The Small Covering Factor of Cold Accretion Streams

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution simulations to show that cold accretion streams have a small covering factor at high redshift, explaining why they are difficult to detect observationally and aligning with current observations.

Contribution

The paper provides the first quantitative estimates of the covering factor of cold streams at z=2-4 using detailed simulations, supporting the cold accretion model.

Findings

DLA covering factor is about 3% at z=2 within the virial radius.

LLS covering factor is about 10% at z=2 within the virial radius.

Cold streams are dominated by outflows in stacked spectra due to their small covering factor.

Abstract

Theoretical models of galaxy formation predict that galaxies acquire most of their baryons via cold mode accretion. Observations of high-redshift galaxies, while showing ubiquitous outflows, have so far not revealed convincing traces of the predicted cold streams, which has been interpreted as a challenge for the current models. Using high-resolution, zoom-in smooth particle hydrodynamics simulations of Lyman break galaxy (LBG) halos combined with ionizing radiative transfer, we quantify the covering factor of the cold streams at z=2-4. We focus specifically on Lyman limit systems (LLSs) and damped Ly-alpha absorbers (DLAs), which can be probed by absorption spectroscopy using a background galaxy or quasar sightline, and which are closely related to low-ionization metal absorbers. We show that the covering factor of these systems is relatively small and decreases with time. At z=2, the covering factor of DLAs within the virial radius of the simulated galaxies is ~3% (~1% within twice this projected distance), and arises principally from the galaxy itself. The corresponding values for LLSs are ~10% and ~4%. Because of their small covering factor compared to the order unity covering fraction expected for galactic winds, the cold streams are naturally dominated by outflows in stacked spectra. We conclude that the existing observations are consistent with the predictions of cold mode accretion, and outline promising kinematic and chemical diagnostics to separate out the signatures of galactic accretion and feedback.