We studied the effect of anisotropic cosmic-ray (CR) diffusion for Parker instability by two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation. We investigated two cases: a mechanical perturbation case and an explosional perturbation case. In the former case, the growth rate is proportional to the value of the diffusion coefficient of the CR. In the latter case, the growth rate becomes large in the early stages as the value of diffusion coefficient of the CR is getting small. But, after all, the result becomes the same as the former case in the late stages.

Both high resolution spectra of QSOs observed at the 8-10 m telescopes and advanced methods of data analysis are crucial for accurate measurements of the chemical composition and physical parameters of the intervening clouds. An overview of our recent results obtained with the Monte Carlo inversion (MCI) procedure is presented. This includes: (1) variations of the shape of the local background ionizing continuum in the 1-5 Ryd range at redshift z ~ 2.8 – 3.0; (2) an inverse correlation between the measured metallicity, [C/H], and the absorber line-of-sight linear size, L; (3) a functional dependence between the line-of-sight velocity dispersion, σv, and L.

Observations of multiple or lensed QSOs at high redshift can be used to probe transverse structure in intervening absorption systems. Here we present results obtained from STIS spectroscopy of the unique triply imaged QSO APM 08279+5255 at zem = 3.9 and study the coherence scales of intervening low and high ionization absorbers.

We investigate some basic properties of Damped Lyman alpha systems based on the Semi-Analytical model of disk galaxy formation theory. We derive the DLA metallicity, column density, number density, gas content and cosmic star formation rate by assuming that disks form at the center of dark halos, and the modelled DLAs are selected by Monte Carlo simulation according to the distributions of halo properties. We find that DLA hosts are dominated by small galaxies and biased to extended galaxies. In terms of model results, DLAs could naturally arise in a ACDM universe from radiatively cooled gas in dark matter halos. However, model predicts a reverse correlation between metallicity and the column density when compared with observations, regardless of the proposed observational bias. We argue that this could be resulted from the model limitations, or the inadequacy of Schmidt-type star formation mode at high redshift, or/and the diversities of DLA populations.

The chemical abundances in damped Lyman-α systems (DLAs) show more than 2 orders of magnitude variation at a given epoch, possibly because DLAs arise in a wide variety of host galaxies. This could significantly bias estimates of chemical evolution. We explore the possibility that DLAs in which H2 absorption is detected may trace cosmological chemical evolution more reliably since they may comprise a narrower set of physical conditions. The 9 known H2 absorption systems support this hypothesis: metallicity exhibits a faster, more well-defined evolution with redshift than in the general DLA population. The dust-depletion factor and, particularly, H2 molecular fraction also show rapid increases with decreasing redshift. We comment on possible observational selection effects which may bias this evolution. Larger samples of H2-bearing DLAs are clearly required and may constrain evolution of the UV background and DLA galaxy host type with redshift.

We present first results of an implementation of chemical evolution in a cosmological hydrodynamical code, focusing the analysis on the effects of cooling baryons according to their metallicity. We found that simulations with primordial cooling can underestimate the star formation rate from z < 3 and by up to ≈ 20%. We constructed simulated spectra by combining the star formation and chemical history of galactic systems with spectral synthesis models and assess the impact of chemical evolution on the energy distribution.

In this contribution we study 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 detailed modeling of chemical enrichment by SNIa and SNII In our simulations the missing metal problem is caused by chemical elements being locked up in stars, in the central regions (or bulges) mainly. Supernova energy feedback could help to reduce this concentration by expelling metals to the intergalactic medium.

Using the UVES echelle spectrograph at the ESO VLT we obtained high-resolution (R=40 000) spectra of the QSO 0103-260 in the FORS Deep Field (FDF). In addition to numerous Ly forest lines we identified 16 metal absorption systems with redshifts between 0.97 < z < 3.36. A comparison of the observed redshift distributions of the metal line systems and of the spectroscopically observed galaxies in the FDF shows that the distribution of metal absorption clouds and of the galaxies along the line of sight to the QSO are well correlated and obviously trace the cosmic structure in the direction of the FDF.

We took advantage of the ESO UVES/VLT archive of quasar spectra to build a homogeneous sample of ‘sub-DLAs’, absorption line systems with HI column densities between 1019 and 2×1020 cm−2. According to Péroux et al. (2002), these systems should contain a major fraction of the neutral hydrogen mass at z > 3.5 and may thus play an important role at high redshift. Twelve sub-DLAs have been identified. We performed a detailed chemical analysis, and addressed the issues of photoionization corrections. We obtained the first sub-DLA chemical abundance data base ideal for the study of a number of interesting properties of these systems. The implication of sub-DLAs in the cosmic metallicity evolution was our main concern. We also undertook a detailed comparison of the sub-DLA chemical properties with the well studied DLAs to see whether the sub-DLAs are associated with a different class of objects.

To interpret H2 quasar absorption line observations in DLAs (damped Lyα clouds), we model the H2 spatial distribution within a DLA. Based on numerical simulations of disk structures with parameters similar to those derived for such absorbers, we calculate the H2 distribution as a function of ultraviolet background (UVB) intensity and dust-to-gas ratio. For typical values of these two quantities we find that the area in which the H2 fraction exceeds 10−6 (typical observational detection limit) only covers < 10% of the disk surface, i.e., H2 has a very inhomogeneous, clumpy distribution even at these low abundance levels. This explains the relative paucity of H2 detections in DLAs. We also show the dependence of the covering fraction of H2 on dust-to-gas ratio and UVB intensity and we comment on the physics governing the H2 chemical network at high redshift. We finally comment on our implication on the statistics of the H2 column density distribution.

Some intervening C IV absorbers in the Keck/HIRES spectrum of APM 0827+5255 give rise to absorption lines for which the observed optical depths for the doublet components are not in the expected 2 : 1 ratio. We model this effect as coverage of one line of sight to this gravitationally lensed quasar and perform a set of simulations to select a sample of lines for which our model provides an explanation for the effect. We use lines in this sample to obtain estimates for minimum absorber sizes from total coverage and the separations of the lines of sight for a range of lens redshifts, z1, and two cosmologies. We also obtain best estimates for overall sizes from a statistical “hit and miss” approach. For z1 = 0.7 our results set a lower limit to sizes of C IV absorbers of ~ 0.3 h−172 kpc (~ 0.5 h−172 kpc) for ΩM = 1, ΩA = 0 (ΩM = 0.3, ΩA = 0.7).

This paper provides a critical discussion of the observational evidence for winds in our own Galaxy, in nearby star-forming and active galaxies, and in the high-redshift universe. The implications of galactic winds on the formation and evolution of galaxies and the intergalactic medium are briefly discussed. A number of observational challenges are mentioned to inspire future research directions.

The NOAO Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies (SINGG) is the largest star formation survey of an H I selected sample. Since the selection is made without regard to optical morphology, it is not biased toward or against “interesting” types of galaxies; thus SINGG is an ideal sample for studying galaxy demographics. Of a sample of 90 extra-galactic sources observed in photometric conditions, all are detected in Hα. This indicates that dormant galaxies, those containing an appreciable ISM but no star formation, are at best rare. We have made first pass morphological surveys for starbursts, as judged by Hα surface brightness, and outflows as judged by extra-planar Hα. We find that about 15% of the sources contain starbursts, with little dependence on the neutral hydrogen mass MHI. Nearly one half of a sample ~ 35 edge-on galaxies show evidence for extra-planar Hα having a scale size of 0.5 Kpc or larger, while nearly one quarter have extra-planar Hα features 1.0 Kpc in size or larger. There is a hint that high MHI systems preferentially have displaced outflows (chimneys, or fountains) while central outflows (galactic winds) preferentially occur in low MHI systems. However, a larger sample (e.g. the full SINGG survey) is needed to confirm this trend.

One mechanism for spreading hot, metal enriched gas away from galaxies is through gigantic chimneys formed in the disk of a galaxy. Chimneys form when shells or bubbles blown by many massive stellar winds and supernova explosions grow large enough to exceed the neutral hydrogen (H I) scale height of the disk. The shells then become unstable at their polar regions and expand rapidly, breaking out to the galaxy's halo. If galactic fountain models are correct the hot gas liberated by these chimneys should cool into H I cloudlets high above the galaxy's disk. The Milky Way provides the nearest laboratory to search for these objects in order to study how they form and the fate of the expelled gas. While we expect tens of chimneys in the Milky Way to account for the thermal support of the halo there are only a few known chimneys. Here we present an H I study of one Galactic chimney GSH 277+00+36. GSH 277+00+36 is the the only chimney known to have blown out of both sides of a galactic disk. We discuss the development of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in this object and the role those may have had in the formation of the chimney.

Superwind galaxies at high-redshift are now considered to be the important clue for understanding the interaction and evolution of both galaxies and intergalactic matter. In order to improve our knowledge of superwind galaxies at high redshift, a large sample of superwind candidates is needed. During the course of our new search for Lyman alpha emitters at z = 5.7, we have found a candidate superwind galaxy, LAE J1044-0130, at z = 5.69. The emission-line profile of this object is asymmetric, showing excess red-wing emission and the observed broad line width (= 340 km/s). In this poster, we report detailed observed properties of LAE J1044-0130 as an example of a superwind galaxy.

We report, as a part of a long-term study of IR mergers and IR QSOs, detailed spectroscopic evidences for outflow (OF) features in nearby IR mergers/QSOs (with low and extreme velocity OF, LVOF and EVOF, respectively). We found EVOF in IRAS 01003-2238, 11119+3257, 13218+0552, 14394+5332, 15130-1958 and 15462-0450. The low velocity OF components were detected mainly in objects with starburst processes. Meanwhile the EVOF were found mainly in objects with obscured IR QSOs plus strong starbursts.

HST images of IR+BAL+Fe II QSOs show in practically all of these objects “arc or shell” features probably associated to galactic winds (GW) and/or merger processes. We present also new results of a study of the morphology, kinematics and ionized structure of IR mergers/QSOs with GW. This new study is based mainly in INTEGRAL two-dimensional (2D) fibre spectroscopy (obtained at La Palma 4.2 m telescope).

We obtained X-ray observations for a sample of eight nearby dwarf starburst galaxies from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Five galaxies of our sample show extended (size: 1-10 kpc), diffuse X-ray emission which can be attributed to a hot thermal plasma. This phase of the interstellar medium purportedly drives the expansion of supergiant shells. A comparison of the derived gas parameters with theoretical models reveals that the hot gas in principle is capable to escape from the gravitational potential of the host galaxy. However, the outflows appear to be contained in those cases where an extended envelope or massive tidal features of neutral gas exist.

Deep Chandra observations of NGC 3077, a starburst dwarf galaxy in the M81 triplet, resolve the X-ray emission from several supershells. The emission is brightest in the cavities defined by expanding shells detected previously in Hα emission. Thermal emission models fitted to the data imply temperatures ranging from 1.3 to 4.9 × 106 K. The total 0.3–6.0 keV X-ray luminosity is 2 − 5 × 1039ergs−1 (depending on the selected thermal plasma model). Most (85%) of the X-ray luminosity in NGC 3077 comes from the hot interstellar gas; the remainder comes from six X-ray point sources. The radial density profile of the hot gas is not as steep as that expected in a freely expanding wind (e.g., as seen in the neighboring starburst galaxy M 82) implying that the hot gas is still confined by the Hα shells.

We present an analysis of X-ray absorption in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. The X-ray attenuating column densities in the northern part of the M 82 outflow can be associated with cold disk gas detected in maps of H1 and CO (1→0). We derive an XCO factor which is somewhat lower as compared to that in our Galaxy. This is in good agreement with multi-transition line studies of various molecules in the disk of M 82.

We present a high-resolution (3.6“, 70 pc) CO(1-0) mosaic of the molecular gas in M 82 covering an area of 2.5'x3.5’ (2.8 kpc x 3.9 kpc) obtained with the OVRO millimeter interferometer. The observations reveal the presence of huge amounts of molecular gas (> 70% of the total molecular mass, Mtot ≈ 1.3 × 109M⊙) outside the central 1 kpc disk. Molecular streamers are detected in and below M 82's disk out to distances from the center of ~1.7 kpc. Some of these streamers are well correlated with optical absorption features; they form the basis of some of the prominent tidal HI features around M 82. This provides evidence that the molecular gas within M 82's optical disk is disrupted by the interaction with M 81. Molecular gas is found in M 82's outflow/halo, reaching distances up to 1.2 kpc below the plane; CO line-splitting has been detected for the first time in the outflow. The maximum outflow velocity is ~ 230 km s−1; we derive an opening angle of ~ 55° for the molecular outflow cone. The total amount of gas in the outflow is > 3 × 108 M⊙ and its kinetic energy is of order 1055 erg, about one percent of the estimated total mechanical energy input of M 82's starburst. Our study implies that extreme starburst environments can move significant amounts of molecular gas in to a galaxy's halo (and even to the intergalactic medium).