The warm-hot circumgalactic medium around EAGLE-simulation galaxies and its detection prospects with X-ray line emission

TL;DR

This study assesses the detectability of X-ray metal-line emission from the circumgalactic medium of galaxies across a broad halo mass range using EAGLE simulations, highlighting prospects with upcoming X-ray observatories.

Contribution

It provides new estimates of X-ray emission detectability from the CGM across various halo masses with future instruments, based on detailed simulation analysis.

Findings

Detectable emission lines from massive haloes with XRISM Resolve.

Inner CGM emission detectable with Athena X-IFU and Lynx Main Array.

Emission dominated by collisionally ionized gas near halo centers.

Abstract

We estimate the detectability of X-ray metal-line emission from the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of galaxies over a large halo mass range ($\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{200c}} = 10^{11.5}$-$10^{14.5}\,\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$) using the EAGLE simulations. With the XRISM Resolve instrument, a few bright (K-$\alpha$ or Fe L-shell) lines from $\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{200c}} \gtrsim 10^{13}\,\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ haloes should be detectable. Using the Athena X-IFU or the Lynx Main Array, emission lines (especially from O VIII and O VII) from the inner CGM of $\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{200c}} \gtrsim10^{12.5}\,\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ haloes become detectable, and intragroup and intracluster gas will be detectable out to the virial radius. With the Lynx Ultra-high Resolution Array, the inner CGM of haloes hosting $\mathrm{L}_{*}$ galaxies is accessible. These estimates do assume long exposure times ($\sim 1 \,$Ms) and large spatial bins ($\sim1$-$10\,\mathrm{arcmin}^{2}$). This emission is dominated by collisionally ionized (CI) gas, and tends to come from halo centres. The emission is biased towards temperatures close to the maximum emissivity temperature for CI gas ($\mathrm{T}_\mathrm{peak}$), and high densities and metallicities. However, for the K-$\alpha$ lines, emission can come from hotter gas in haloes where the virialized, volume-filling gas is hotter than $\mathrm{T}_\mathrm{peak}$. Trends of emission with halo mass can largely be explained by differences in virial temperature. Differences in the mass trends of K-$\alpha$, He-$\alpha$-like, and Fe L-shell lines mirror differences in their emissivities as a function of temperature. We conclude that upcoming X-ray missions will open up a new window onto the hot CGM.