Probing cosmology with the X-ray forest

被引:31
作者
Fang, TT
Canizares, CR
机构
[1] MIT, Dept Phys, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
[2] MIT, Space Res Ctr, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
关键词
galaxies : clusters : general; intergalactic medium; large-scale structure of universe; quasars : absorption lines; X-rays : general;
D O I
10.1086/309270
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
There is a growing consensus that in the present universe most baryons reside in galaxy clusters and groups in the form of highly ionized gas at temperatures of 10(6)-10(8) K. Th, H-like and He-like ions of the heavy elements can produce absorption features-the so-called "X-ray forest"-in the X-ray spectrum of a background quasar. We investigate the distribution of the X-ray absorption lines produced by this gas under three different cosmological models: the standard cold dark matter model with Omega(0) = 1, a flat model with Omega(0) = 0.3, and an open model with Omega(0) = 0.3. We give a semianalytic calculation of the X-ray forest distribution based on the Press-Schechter formalism, following Perna & Loeb (1998). We choose three ions (O VIII, Si XIV, and Fe XXV) and calculate the distribution functions, the number of absorbers along the line of sight (LOS) to a distant quasar versus redshift, and column density in a given ion. We find significant differences in the evolution of the distribution functions among the three cosmological models. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we simulate the distribution of X-ray absorption lines for 10,000 random LOS. We find that there are at least several O vm lines with column density higher than 10(16) cm(-2). Finally, we explore the possibility of detecting the X-ray forest with current and upcoming X-ray missions, and we present an XMM Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) simulation of a representative quasar X-ray spectrum.
引用
收藏
页码:532 / 539
页数:8
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