Browsing by Author "Johnston, E. J."
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- ItemDirectly constraining the spatial coherence of the z ∼ 1 circumgalactic medium(2023) Afruni, A.; Lopez, S.; Anshul, P.; Tejos, N.; Noterdaeme, P.; Berg, T. A. M.; Ledoux, C.; Solimano, M.; Gonzalez-Lopez, J.; Gronke, M.; Barrientos Parra, Luis Felipe; Johnston, E. J.One of the biggest puzzles regarding the circumgalactic medium (CGM) is the structure of its cool (T ∼ 104 K) gas phase. While the kinematics of quasar absorption systems suggests the CGM is composed of a population of different clouds, constraining their extent and spatial distribution has proven challenging, both from theoretical and observational points of view. In this work, we study the spatial structure of the z ∼ 1 CGM with unprecedented detail via resolved spectroscopy of giant gravitational arcs. We put together a sample of Mg IIλλ2796, 2803 detections obtained with VLT/MUSE in 91 spatially independent and contiguous sight lines toward 3 arcs, each probing an isolated star-forming galaxy believed to be detected in absorption. We constrain the coherence scale of this gas (Clength) - which represents the spatial scale over which the Mg II equivalent width (EW) remains constant - by comparing EW variations measured across all sight lines with empirical models. We find 1.4 < Clength/kpc < 7.8 (95% confidence). This measurement, of unprecedented accuracy, represents the scale over which the cool gas tends to cluster in separate structures. We argue that, if Clength is a universal property of the CGM, it needs to be reproduced by current and future theoretical models in order for us to understand the exact role of this medium in galaxy evolution....
- ItemTelltale signs of metal recycling in the circumgalactic medium of a z 0.77 galaxy(2021) Tejos, N.; López, S.; Ledoux, C.; Fernández-Figueroa, A.; Rivas, N.; Sharon, K.; Johnston, E. J.; Florian, M. K.; D'Ago, G.; Katsianis, A.; Barrientos, F.; Berg, T.; Corro-Guerra, F.; Hamel, M.; Moya-Sierralta, C.; Poudel, S.; Rigby, J. R.; Solimano, M.We present gravitational-arc tomography of the cool-warm enriched circumgalactic medium (CGM) of an isolated galaxy ('G1') at z approximate to 0.77. Combining VLT/MUSE adaptive-optics and Magellan/MagE echelle spectroscopy, we obtain partially resolved kinematics of Mg II in absorption and [O II] in emission. The unique arc configuration allows us to probe 42 spatially independent arc positions transverse to G1, plus four positions in front of it. The transverse positions cover G1's minor and major axes at impact parameters of approximate to 10-30 and approximate to 60kpc, respectively. We observe a direct kinematic connection between the cool-warm enriched CGM (traced by Mg II) and the interstellar medium (traced by [O II]). This provides strong evidence for the existence of an extended disc that co-rotates with the galaxy out to tens of kiloparsecs. The Mg II velocity dispersion (sigma approximate to 30-100 km s(-1), depending on position) is of the same order as the modelled galaxy rotational velocity (v(rot) approximate to 80 km s(-1)), providing evidence for the presence of a turbulent and pressure-supported CGM component. We regard the absorption to be modulated by a galactic-scale outflow, as it offers a natural scenario for the observed line-of-sight dispersion and asymmetric profiles observed against both the arcs and the galaxy. An extended enriched co-rotating disc together with the signatures of a galactic outflow, are telltale signs of metal recycling in the z similar to 1 CGM.
- ItemThe Next Generation Fornax Survey (NGFS): VII. A MUSE view of the nuclear star clusters in Fornax dwarf galaxies(OUP, 2020) Johnston, E. J.; Puzia, Thomas H.; D'Ago, Giuseppe; Eigenthaler, Paul; Galaz, Gaspar; Häußler, B.; Mora Genskowsky, Marcelo Daniel; Órdenes Briceño, Yasna; Rong, Y.; Spengler, C.; Vogt, F.; Côté, P.; Grebel, E. K.; Hilker, M.; Mieske, S.; Miller, B.; Sánchez-Janssen, R.; Taylor, M. A.; Zhan, Hong-XinClues to the formation and evolution of nuclear star clusters (NSCs) lie in their stellar populations. However, these structures are often very faint compared to their host galaxy, and spectroscopic analysis of NSCs is hampered by contamination of light from the rest of the system. With the introduction of wide-field integral field unit (IFU) spectrographs, new techniques have been developed to model the light from different components within galaxies, making it possible to cleanly extract the spectra of the NSCs and study their properties with minimal contamination from the light of the rest of the galaxy. This work presents the analysis of the NSCs in a sample of 12 dwarf galaxies in the Fornax Cluster observed with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). Analysis of the stellar populations and star formation histories reveal that all the NSCs show evidence of multiple episodes of star formation, indicating that they have built up their mass further since their initial formation. The NSCs were found to have systematically lower metallicities than their host galaxies, which is consistent with a scenario for mass assembly through mergers with infalling globular clusters, whilst the presence of younger stellar populations and gas emission in the core of two galaxies is indicative of in-situ star formation. We conclude that the NSCs in these dwarf galaxies likely originated as globular clusters that migrated to the core of the galaxy that have built up their mass mainly through mergers with other infalling clusters, with gas-inflow leading to in-situ star formation playing a secondary role.