0 Assigned ID: 1137 ----- Attempting Submission 1 (Wed Feb 27 16:28:41 GMT 2013) ----- It is well-established that the fraction of baryons in the Universe that are observable drops from nearly 100% at z ~ 3 to less than 50% by z ~ 0. Simulations predict that most of the missing baryons are located in the IGM at moderate densities and at temperatures of 10^5-10^7 K - gas that is generally in the filaments of the cosmic web and in circumgalactic regions. This gas is typically detected in the low-z Lyman alpha forest by measuring UV absorption lines of highly ionized metals, such as CIV and OVI. However, significant uncertainties exist relating to the physical conditions of the gas associated with these lines (such as temperature, metallicity, and ionization state), which severely limits our ability to understand the physical environment of these absorbers. We propose to clarify the relationship between the multi-species absorption line complexes seen in QSO spectra and the physical conditions of the corresponding absorbing gas. We will do this using synthetic observing tools and the largest, most detailed simulations of the IGM to date, which include a new sophisticated treatment of non-equilibrium gas chemistry. We will create catalogs that enable conversion between specific combinations of observed absorption lines and the equivalent physical gas distribition, will calculate the total baryon content that is traceable with each ion, and will devise tests to distinguish between the circumgalactic and truly intergalactic medium. This work will be critical to the interpretation of previous and ongoing HST studies of the IGM - particularly those using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph - and directly addresses the HST Cycle 21 Ultraviolet Initiative. QUASAR ABSORPTION LINES AND IGM Default Small false true false false true SUPPORTED