High-redshift Damped Ly-alpha Absorbing Galaxy Model Reproducing the N(HI)-Z Distribution

Abstract

We investigate how damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorbers (DLAs) at z ~ 2-3, detected in large optical spectroscopic surveys of quasars, trace the population of star-forming galaxies. Building on previous results, we construct a model based on observed and physically motivated scaling relations in order to reproduce the bivariate distributions of metallicity, Z, and HI column density, N(HI). Furthermore, the observed impact parameters for galaxies associated to DLAs are in agreement with the model predictions. The model strongly favours a metallicity gradient, which scales with the luminosity of the host galaxy, with a value of $\gamma$* = -0.019 $\pm$ 0.008 dex kpc${}^{-1}$ for L* galaxies that gets steeper for fainter galaxies. We find that DLAs trace galaxies over a wide range of galaxy luminosities, however, the bulk of the DLA cross-section arises in galaxies with L ~ 0.1 L* at z ~ 2.5 broadly consistent with numerical simulations.

Accepted to MNRAS, 8 pages

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• Cosmic metal density evolution in neutral gas: insights from observations and cosmological simulations
• Connecting cosmological accretion to strong Lyman-alpha absorbers
• Damped Ly-alpha Absorbers in Star-forming Galaxies at z < 0.15 Detected with the Hubble Space Telescope and Implications for Galaxy Evolution
• Modeling the Statistics of the Cold Neutral Medium in Absorption-selected High-redshift Galaxies
• The galaxy counterpart and environment of the dusty Damped Lyman-alpha Absorber at z=2.226 towards Q1218+0832
• The internal metallicity distributions of simulated galaxies from EAGLE, Illustris, and IllustrisTNG at z=1.8-4 as probed by Gamma Ray Burst hosts
• Modelling of long gamma-ray burst host galaxies at cosmic noon from damped Lyman-α absorption statistics
• Quasar radiation transforms the gas in a merging companion galaxy
• On the Metallicities and Kinematics of the Circumgalactic Media of Damped Ly$\alpha$ Systems at $z\sim 2.5$
• SDSS J1059+4251, a highly magnified z ~ 2.8 star-forming galaxy: ESI observations of the rest-frame UV spectrum
• How far have metals reached? Reconciling statistical constraints and enrichment models at reionization