Probing chemical evolution of galactic gas reservoirs with quasars

Probing chemical evolution of galactic gas reservoirs with quasars

The chemical enrichment of the Universe is a key signature of how stellar populations and galaxies evolved across cosmic time, from quantifying the properties of Population III stars to constraining the strength of feedback processes in galaxies. One of the best tools to study chemical enrichment of gas reservoirs at nearly all epochs of the Universe is high resolution spectroscopy of quasars, where intervening gas leaves its chemical signatures imprinted on the quasar’s spectrum. In this talk I will summarize the current state of using quasar absorption line spectroscopy to constrain the chemical enrichment of the circumgalactic and interstellar media of galaxies at redshift 2<z<4. In particular, I will focus on results from the XQ-100 legacy survey of the most gas-rich absorbers to understand how these galactic gas reservoirs are chemically evolving with cosmic time.

Lugar: Sala de Seminarios (Ristenpart), Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, Cerro Calán, Camino El Observatorio 1515, comuna de Las Condes.