Telltale signs of metal recycling in the circumgalactic medium of a $z \sim 0.77$ galaxy

TL;DR

This study uses gravitational-arc tomography to reveal that the circumgalactic medium of a galaxy at z~0.77 shows signs of metal recycling, including co-rotation and outflows, indicating active exchange between the galaxy and its environment.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed kinematic evidence of an extended co-rotating disk and outflows in the CGM at z~1 using gravitational-arc tomography.

Findings

Detection of a co-rotating, extended enriched disk up to 60 kpc.

Evidence of galactic outflows modulating absorption profiles.

MgII velocity dispersion comparable to galaxy rotation speed.

Abstract

We present gravitational-arc tomography of the cool-warm enriched circumgalactic medium (CGM) of an isolated galaxy (``G1'') at $z \approx 0.77$. Combining VLT/MUSE adaptive-optics and Magellan/MagE echelle spectroscopy we obtain partially-resolved kinematics of MgII in absorption and [OII] in emission. The unique arc configuration allows us to probe 42 spatially independent arc positions transverse to G1, plus 4 positions in front of it. The transverse positions cover G1's minor and major axes at impact parameters of $\approx 10-30$ kpc and $\approx 60$ kpc, respectively. We observe a direct kinematic connection between the cool-warm enriched CGM (traced by MgII) and the interstellar medium (traced by [OII]). This provides strong evidence for the existence of an extended disc that co-rotates with the galaxy out to tens of kiloparsecs. The MgII velocity dispersion ($\sigma \approx 30-100$ km s$^{-1}$, depending on position) is of the same order as the modeled galaxy rotational velocity ($v_{\rm rot} \approx 80$ km s$^{-1}$), providing evidence for the presence of a turbulent and pressure-supported CGM component. We regard the absorption to be modulated by a galactic-scale outflow, as it offers a natural scenario for the observed line-of-sight dispersion and asymmetric profiles observed against both the arcs and the galaxy. An extended enriched co-rotating disc together with the signatures of a galactic outflow, are telltale signs of metal recycling in the $z\sim 1$ CGM.