Theoretical study of an LAE-C IV absorption pair at z = 5.7

Abstract

We present a theoretical model to predict the properties of an observed z=5.72Lyman a emitter galaxy-C IV absorption pair separated by 1384 comoving kpc h-1. We use the separation of the pair and an outflow velocity/time travelling argument to demonstrate that the observed galaxy cannot be the source of metals for the C IV absorber. We find a plausible explanation for the metal enrichment in the context of our simulations: a dwarf galaxy with M∗= 1.87 × 109M⊙located 119 comoving kpc h-1away with a wind velocity of ~100 km s-1launched at z ~ 7. Such a dwarf (MUV= -20.5) is fainter than the detection limit of the observed example. In a general analysis of galaxy-C IV absorbers, we find galaxies with - 20.5 MUV < -18.8 are responsible for the observed metal signatures. In addition, we find no correlation between the mass of the closest galaxy to the absorber and the distance between them, but a weak anti-correlation between the strength of the absorption and the separation of galaxy-absorber pairs. Show more