Based on observations collected at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
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A new candidate for probing Population III nucleosynthesis with carbon-enhanced damped Lyα systems†
Article first published online: 27 JUL 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21470.x
© 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2012 RAS
Issue
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume 425, Issue 1, pages 347–354, 1 September 2012
Additional Information
How to Cite
Cooke, R., Pettini, M. and Murphy, M. T. (2012), A new candidate for probing Population III nucleosynthesis with carbon-enhanced damped Lyα systems. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 425: 347–354. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21470.x
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Publication History
- Issue published online: 20 AUG 2012
- Article first published online: 27 JUL 2012
- Manuscript Accepted: 7 JUN 2012
- Manuscript Received: 7 JUN 2012
Funded by
- Research Fellowship at Peterhouse College, Cambridge
- Australian Research Council for a QEII Research Fellowship. Grant Number: DP0877998
- Abstract
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- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- galaxies: abundances;
- galaxies: evolution;
- quasars: absorption lines
ABSTRACT
We report the identification of a very metal poor damped Lyα system (DLA) at zabs = 3.067 295 that is modestly carbon enhanced, with an iron abundance of ∼1/700 solar ([Fe/H] =−2.84) and [C,O/Fe] ≃ +0.6. Such an abundance pattern is likely to be the result of nucleosynthesis by massive stars. On the basis of 17 metal absorption lines, we derive a 2σ upper limit on the DLA's kinetic temperature of TDLA ≤ 4700 K, which is broadly consistent with the range of spin temperature estimates for DLAs at this redshift and metallicity. While the best-fitting abundance pattern shows the expected hallmarks of Population III nucleosynthesis, models of high-mass Population II stars can match the abundance pattern almost as well. We discuss current limitations in distinguishing between these two scenarios and the marked improvement in identifying the remnants of Population III stars expected from the forthcoming generation of 30-m class telescopes.