The galaxy environment of OVI absorption systems

We combine a FUSE sample of O VI absorbers (z < 0.15) with a database of 1.07 million galaxy redshifts to explore the relationship between absorbers and galaxy environments. All 37 absorbers with N-O VI >= 10(13.2) cm(-2) lie within 800 h(70)(-1) kpc of the nearest galaxy, with no compelling evidence for O VI absorbers in voids. The O VI absorbers often appear to be associated with environments of individual galaxies. Gas with 10% +/- 5% solar metallicity (O VI and C III) has a median spread in distance of 350-500 h(70)(-1) kpc around L-star galaxies and 200-270 h(70)(-1) kpc around 0.1L(star) galaxies (ranges reflect uncertain metallicities of gas undetected in Ly alpha absorption). In order to match the O VI line frequency, (dN/dz) approximate to 20 for N-O VI >= 10(13.2) cm(-2), galaxies with L <= 0.1L(star) must contribute to the cross section. Ly alpha absorbers with N-H I >= 10(13.2) cm(-2) cover similar to 50% of the surface area of typical galaxy filaments. Two-thirds of these show O VI and/or C III absorption, corresponding to a 33%-50% covering factor at 0.1 Z(circle dot) and suggesting that metals are spread to a maximum distance of 800 h(70)(-1) kpc, within typical galaxy supercluster filaments. Approximately 50% of the O VI absorbers have associated Ly alpha line pairs with separations (Delta v)(Ly alpha) = 50-200 km s(-1). These pairs could represent shocks at the speeds necessary to create copious O VI, located within 100 h(70)(-1) kpc of the nearest galaxy and accounting for much of the two-point correlation function of low-z Ly alpha forest absorbers.