Probing the physicochemical properties of the Leo Ring and the Leo I
  group
  We present an absorption line study of the physical and chemical properties
of the Leo HI Ring and the Leo I Group as traced by 11 quasar sightlines spread
over a 600 kpc X 800 kpc region. Using HST/COS G130/G160 archival observations
as constraints, we couple cloud-by-cloud, multiphase, Bayesian ionization
modeling with galaxy property information to determine the plausible origin of
the absorbing gas along these sightlines. We search for absorption in the range
600 km/s - 1400 km/s consistent with the kinematics of the Leo Ring/Group. We
find absorption plausibly associated with the Leo Ring towards five sightlines.
Along three other sightlines, we find absorption likely to be associated with
individual galaxies, intragroup gas, and/or large-scale filamentary structure.
The absorption along these five sightlines is stronger in metal lines than
expected from individual galaxies, indicative of multiple contributions, and of
the complex kinematics of the region. We also identify three sightlines within
a 7-degree X 6-degree field around the Leo Ring, along which we do not find any
absorption. We find that the metallicities associated with the Leo Ring are
generally high, with values between solar and several times solar. The inferred
high metallicities are consistent with the origin of the ring as tidal debris
from a major galaxy merger.
