Probing the parameters of the intergalactic medium using quasars

We continue our series of papers on intergalactic medium (IGM) tracers using quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), having examined gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and blazars in earlier studies. We have estimated the IGM properties of hydrogen column density (N-HXIGM), temperature, and metallicity using XMM-Newton QSO spectra over a large redshift range, with a collisional ionization equilibrium model for the ionized plasma. The N-HXIGM parameter results were robust with respect to intrinsic power laws, spectral counts, reflection hump, and soft excess features. There is scope for a luminosity bias given both luminosity and N-HXIGM scale with redshift, but we find this unlikely given the consistent IGM parameter results across the other tracer types reviewed. The impact of intervening high-column density absorbers was found to be minimal. The N-HXIGM from the QSO sample scales as (1 + z)(1.5 +/- 0.2). The mean hydrogen density at z = 0 is n(0) = (2.8 +/- 0.3) x 10(-7 )cm(-3), the mean IGM temperature over the full redshift range is log(T/K) =6.5 +/- 0.1, and the mean metallicity is [X/H]= -1.3 +/- 0.1(Z similar to 0.05). Aggregating with our previous GRB and blazar tracers, we conclude that we have provided evidence of the IGM contributing substantially and consistently to the total X-ray absorption seen in the spectra. These results are based on the necessarily simplistic slab model used for the IGM, due to the inability of current X-ray data to constrain the IGM redshift distribution.

Automated summary

In this study, we estimated the properties of intergalactic medium (IGM) using quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) spectra, and found consistent results across different tracer types, providing evidence for the significant contribution of IGM to X-ray absorption in spectra.