We present a new determination of the intergalactic CIV mass density at 4.3 <
z < 6.3. Our constraints are derived from high signal-to-noise spectra of seven
quasars at z > 5.8 obtained with the newly commissioned FIRE spectrograph on
the Magellan Baade telescope, coupled with six observations of northern objects
taken from the literature. We confirm the presence of a downturn in the CIV
abundance at <z>=5.66 by a factor of 4.1 relative to its value at <z>=4.96, as
measured in the same sightlines. In the FIRE sample, a strong system previously
reported in the literature as CIV at z=5.82 is re-identified as MgII at z=2.78,
leading to a substantial downward revision in $Ømega_CIV$ for these prior
studies. Additionally we confirm the presence of at least two systems with
low-ionization CII, SiII, and OI absorption but relatively weak signal from
CIV. The latter systems systems may be of interest if the downward trend in
$Ømega_CIV$ at high redshift is driven in part by ionization effects.
Description
[1104.4117] Constraints on the Universal CIV Mass Density at z~6 from Early IR Spectra Obtained with the Magellan FIRE Spectrograph
%0 Generic
%1 Simcoe2011
%A Simcoe, Robert A.
%A Cooksey, Kathy L.
%A Matejek, Michael E.
%A Burgasser, Adam J.
%A Bochanski, John
%A Lovegrove, Elizabeth
%A Bernstein, Rebecca A.
%A Pipher, Judith L.
%A Forrest, William J.
%A McMurtry, Craig
%A Fan, Xiaohui
%A O'Meara, John
%D 2011
%K CIV absorption high-z igm
%T Constraints on the Universal CIV Mass Density at z~6 from Early IR
Spectra Obtained with the Magellan FIRE Spectrograph
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1104.4117
%X We present a new determination of the intergalactic CIV mass density at 4.3 <
z < 6.3. Our constraints are derived from high signal-to-noise spectra of seven
quasars at z > 5.8 obtained with the newly commissioned FIRE spectrograph on
the Magellan Baade telescope, coupled with six observations of northern objects
taken from the literature. We confirm the presence of a downturn in the CIV
abundance at <z>=5.66 by a factor of 4.1 relative to its value at <z>=4.96, as
measured in the same sightlines. In the FIRE sample, a strong system previously
reported in the literature as CIV at z=5.82 is re-identified as MgII at z=2.78,
leading to a substantial downward revision in $Ømega_CIV$ for these prior
studies. Additionally we confirm the presence of at least two systems with
low-ionization CII, SiII, and OI absorption but relatively weak signal from
CIV. The latter systems systems may be of interest if the downward trend in
$Ømega_CIV$ at high redshift is driven in part by ionization effects.
@misc{Simcoe2011,
abstract = { We present a new determination of the intergalactic CIV mass density at 4.3 <
z < 6.3. Our constraints are derived from high signal-to-noise spectra of seven
quasars at z > 5.8 obtained with the newly commissioned FIRE spectrograph on
the Magellan Baade telescope, coupled with six observations of northern objects
taken from the literature. We confirm the presence of a downturn in the CIV
abundance at <z>=5.66 by a factor of 4.1 relative to its value at <z>=4.96, as
measured in the same sightlines. In the FIRE sample, a strong system previously
reported in the literature as CIV at z=5.82 is re-identified as MgII at z=2.78,
leading to a substantial downward revision in $\Omega_{CIV}$ for these prior
studies. Additionally we confirm the presence of at least two systems with
low-ionization CII, SiII, and OI absorption but relatively weak signal from
CIV. The latter systems systems may be of interest if the downward trend in
$\Omega_{CIV}$ at high redshift is driven in part by ionization effects.
},
added-at = {2011-04-22T12:37:43.000+0200},
author = {Simcoe, Robert A. and Cooksey, Kathy L. and Matejek, Michael E. and Burgasser, Adam J. and Bochanski, John and Lovegrove, Elizabeth and Bernstein, Rebecca A. and Pipher, Judith L. and Forrest, William J. and McMurtry, Craig and Fan, Xiaohui and O'Meara, John},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/218154b783f1429e42852c85f4852f86b/miki},
description = {[1104.4117] Constraints on the Universal CIV Mass Density at z~6 from Early IR Spectra Obtained with the Magellan FIRE Spectrograph},
interhash = {bea289ce0094ae32ff7397ef4dada5d3},
intrahash = {18154b783f1429e42852c85f4852f86b},
keywords = {CIV absorption high-z igm},
note = {cite arxiv:1104.4117
Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to ApJ},
timestamp = {2011-04-22T12:37:43.000+0200},
title = {Constraints on the Universal CIV Mass Density at z~6 from Early IR
Spectra Obtained with the Magellan FIRE Spectrograph},
url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1104.4117},
year = 2011
}