A new candidate for probing Population III nucleosynthesis with carbon-enhanced damped Ly alpha systems

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Title: A new candidate for probing Population III nucleosynthesis with carbon-enhanced damped Ly alpha systems
Author(s): Cooke, Ryan; Pettini, Max; Murphy, Michael T.
Abstract: We report the identification of a very metal poor damped Lyα system (DLA) at zabs = 3.067 295 that is modestly carbon enhanced, with an iron abundance of & 8764;1/700 solar ([Fe/H] =−2.84) and [C,O/Fe] ≃ +0.6. Such an abundance pattern is likely to be the result of nucleosynthesis by massive stars. On the basis of 17 metal absorption lines, we derive a 2σ upper limit on the DLA's kinetic temperature of TDLA ≤ 4700 K, which is broadly consistent with the range of spin temperature estimates for DLAs at this redshift and metallicity. While the best-fitting abundance pattern shows the expected hallmarks of Population III nucleosynthesis, models of high mass Population II stars can match the abundance pattern almost as well. We discuss current limitations in distinguishing between these two scenarios and the marked improvement in identifying the remnants of Population III stars expected from the forthcoming generation of 30-m class telescopes.
Publication type: Journal article
Research centre: Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing
Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 425, no. 1 (Sep 2012), pp. 347-354
Publication year: 2012
FOR Code(s): 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
Keyword(s): Absorption lines; Abundance patterns; Galaxy evolution; Quasars
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN: 0035-8711
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21470.x
Research Projects: Galaxy formation and femtosecond frequency combs, Australian Research Council grant number DP0877998
Peer reviewed