English

Oxyster: A Circumgalactic Low-ionization Oxygen Nebula next to a Starburst Galaxy at $z\sim1$

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2025-11-04 v2

Abstract

Extended emission line nebulae around galaxies or active galactic nuclei (AGNs) provide a unique window to investigate the galactic ecosystem through the circumgalactic medium (CGM). Using Subaru Hyper-Suprime Cam narrow-band imaging and spectroscopic follow-up, we serendipitously discover "Oxyster" - a large ionized nebula next to an interacting starburst galaxy at z=0.924z=0.924. The nebula is traced by extended [OII]3726,3729 (30\sim 30 kpc) and [OIII]5007 (20\sim 20 kpc) emission lines. On the nebula luminosity-size plane, Oxyster surpasses the extended narrow-line regions around low-zz AGNs, resembling a higher-zz analog of "Hanny's Voorwerp". However, its uniformly low [OIII]/[OII] ratio (O32) sets it apart from typical AGN light echoes. For the host galaxy, HST and JWST images reveal a disturbed red disk galaxy with a single blue spiral "arm". Spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting suggests the 26×1010 M2-6\times 10^{10} ~\rm M_{\odot} host galaxy sits above the star-forming main sequence with an ongoing starburst, especially in the "arm", and have <5%<5\% luminosity contribution from AGN, consistent with X-ray non-detection and radio continuum. Standard photoionization and shock models struggle to explain simultaneously Oxyster's emission line luminosities, low O32 ratio, and the non-detection of Hβ\beta line. A plausible explanation could involve the combination of a recent (<108<10^8 yrs) starburst and a low-luminosity AGN (Lbol1×1042L_{\rm{bol}} \sim 1\times10^{42} erg/s). While Oxyster's nature awaits future investigation, its discovery highlights the potential of ground-based narrow-band imaging to uncover extended emission line nebulae around non-AGN systems, opening new avenues for studying the CGM of normal galaxies in the early Universe.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2504.11531,
  title  = {Oxyster: A Circumgalactic Low-ionization Oxygen Nebula next to a Starburst Galaxy at $z\sim1$},
  author = {Pengjun Lu and Mingyu Li and Dalya Baron and Minghao Yue and Song Huang and Zheng Cai},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.11531},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

20 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables, published at ApJ