Where Outflows Meet Inflows: Gas Kinematics in SSA22 Lyman-$\alpha$ Blob 2 Decoded by Advanced Radiative Transfer Modelling

TL;DR

This study uses advanced radiative transfer modeling to analyze the complex gas kinematics in a high-redshift Ly$ ext{α}$ Blob, revealing outflows, inflows, and the scattering processes shaping its emission.

Contribution

It introduces detailed radiative transfer models with multiphase, clumpy and shell geometries to interpret diverse Ly$ ext{α}$ morphologies and kinematics in a high-redshift Ly$ ext{α}$ Blob.

Findings

Most spectra indicate outflow-dominated kinematics.

Inflow signatures are present in 4 out of 15 spectra.

The multiphase, clumpy model helps resolve previous discrepancies.

Abstract

We present new spectroscopic observations of Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) Blob 2 ($z \sim$ 3.1). We observed extended Ly$\alpha$ emission in three distinct regions, where the highest Ly$\alpha$ surface brightness (SB) center is far away from the known continuum sources. We searched through the MOSFIRE slits that cover the high Ly$\alpha$ SB regions, but were unable to detect any significant nebular emission near the highest SB center. We further mapped the flux ratio of the blue peak to the red peak and found it is anti-correlated with Ly$\alpha$ SB with a power-law index of $\sim$ -0.4. We used radiative transfer models with both multiphase, clumpy and shell geometries and successfully reproduced the diverse Ly$\alpha$ morphologies. We found that most spectra suggest outflow-dominated kinematics, while 4/15 spectra imply inflows. A significant correlation exists between parameter pairs, and the multiphase, clumpy model may alleviate previously reported discrepancies. We also modeled Ly$\alpha$ spectra at different positions simultaneously and found that the variation of the inferred clump outflow velocities can be approximately explained by line-of-sight projection effects. Our results support the `central powering + scattering' scenario, i.e. the Ly$\alpha$ photons are generated by a central powering source and then scatter with outflowing, multiphase HI gas while propagating outwards. The infalling of cool gas near the blob outskirts shapes the observed blue-dominated Ly$\alpha$ profiles, but its energy contribution to the total Ly$\alpha$ luminosity is less than 10%, i.e. minor compared to the photo-ionization by star-forming galaxies and/or AGNs.