ASPCS
 
Back to Volume
Paper: The Lyβ and O VI Forest in the Local Universe
Volume: 348, Astrophysics in the Far Ultraviolet: Five Years of Discovery with FUSE
Page: 357
Authors: Danforth, C.W.; Shull, J.M.
Abstract: Intergalactic absorbers along lines of sight to distant quasars are a powerful diagnostic for the evolution and content of the IGM. In this study, we search known low-z Lyα absorption systems for equivalent absorption in higher Lyman lines as well as the important metal ions O VI and C III. O VI absorption is detected roughly half the time and shows a smaller range of column density than H I. This implies a multi-phase IGM with warm neutral and hot, ionized components. We use our O VI detection statistics to determine that the fraction of intergalactic mass at 105–6 K is at least 5% of the total baryonic mass in the local universe.
Back to Volume