Related papers: How Did the IGM Become Enriched?
The chemical evolution of distant galaxies cannot be assessed from observations of individual stars, in contrast to the case of nearby galaxies. On the other hand, the study of the interstellar medium (ISM) offers an alternative way to…
We study cosmic metal enrichment via AMR hydrodynamical simulations in a (10 Mpc/h)$^3$ volume following the Pop III-Pop II transition and for different Pop III IMFs. We have analyzed the joint evolution of metal enrichment on galactic and…
We summarize recent results assessing the carbon and silicon abundances of the intergalactic medium (IGM) using the `pixel optical depth' technique. We briefly discuss the implications of these results for models of intergalactic…
We studied the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium and stellar population of the building blocks of current typical galaxies in the field, in cosmological hydrodynamics simulations. The simulations include detail modeling of…
I demonstrate by means of high resolution cosmological simulations, which include modelling of a two-phase interstellar medium, that the dominant mechanism for transporting heavy elements from the proto-galaxies into the IGM is the merger…
The effects of cluster mergers on the metal enrichment of the intra-cluster gas in clusters of galaxies are reviewed. Mergers can influence the metal production as well as the gas ejection processes, which transport the gas from the galaxy…
Galaxies evolve through a dynamic exchange of material with their immediate surrounding environment, the so-called circumgalactic medium (CGM). Understanding the physics of gas flows and the nature of the CGM is thus fundamental to studying…
The presence of elements heavier than helium ("metals") is of fundamental importance for a large number of astrophysical processes occurring in planet, star and galaxy formation; it also affects cosmic structure formation and evolution in…
The intergalactic medium (IGM) comprises all the matter that lies between galaxies. Hosting the vast majority ($\gtrsim 90\%$) of the baryons in the Universe, the IGM is a critical reservoir and probe for cosmology and astrophysics,…
Observations of quasar absorption line systems reveal that the z=3 intergalactic medium (IGM) is polluted by heavy elements down to HI optical depths tau_HI<<10. What is not yet clear, however, is what fraction of the volume needs to be…
The comparison of chemical abundances in the neutral gas of galaxies to photospheric abundances of old and young stars, ionized gas abundances, and abundances in galactic halos can trace the chemical enrichment of the universe through…
Observations of metal lines in $\lyal$ absorption systems of small H~I column density and their ubiquitous nature suggest that the intergalactic medium (IGM) was enriched to about $Z \sim 0.01 \> Z_{\odot}$ by a redshift $z \sim 3$. We…
Galaxies are surrounded by extended atmospheres, which are often called the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and are the least understood part of galactic ecosystems. The CGM serves as a reservoir of both diffuse, metal-poor gas accreted from…
The fate of metals after they are released in starburst episodes is still unclear. What phases of the interstellar medium are involved, in which timescales? Evidence has grown over the past few years that the neutral phase of blue compact…
It now becomes possible to perform multiphase studies of the ISM from hot to molecular phases. HI and HII in star--forming gas-rich galaxies seem to exhibit differences in their metal composition in the sense that HII is less enriched in…
I study the effect of the galaxies of the Milky Way subgroup on the chemical enrichment of the diffuse gas within the Local Group. The preferred model predicts that the present-day intergalactic medium mass is 1/22 of the initial baryonic…
I review the properties of starburst galaxies, compare the properties of the local ones with more distant starburts and examine their role in the metal enrichment of the interstellar medium and the intergalactic-intracluster medium.…
When and how did galaxies form and their metals accumulate? Over the last decade, this has moved from an archeological question to a live investigation: there is now a broad picture of the evolution of galaxies in dark matter halos: their…
Galactic outflows play a major role in the evolution of galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM). The energy deposited into the interstellar medium by supernovae and active galactic nuclei can accelerate the gas past the escape velocity,…
The abundance evolution of galaxies depends critically on the balance between the mixing of metals in their interstellar medium, the inflow of new gas and the outflow of enriched gas. We study these processes in gas columns perpendicular to…