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Finding and characterising WHIM structures using the luminosity density method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2016

Jukka Nevalainen
Affiliation:
Tartu Observatory, Observatooriumi 1, 61602 Tõravere, Estonia email: jukka@to.ee
L. J. Liivamägi
Affiliation:
Tartu Observatory, Observatooriumi 1, 61602 Tõravere, Estonia email: jukka@to.ee
E. Tempel
Affiliation:
Tartu Observatory, Observatooriumi 1, 61602 Tõravere, Estonia email: jukka@to.ee
E. Branchini
Affiliation:
University Roma Tre, via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Roma, Italy
M. Roncarelli
Affiliation:
University of Bologna, viale Berti Pichat 6/2, I-40127 Bologna, Italy
C. Giocoli
Affiliation:
University of Bologna, viale Berti Pichat 6/2, I-40127 Bologna, Italy
P. Heinämäki
Affiliation:
Tuorla Observatory, Väisäläntie 20, FI-21500 Piikkiö, Finland
E. Saar
Affiliation:
Tartu Observatory, Observatooriumi 1, 61602 Tõravere, Estonia email: jukka@to.ee
M. Bonamente
Affiliation:
University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
M. Einasto
Affiliation:
Tartu Observatory, Observatooriumi 1, 61602 Tõravere, Estonia email: jukka@to.ee
A. Finoguenov
Affiliation:
University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
J. Kaastra
Affiliation:
SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht, the Netherlands
E. Lindfors
Affiliation:
Tuorla Observatory, Väisäläntie 20, FI-21500 Piikkiö, Finland
P. Nurmi
Affiliation:
Tuorla Observatory, Väisäläntie 20, FI-21500 Piikkiö, Finland
Y. Ueda
Affiliation:
Kyoto Observatory, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501JAPAN
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Abstract

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We have developed a new method to approach the missing baryons problem. We assume that the missing baryons reside in a form of Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium, i.e. the WHIM. Our method consists of (a) detecting the coherent large scale structure in the spatial distribution of galaxies that traces the Cosmic Web and that in hydrodynamical simulations is associated to the WHIM, (b) mapping its luminosity into a galaxy luminosity density field, (c) using numerical simulations to relate the luminosity density to the density of the WHIM, (d) applying this relation to real data to trace the WHIM using the observed galaxy luminosities in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and 2dF redshift surveys. In our application we find evidence for the WHIM along the line of sight to the Sculptor Wall, at redshifts consistent with the recently reported X-ray absorption line detections. Our indirect WHIM detection technique complements the standard method based on the detection of characteristic X-ray absorption lines, showing that the galaxy luminosity density is a reliable signpost for the WHIM. For this reason, our method could be applied to current galaxy surveys to optimise the observational strategies for detecting and studying the WHIM and its properties. Our estimates of the WHIM hydrogen column density NH in Sculptor agree with those obtained via the X-ray analysis. Due to the additional NH estimate, our method has potential for improving the constrains of the physical parameters of the WHIM as derived with X-ray absorption, and thus for improving the understanding of the missing baryons problem.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016 

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