglows
• A new comprehensive set of elemental abundances in DLAs - II. Data analysis and chemical variation studies
• High-Ion Absorption in Seven GRB Host Galaxies at z=2-4: Evidence for both Circumburst Plasma and Outflowing Interstellar Gas
• Molecular Hydrogen in the Damped Lyman-alpha System towards GRB 120815A at z=2.36
• The ESO UVES Advanced Data Products Quasar Sample - VI. Sub-Damped Lyman-$\alpha$ Metallicity Measurements and the Circum-Galactic Medium
• GRB 021004: a Massive Progenitor Star Surrounded by Shells
• Shining A Light On Galactic Outflows: Photo-Ionized Outflows
• The metallicity and dust content of a redshift 5 gamma-ray burst host galaxy
• The warm, the excited, and the molecular gas: GRB 121024A shining through its star-forming galaxy
• MUSE searches for galaxies near very metal-poor gas clouds at z~3: new constraints for cold accretion models
• The Cosmic Evolution of the Metallicity Distribution of Ionized Gas Traced by Lyman Limit Systems
• Massive stars formed in atomic hydrogen reservoirs: HI observations of gamma-ray burst host galaxies
• Metal-Poor, Cool Gas in the Circumgalactic Medium of a z = 2.4 Star-Forming Galaxy: Direct Evidence for Cold Accretion?
• Probing the Circumgalactic Medium at High-Redshift Using Composite BOSS Spectra of Strong Lyman-alpha Forest Absorbers
• Unveiling the Secrets of Metallicity and Massive Star Formation Using DLAs along Gamma-ray Bursts
• The Interstellar Medium of GRB Host Galaxies I. Echelle Spectra of Swift GRB Afterglows
• The distribution of equivalent widths in long GRB afterglow spectra
• The Magellan Uniform Survey of Damped Lyman alpha Systems I: Cosmic Metallicity Evolution
• GRB051022: physical parameters and extinction of a prototype dark burst
• A Homogeneous Sample of Sub-DLAs IV: Global Metallicity Evolution
• VLT/X-shooter spectroscopy of the GRB 120327A afterglow
• Massive star formation in Wolf-Rayet galaxies: II. Optical spectroscopy results
• The evolution of superluminous supernova LSQ14mo and its interacting host galaxy system
• Gamma-Ray Bursts Trace UV Metrics of Star Formation over 3 < z < 5
• The missing gas problem in GRB host galaxies: evidence for a highly ionised component
• The dark nature of GRB 051022 and its host galaxy
• Multi-wavelength observations of the energetic GRB 080810: detailed mapping of the broadband spectral evolution
• The Keck+Magellan Survey for Lyman Limit Absorption III: Sample Definition and Column Density Measurements
• A High Signal-to-Noise Ratio Composite Spectrum of Gamma-ray Burst Afterglows
• Galactic Winds with MUSE: A Direct Detection of FeII* Emission from a z = 1.29 Galaxy
• Time-dependent excitation and ionization modelling of absorption-line variability due to GRB 080310
• GRB 060605: multi-wavelength analysis of the first GRB observed using integral field spectroscopy
• The Luminous Infrared Host Galaxy of Short-Duration GRB 100206A
• The Keck+Magellan Survey for Lyman Limit Absorption II: A Case Study on Metallicity Variations
• VLT/X-shooter spectroscopy of the afterglow of the Swift GRB 130606A: Chemical abundances and reionisation at $z\sim 6$
• GRB 980425 host: [CII], [OI] and CO lines reveal recent enhancement of star formation due to atomic gas inflow
• Near-infrared Spectroscopy of GRB Host Galaxies at z >~ 1.5: Insights into Host Galaxy Dynamics and Interpretations of Afterglow Absorption Spectra
• Data Reduction with the MIKE Spectrometer
• Star formation in galaxy interactions and mergers
• Predominantly Low Metallicities Measured in a Stratified Sample of Lyman Limit Systems at z=3.7
• Gas Accretion via Lyman Limit Systems

Cited by in corpus (14)

• The fraction of ionizing radiation from massive stars that escapes to the intergalactic medium
• Evidence for diffuse molecular gas and dust in the hearts of gamma-ray burst host galaxies
• Close-up view of a luminous star-forming galaxy at z=2.95
• Dissecting the interstellar medium of a z=6.3 galaxy: X-shooter spectroscopy and HST imaging of the afterglow and environment of the Swift GRB 210905A
• The host galaxy of GRB 980425 / SN1998bw: a collisional ring galaxy
• Localisation of gamma-ray bursts from the combined SpIRIT+HERMES-TP/SP nano-satellite constellation
• The CGM-GRB Study. I. Uncovering The CircumGalactic Medium around GRB hosts at redshifts 2-6
• Column Density Profiles of Cold Clouds Driven by Galactic Outflows
• The Strong Gravitationally Lensed Herschel Galaxy HLock01: Optical Spectroscopy Reveals a Close Galaxy Merger with Evidence of Inflowing Gas
• MOSEL Survey: Tracking the Growth of Massive Galaxies at 2<z<4 using Kinematics and the IllustrisTNG Simulation
• Molecular Gas Properties in the Host Galaxy of GRB080207
• Chemical diversity of gas in distant galaxies: The metal and dust enrichment and variations within absorbing galaxies
• New radio constraints on the obscured star formation rates of massive GRB hosts at redshifts 2-3.5
• First IFU observations of two GRB host galaxies at cosmic noon with JWST/NIRSpec