Ly-alpha forests and cooling outflow from dwarf galaxies

Abstract

We propose that cooling outflows from star-forming dwarf galaxies that are spatially correlated with but unbound to bright galaxies may account for the low column QSO Ly$\alpha$ forests, providing an explanation for both the heavy elements recently detected in them and the large sizes associated with them. Thus, we suggest that structure formations in the early universe on scales where matters collapse gravitationally and the gas forms stars are responsible for the Ly$\alpha$ forests (cf. the mini-halo model). Supernovae shock the interstellar gas to high temperature, and the resulting gas outflows from the dwarfs owing to their shallow potential wells. The gas cools radiatively as the radiative cooling time shortens because of adiabatic expansion. Subsequent thermal instability results in condensation of clouds. The clouds inherit the kinetic energy of the flow and coast to large distances, providing regions of the absorbing gas with sizes of up to hundreds of kpc. We calculate the Ly$\alpha$ absorption line profiles and the neutral column distribution, and show that they are consistent with observations. We suggest that the Ly$\alpha$ forests are caused by the faint blue galaxies found in the deep extragalactic surveys.