Related papers: A Homogeneous Sample of Sub-DLAs IV: Global Metall…
We explore the redshift evolution of the metal content of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) with new observations of four absorbers at z < 1.5 . The main conclusion is that the column density--weighted mean metallicity, [<Zn/H>] = -1.03 +/-…
We present elemental abundance measurements for 9 damped Ly-alpha systems (DLAs) and 1 sub-DLA at 0.1 < z < 1.5 from recent observations with the Multiple Mirror Telescope. Most of these absorbers are found to be metal-poor, while 2 are…
The damped and sub-damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs and sub-DLAs) traced in absorption against bright background quasars represent the main reserve of neutral hydrogen at high redshifts. We used the archival Very Large Telescope (VLT)…
Observations of low mean metallicity of damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) quasar absorbers at all redshifts studied appear to contradict the predictions for the global mean interstellar metallicity in galaxies from cosmic chemical evolution models.…
Damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs), seen in absorption against a background quasar, provide the most detailed probes available of element abundances in the Universe over > 90 % of its age. DLAs can be used to observationally measure the…
Damped Ly$\alpha$ absorbers (DLAs) are the highest \HI\ column density (\NHI) absorption line systems detected in the spectra of background quasars. DLAs dominate the neutral gas content of the Universe ($\Omega_{\rm HI}$) and are used to…
Sub-damped Lyman-alpha systems (sub-DLAs) have previously been found to exhibit a steeper metallicity evolution than the classical damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs), evolving to close to solar metallicity by z~1. From new high-resolution…
Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) and sub-DLAs seen toward background quasars provide the most detailed probes of elemental abundances. Somewhat paradoxically these measurements are more difficult at lower redshifts due to the atmospheric…
Absorbers seen in the spectrum of background quasars are a unique tool to select HI-rich galaxies at all redshifts. In turns, these allow to determine the cosmological evolution of the HI gas, Omega_HI+HeII, a possible indicator of gas…
The damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) and sub-DLA quasar absorption lines provide powerful probes of the evolution of metals, gas, and stars in galaxies. One major obstacle in trying to understand the evolution of DLAs and sub-DLAs has been the…
Most models of cosmic chemical evolution predict that the mass-weighted mean interstellar metallicity of galaxies should rise with time from a low value $\sim 1/30$ solar at $z \sim 3$ to a nearly solar value at $z = 0$. In the absence of…
We have combined the results from our recent observations of Damped and sub-Damped Lyman-alpha systems with the MIKE and UVES spectrographs on the Magellan Clay and VLT Kueyen telescopes with ones from the literature to determine the…
A powerful technique to trace the signatures of the first stars is through the metal enrichment in concentrated reservoirs of hydrogen, such as the damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs) in the early universe. We conducted a survey aimed at…
We present chemical abundance measurements for 47 damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs), 30 at z>4, observed with the Echellette Spectrograph and Imager and the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer on the Keck telescopes. HI column densities of…
The metallicity in portions of high-redshift galaxies has been successfully measured thanks to the gas observed in absorption in the spectra of quasars, in the Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs). Surprisingly, the global mean metallicity…
We present chemical abundance measurements from high resolution observations of 7 sub-damped Lyman-alpha absorbers and 1 damped Lyman-alpha system at z<1.5. Three of these objects have high metallicity, with near or super-solar Zn…
We present Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) measurements of metal abundances in eight 0.083<z<0.321 damped Lyman-\alpha (DLA) and sub-damped Ly-\alpha\ absorption systems serendipitously discovered in the COS-Halos survey. We find that…
We investigate how damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorbers (DLAs) at z ~ 2-3, detected in large optical spectroscopic surveys of quasars, trace the population of star-forming galaxies. Building on previous results, we construct a model based on…
Damped Ly-alpha absorbers (DLAs) can be used to measure gas-phase metallicities at large cosmological lookback times with high precision. Relative abundances can still be measured accurately deep into the reionization epoch (z > 6) using…
We consider the questions of whether the damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) and sub-DLA absorbers in quasar spectra differ intrinsically in metallicity, and whether they could arise in galaxies of different masses. Using the recent measurements of…