@article{BoumaRichterFechner2019,
  author    = {Bouma, Sietske Jeltje Deirdre and Richter, Philipp and Fechner, Cora},
  title     = {A population of high-velocity absorption-line systems residing in the Local Group},
  series = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal},
  volume    = {627},
  journal   = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal},
  publisher = {EDP Sciences},
  address   = {Les Ulis},
  issn      = {1432-0746},
  doi       = {10.1051/0004-6361/201935078},
  pages     = {12},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Aims. We investigated the ionisation conditions and distances of Galactic high-velocity clouds (HVCs) in the Galactic halo and beyond in the direction of the Local Group (LG) barycentre and anti-barycentre, by studying spectral data of 29 extragalactic background sources obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectropgraph (COS) installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Methods. We model column-densities of low, intermediate, and high ions such as Si ii, C ii, Si iii, Si vi, and C iv, and use these data to construct a set of Cloudy ionisation models. Results. In total, we found 69 high-velocity absorption components along the 29 lines of sight. The components in the direction of the LG barycentre span the entire range of studied velocities, 100 less than or similar to vertical bar nu(LSR)vertical bar less than or similar to 400 km s(-1), while those in the anti-barycentre sample have velocities up to about 300 km s(-1). For 49 components, we infer the gas densities. In the direction of the LG barycentre, the gas densities exhibit a wide range from log nH = -3.96 to -2.55, while in the anti-barycentre direction the densities are systematically higher, log nH > -3.25. The barycentre absorbers can be split into two groups based on their density: a high-density group with log nH > -3.54, which can be affected by the Milky Way radiation field, and a low-density group (log nH <= -3.54). The latter has very low thermal pressures of P/k < 7.3 Kcm(-3). Conclusions. Our study shows that part of the absorbers in the LG barycentre direction trace gas at very low gas densities and thermal pressures. These properties indicate that the absorbers are located beyond the virial radius of the Milky Way. Our study also confirms results from earlier, single-sightline studies, suggesting the presence of a metal-enriched intragroup medium filling the LG near its barycentre.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RichterCharltonFanganoetal.2009,
  author    = {Richter, Philipp and Charlton, Jane C. and Fangano, Alessio P. M. and Ben Bekhti, Nadya and Masiero, Joseph R.},
  title     = {A population of weak metal-line absorbers surrounding the Milky Way},
  issn      = {0004-637X},
  doi       = {10.1088/0004-637x/695/2/1631},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {We report on the detection of a population of weak metal-line absorbers in the halo or nearby intergalactic environment of the Milky Way. Using high-resolution ultraviolet absorption-line spectra of bright quasars (QSO) obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), along six sight lines we have observed unsaturated, narrow absorption in O I and Si II, together with mildly saturated C II absorption at high radial velocities (vertical bar v(LSR)vertical bar = 100-320 km s(-1)). The measured O I column densities lie in the range N(O I) 2 x 10(14) cm(-2) implying that these structures represent Lyman limit Systems and sub-Lyman limit System with H I column densities between 10(16) and 3 x 10(18) cm(-2), thus below the detection limits of current 21 cm all-sky surveys of high-velocity clouds (HVCs). The absorbers apparently are not directly associated with any of the large high column density HVC complexes, but rather represent isolated, partly neutral gas clumps embedded in a more tenuous, ionized gaseous medium situated in the halo or nearby intergalactic environment of the Galaxy. Photoionization modeling of the observed low ion ratios suggests typical hydrogen volume densities of n(H) > 0.02 cm(-3) and characteristic thicknesses of a several parsec down to subparsec scales. For three absorbers, metallicities are constrained in the range of 0.1-1.0 solar, implying that these gaseous structures may have multiple origins inside and outside the Milky Way. Using supplementary optical absorption-line data, we find for two other absorbers Ca II/O I column-density ratios that correspond to solar Ca/O abundance ratios. This finding indicates that these clouds do not contain significant amounts of dust. This population of low column density gas clumps in the circumgalactic environment of the Milky Way is indicative of the various processes that contribute to the circulation of neutral gas in the extended halos of spiral galaxies. These processes include the accretion of gas from the intergalactic medium and satellite galaxies, galactic fountains, and outflows. We speculate that this absorber population represents the local analog of weak Mg II systems that are commonly observed in the circumgalactic environment of low- and high-redshift galaxies.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{TepperGarciaRichterSchaye2013,
  author    = {Tepper-Garcia, Thor and Richter, Philipp and Schaye, Joop},
  title     = {Absorption signatures of warm-hot gas at low redshift - ne viii},
  series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  volume    = {436},
  journal   = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0035-8711},
  doi       = {10.1093/mnras/stt1712},
  pages     = {2063 -- 2081},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {At z < 1 a large fraction of the baryons is thought to reside in diffuse gas that has been shock-heated to high temperatures (10 (5)-10 (6) K). Absorption by the 770.41, 780.32 A doublet of Ne viii in quasar spectra represents a unique tool to study this elusive warm-hot phase. We have developed an analytic model for the properties of Ne viii absorbers that allows for an inhomogeneous metal distribution. Our model agrees with the predictions of a simulation from the OverWhelmingly Large Simulations project indicating that the average line-of-sight metal-filling fraction within the absorbing gas is low (c(L) similar to 0.1). Most of the Ne viii in our model is produced in low-density, collisionally ionized gas (n(H) = 10(-6)-10(-4) cm(-3), T = 10 (5)-10 (6) K). Strong Ne viii absorbers (log(10)(N-NeVIII/cm(-2))14), like those recently detected by Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, are found to arise in higher density gas (n(H) greater than or similar to 10(-4) cm(-3), T approximate to 5 x 10 (5) K). Ne viii cloudlets harbour only 1 per cent of the cosmic baryon budget. The baryon content of the surrounding gas (which has similar densities and temperatures as the Ne viii cloudlets) is a factor c(-1)L higher. We conclude that Ne viii absorbers are robust probes of shock-heated diffuse gas, but that spectra with signal-to-noise ratios S/N > 100 would be required to detect the bulk of the baryons in warm-hot gas.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{TepperGarciaRichterSchayeetal.2011,
  author    = {Tepper-Garcia, Thorsten and Richter, Philipp and Schaye, Joop and Booth, C. M. and Vecchia, Claudio Dalla and Theuns, Tom and Wiersma, Robert P. C.},
  title     = {Absorption signatures of warm-hot gas at low redshift o vi},
  series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  volume    = {413},
  journal   = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0035-8711},
  doi       = {10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18123.x},
  pages     = {190 -- 212},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {We investigate the origin and physical properties of O vi absorbers at low redshift (z = 0.25) using a subset of cosmological, hydrodynamical simulations from the OverWhelmingly Large Simulations (OWLS) project. Intervening O vi absorbers are believed to trace shock-heated gas in the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) and may thus play a key role in the search for the missing baryons in the present-day Universe. When compared to observations, the predicted distributions of the different O vi line parameters (column density, Doppler parameter, rest equivalent width W-r) from our simulations exhibit a lack of strong O vi absorbers, a discrepancy that has also been found by Oppenheimer \& Dave. This suggests that physical processes on subgrid scales (e.g. turbulence) may strongly influence the observed properties of O vi systems. We find that the intervening O vi absorption arises mainly in highly metal enriched (10-1 < Z/Z(circle dot) less than or similar to 1) gas at typical overdensities of 1 < /<<>> less than or similar to 102. One-third of the O vi absorbers in our simulation are found to trace gas at temperatures T < 105 K, while the rest arises in gas at higher temperatures, most of them around T = 105.3 +/- 0.5 K. These temperatures are much higher than inferred by Oppenheimer \& Dave, probably because that work did not take the suppression of metal-line cooling by the photoionizing background radiation into account. While the O vi resides in a similar region of (, T)-space as much of the shock-heated baryonic matter, the vast majority of this gas has a lower metal content and does not give rise to detectable O vi absorption. As a consequence of the patchy metal distribution, O vi absorbers in our simulations trace only a very small fraction of the cosmic baryons (< 2 per cent) and the cosmic metals. Instead, these systems presumably trace previously shock-heated, metal-rich material from galactic winds that is now mixing with the ambient gas and cooling. The common approach of comparing O vi and H i column densities to estimate the physical conditions in intervening absorbers from QSO observations may be misleading, as most of the H i (and most of the gas mass) is not physically connected with the high-metallicity patches that give rise to the O vi absorption.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{TepperGarciaRichterSchayeetal.2012,
  author    = {Tepper-Garcia, Thorsten and Richter, Philipp and Schaye, Joop and Booth, C. M. and Dalla Vecchia, Claudio and Theuns, Tom},
  title     = {Absorption signatures of warm-hot gas at low redshift: broad H?i Lya absorbers},
  series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  volume    = {425},
  journal   = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0035-8711},
  doi       = {10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21545.x},
  pages     = {1640 -- 1663},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {We investigate the physical state of H?i absorbing gas at low redshift (z = 0.25) using a subset of cosmological, hydrodynamic simulations from the OverWhelmingly Large Simulations project, focusing in particular on broad (bHI=40 km s-1) H?i Lya absorbers (BLAs), which are believed to originate in shock-heated gas in the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). Our fiducial model, which includes radiative cooling by heavy elements and feedback by supernovae and active galactic nuclei, predicts that by z = 0.25 nearly 60?per cent of the gas mass ends up at densities and temperatures characteristic of the WHIM and we find that half of this fraction is due to outflows. The standard H?i observables (distribution of H?i column densities NH?I, distribution of Doppler parameters bHI, bHINH?I correlation) and the BLA line number density predicted by our simulations are in remarkably good agreement with observations. BLAs arise in gas that is hotter, more highly ionized and more enriched than the gas giving rise to typical Lya forest absorbers. The majority of the BLAs arise in warm-hot [log?(T/?K) similar to 5] gas at low (log?? < 1.5) overdensities. On average, thermal broadening accounts for at least 60?per cent of the BLA linewidth, which in turn can be used as a rough indicator of the thermal state of the gas. Detectable BLAs account for only a small fraction of the true baryon content of the WHIM at low redshift. In order to detect the bulk of the mass in this gas phase, a sensitivity at least one order of magnitude better than achieved by current ultraviolet spectrographs is required. We argue that BLAs mostly trace gas that has been shock heated and enriched by outflows and that they therefore provide an important window on a poorly understood feedback process.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RichterNuzaFoxetal.2017,
  author    = {Richter, Philipp and Nuza, S. E. and Fox, Andrew J. and Wakker, Bart P. and Lehner, N. and Ben Bekhti, Nadya and Fechner, Cora and Wendt, Martin and Howk, J. Christopher and Muzahid, S. and Ganguly, R. and Charlton, Jane C.},
  title     = {An HST/COS legacy survey of high-velocity ultraviolet absorption in the},
  series = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal},
  volume    = {607},
  journal   = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal},
  publisher = {EDP Sciences},
  address   = {Les Ulis},
  issn      = {1432-0746},
  doi       = {10.1051/0004-6361/201630081},
  pages     = {90},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Context. The Milky Way is surrounded by large amounts of diffuse gaseous matter that connects the stellar body of our Galaxy with its large-scale Local Group (LG) environment. Aims. To characterize the absorption properties of this circumgalactic medium (CGM) and its relation to the LG we present the so-far largest survey of metal absorption in Galactic high-velocity clouds (HVCs) using archival ultraviolet (UV) spectra of extragalactic background sources. The UV data are obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and are supplemented by 21 cm radio observations of neutral hydrogen. Methods. Along 270 sightlines we measure metal absorption in the lines of Si II, Si III, C II, and C IV and associated H I 21 cm emission in HVCs in the velocity range vertical bar v(LSR)vertical bar = 100-500 km s(-1). With this unprecedented large HVC sample we were able to improve the statistics on HVC covering fractions, ionization conditions, small-scale structure, CGM mass, and inflow rate. For the first time, we determine robustly the angular two point correlation function of the high-velocity absorbers, systematically analyze antipodal sightlines on the celestial sphere, and compare the HVC absorption characteristics with that of damped Lyman alpha absorbers (DLAs) and constrained cosmological simulations of the LG (CLUES project).},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RichterWakkerFechneretal.2016,
  author    = {Richter, Philipp and Wakker, Bart P. and Fechner, Cora and Herenz, Peter and Tepper-Garcia, T. and Fox, Andrew J.},
  title     = {An HST/COS legacy survey of intervening Si III absorption in the extended gaseous halos of low-redshift galaxies},
  series = {Climate : open access journal},
  volume    = {590},
  journal   = {Climate : open access journal},
  publisher = {EDP Sciences},
  address   = {Les Ulis},
  issn      = {1432-0746},
  doi       = {10.1051/0004-6361/201527038},
  pages     = {29},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Aims. Doubly ionized silicon (Si III) is a powerful tracer of diffuse ionized gas inside and outside of galaxies. It can be observed in the local Universe in ultraviolet (UV) absorption against bright extragalactic background sources. We here present an extensive study of intervening Si III-selected absorbers and study the properties of the warm circumgalactic medium (CGM) around low-redshift (z <= 0.1) galaxies. Methods. We analyzed the UV absorption spectra of 303 extragalactic background sources, as obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on-board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We developed a geometrical model for the absorption-cross section of the CGM around the local galaxy population and compared the observed Si III absorption statistics with predictions provided by the model. We also compared redshifts and positions of the absorbers with those of similar to 64 000 galaxies using archival galaxy-survey data to investigate the relation between intervening Si III absorbers and the CGM. Results. Along a total redshift path of Delta z approximate to 24, we identify 69 intervening Si III systems that all show associated absorption from other low and high ions (e.g., H I, Si II, Si IV, C II, C IV). We derive a bias-corrected number density of dN/dz(Si III) = 2.5 +/- 0.4 for absorbers with column densities log N(Si III) > 12.2, which is similar to 3 times the number density of strong Mg II systems at z = 0. This number density matches the expected cross section of a Si III absorbing CGM around the local galaxy population with a mean covering fraction of < f(c)> = 0.69. For the majority (similar to 60 percent) of the absorbers, we identify possible host galaxies within 300 km s(-1) of the absorbers and derive impact parameters rho < 200 kpc, demonstrating that the spatial distributions of Si III absorbers and galaxies are highly correlated. Conclusions. Our study indicates that the majority of Si III-selected absorbers in our sample trace the CGM of nearby galaxies within their virial radii at a typical covering fraction of similar to 70 percent. We estimate that diffuse gas in the CGM around galaxies, as traced by Si III, contains substantially more (more than twice as much) baryonic mass than their neutral interstellar medium.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{FoxBargerWakkeretal.2018,
  author    = {Fox, Andrew J. and Barger, Kathleen A. and Wakker, Bart P. and Richter, Philipp and Antwi-Danso, Jacqueline and Casetti-Dinescu, Dana I. and Howk, J. Christopher and Lehner, Nicolas and Crowther, Paul A. and Lockman, Felix J.},
  title     = {Chemical Abundances in the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream},
  series = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics},
  volume    = {854},
  journal   = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.},
  address   = {Bristol},
  issn      = {0004-637X},
  doi       = {10.3847/1538-4357/aaa9bb},
  pages     = {14},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The Leading Arm (LA) of the Magellanic Stream is a vast debris field of H I clouds connecting the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. It represents an example of active gas accretion onto the Galaxy. Previously, only one chemical abundance measurement had been made in the LA. Here we present chemical abundance measurements using Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Green Bank Telescope spectra of four AGN sightlines passing through the LA and three nearby sightlines that may trace outer fragments of the LA. We find low oxygen abundances, ranging from 4.0+(2.0)(2.0)\% 12.6(4.1)(6.0)\% solar, in the confirmed LA directions, with the lowest values found in the region known as LA III, farthest from the LMC. These abundances are substantially lower than the single previous measurement, S/H = 35 +/- 7\% solar, but are in agreement with those reported in the SMC filament of the trailing Stream, supporting a common origin in the SMC (not the LMC) for the majority of the LA and trailing Stream. This provides important constraints for models of the formation of the Magellanic System. Finally, two of the three nearby sightlines show high-velocity clouds with H I columns, kinematics, and oxygen abundances consistent with LA membership. This suggests that the LA is larger than traditionally thought, extending at least 20 degrees further to the Galactic northwest.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RichterWinkelWakkeretal.2018,
  author    = {Richter, Philipp and Winkel, Benjamin and Wakker, Bart P. and Pingel, N. M. and Fox, Andrew J. and Heald, G. and Walterbos, Rene A. M. and Fechner, C. and Ben Bekhti, N. and Gentile, G. and Zschaechner, Laura},
  title     = {Circumgalactic Gas at Its Extreme},
  series = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics},
  volume    = {868},
  journal   = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.},
  address   = {Bristol},
  issn      = {0004-637X},
  doi       = {10.3847/1538-4357/aae838},
  pages     = {12},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {We present a detailed analysis of the absorption properties of one of the tidal gas streams around the "Whale" galaxy NGC 4631 in the direction of the quasar 2MASS J12421031+3214268. Our study is based on ultraviolet spectral data obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and 21cm-data from the HALOGAS project and the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). We detect strong H I Ly alpha absorption in the velocity range +550 to +800 km s(-1) related to gas from a NGC 4631 tidal stream known as Spur 2. We measure a column density of log (N(H I/cm(-2))) = 18.68 +/- 0.15, indicating that the quasar sightline traces the outer boundary of Spur 2 as seen in the 21 cm data. Metal absorption in Spur 2 is detected in the lines of O I, C II, Si II, and Si III in a complex absorption pattern that reflects the multiphase nature of the gas. We find that the average neutral gas fraction in Spur 2 toward 2MASS J12421031+3214268 is only 14\%. This implies that ionized gas dominates the total mass of Spur 2, which then may comprise more than 10(9)M(circle dot). No significant depletion of Si is observed, showing that Spur 2 does not contain significant amounts of dust. From the measured O I/H I column density ratio, we determine an alpha abundance in Spur 2 of 0.131(-0.05)(+0.07) solar ([alpha/H] = -0.90 +/- 0.16), which is substantially lower than what is observed in the NGC 4631 disk. The low metallicity and low dust content suggest that Spur 2 represents metal-deficient gas stripped off a gas-rich satellite galaxy during a recent encounter with NGC 4631.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{Richter2012,
  author    = {Richter, Philipp},
  title     = {Cold gas accretion by high-velocity clouds and their connection to QSO Absorption-line systems},
  series = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics},
  volume    = {750},
  journal   = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.},
  address   = {Bristol},
  issn      = {0004-637X},
  doi       = {10.1088/0004-637X/750/2/165},
  pages     = {11},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {We combine H I 21 cm observations of the Milky Way, M31, and the local galaxy population with QSO absorption-line measurements to geometrically model the three-dimensional distribution of infalling neutral-gas clouds ("high-velocity clouds" (HVCs)) in the extended halos of low-redshift galaxies. We demonstrate that the observed distribution of HVCs around the Milky Way and M31 can be modeled by a radial exponential decline of the mean H I volume-filling factor in their halos. Our model suggests a characteristic radial extent of HVCs of R-halo similar to 50 kpc, a total H I mass in HVCs of similar to 10(8) M-circle dot, and a neutral-gas accretion rate of similar to 0.7 M-circle dot yr(-1) for M31/Milky-Way-type galaxies. Using a Holmberg-like luminosity scaling of the halo size of galaxies we estimate R-halo similar to 110 kpc for the most massive galaxies. The total absorption cross-section of HVCs at z approximate to 0 most likely is dominated by galaxies with total H I masses between 10(8.5) and 10(10) M-circle dot. Our model indicates that the H I disks of galaxies and their surrounding HVC population can account for 30\%-100\% of intervening QSO absorption-line systems with log N(H I) >= 17.5 at z approximate to 0. We estimate that the neutral-gas accretion rate density of galaxies at low redshift from infalling HVCs is dM(H) (I)/dt/dV approximate to 0.022 M-circle dot yr(-1) Mpc(-3), which is close to the measured star formation rate density in the local universe. HVCs thus may play an important role in the ongoing formation and evolution of galaxies.},
  language  = {en}
}