Related papers: Missing cosmic metals revealed by X-ray absorption…
The majority of the heavy elements produced by stars 2 billion years after the Big Bang (redshift z~3) are presently undetected at those epochs. We propose a solution to this cosmic `missing metals' problem in which such elements are stored…
Metals form an essential part of the Universe at all scales. Without metals we would not exist, and the Cosmos would look completely different. Metals are primarily born through nuclear processes in stars. They leave their cradles through…
We present a census of the mass density of metals and their evolution with cosmic time on a global scale throughout the Universe, synthesizing robust estimates of metals in stars, hot intra-cluster gas, and gaseous absorbers tracing neutral…
By means of detailed chemo-photometric models for elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies, we evaluate the cosmic history of the production of chemical elements as well as the metal mass density of the present-day universe. We then…
The circumgalactic medium (CGM) is fed by galaxy outflows and accretion of intergalactic gas, but its mass, heavy element enrichment, and relation to galaxy properties are poorly constrained by observations. In a survey of the outskirts of…
[Abridged] We revisit the metal budget at z~2. In the first two papers of this series, we already showed that ~30% (to <60% if extrapolating the LF) of the metals are observed in all z~2.5 galaxies detected in current surveys. Here, we…
We present a budget and accounting of metals in and around star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 0$. We combine empirically derived star formation histories with updated supernova and AGB yields and rates to estimate the total mass of metals…
Galaxy groups host the majority of matter and more than half of all the galaxies in the Universe. Their hot ($10^7$ K), X-ray emitting intra-group medium (IGrM) reveals emission lines typical of many elements synthesized by stars and…
Models of galaxy formation in a CDM universe predict that massive galaxies are surrounded by a hot, quasi-hydrostatic circumgalactic corona of slowly cooling gas, predominantly accreted from the IGM. This prediction is borne out by the…
We have measured the mass of metals in the molecular gas in 13 submillimetre galaxies at z~4 in which the gas, based on previous observations, lies in a cold rotating disk. We measured the metal masses using either the submillimetre line or…
The angular power spectrum and polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), the relative abundances of primordial hydrogen, deuterium and helium isotopes, and the large-scale structure of the universe all indicate that…
From X-ray observations of galaxy clusters one derives the mass of the intracluster medium along with its chemical composition. Optical/infrared observations are used to estimate the mass of the stellar components of galaxies, along with…
In typical astrophysical environments, the abundance of heavy elements ranges from 0.001 to 2 times the solar concentration. Lower abundances have been seen in select stars in the Milky Way's halo and in two quasar absorption systems at…
The chemical composition of high-redshift galaxies is an important property that gives clues to their past history and future evolution. Measuring abundances in distant galaxies with current techniques is often a challenge, and the…
Dwarf galaxies are found to have lost most of their metals via feedback processes; however, there still lacks consistent assessment on the retention rate of metals in their circumgalactic medium (CGM). Here we investigate the metal content…
The chemical enrichment of dust and metals are vital processes in constraining the star formation history of the universe. Previously, the dust masses of high-redshift star-forming galaxies have been determined through their far-infrared…
The circumgalactic medium (CGM) is the location where the interplay between large-scale outflows and accretion onto galaxies occurs. Metals in different ionization states flowing between the circumgalactic and intergalactic mediums are…
The build up of heavy elements and the stellar mass assembly are fundamental processes in the formation and evolution of galaxies. Although they have been extensively studied through observations and simulations, the key elements that…
The past few years have seen a steady progress in the determination of element abundances at high redshifts, with new and more accurate measures of metallicities in star-forming galaxies, in QSO absorbers, and in the intergalactic medium.…
Winds from star-forming galaxies provide the most promising explanation for the enrichment of the intergalactic medium with heavy elements. Theoretical and observational arguments indicate that the pollution may have occurred at z > 6;…