Heavy Elements in the Lyman-$\alpha$\ Forest: Abundances and Clustering at z=3
Abstract
For the purpose of studying the properties of heavy-elements associated with the Lyman-\ forest, we observed the gravitational lens Q1422+2309. We used the HIRES instrument on the W.M. Keck telescope to obtain a high-resolution, very high signal-to-noise spectrum of this z=3.63 quasar; the spectrum covers wavelengths from below Lyman-\ up to the C IV emission line. Consistent with previous estimates, we find that a moderate fraction of the Ly-\ forest clouds have been enriched with heavy elements at a level significantly below solar abundance. However, unlike the fairly uniform distribution of Ly-\ forest lines, we show that the C IV absorption lines are clustered on large velocity scales.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9511035,
title = {Heavy Elements in the Lyman-$\alpha$\ Forest: Abundances and Clustering at z=3},
author = {D. S. Womble and W. L. W. Sargent and R. S. Lyons},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9511035},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
5 pages, 2 figures, full-sized figures and paper also available at ftp://astro.caltech.edu/users/dsw/ as xxx_fig1.ps, xxx_fig2.ps, and xxx_paper.ps