Chemical enrichment patterns as a tool to identify feedback processes in the CGM

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:25070056,
            doi = {10.48660/25070056},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/25070056},
            author = {},
            keywords = {Cosmology},
            language = {en},
            title = {Chemical enrichment patterns as a tool to identify feedback processes in the CGM},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2025},
            month = {jul},
            note = {PIRSA:25070056 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }
          

Abstract

The CGM is sensitive to various baryonic flows (e.g. stellar winds, supernovae, etc.) occurring on different timescales. Chemical abundance patterns in circumgalactic clouds provide a unique timing clock for constraining the dominant source of feedback regulating galaxy growth. In this talk, I will discuss how we leverage multiwavelength quasar spectra from surveys like the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey (CUBS) to constrain the gas ionization state and elemental abundances of cool/warm-hot CGM absorbers. We find relatively cool (~1-5e4 K), diffuse (~0.001-0.01 cm^-3) photoionized gas clumps exhibiting a variety of chemical enrichment patterns. Several absorbers show an enhancement in non-alpha elements (e.g. carbon, nitrogen) reflecting metal production by secondary nucleosynthetic pathways. We also find chemically mature, metal-poor absorbers, showing evidence of mixing between pre-enriched gas and pristine inflows. These results demonstrate the value of using elemental abundances to understand which feedback processes are most critical in shaping the cosmic baryon cycle.