Related papers: Direct Observational Test Rules Out Small MgII Abs…
We present results from an imaging and spectroscopic study of four strong MgII absorbers of W(2796) >~ 1 Ang revealed by the afterglow of GRB060418 at z_GRB=1.491. These absorbers, at z=0.603,0.656,1.107 and z_GRB, exhibit large ion…
We consider the effect of a partial coverage of quasar broad-line regions (QSO BLRs) by intervening H$_2$-bearing clouds when a part of quasar (QSO) radiation passes by a cloud not taking part in formation of an absorption-line system in…
We estimate the absolute magnitude distribution of galaxies which lie within about a Mpc of Mg II absorption systems. The absorption systems themselves lie along 1880 lines of sight to QSOs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 3,…
The incidence rate of Mg II absorbers per unit redshift path (dN/dz) towards quasar sightlines has been used to probe the interaction between quasar jets and surrounding gas clouds. Studies using core- and lobe-dominated samples found a…
The nature of the galaxies that give rise to absorption lines, such as damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) or strong MgII lines, in quasar spectra is difficult to investigate in emission. Taking advantage of the total absorption of the QSO…
We present a study of strong intervening absorption systems in the near-IR spectra of 31 luminous quasars at $z>5.7$. The quasar spectra were obtained with {\it Gemini} GNIRS that provide continuous wavelength coverage from $\sim$0.9 to…
We report the first measurements of MgII absorption systems associated with spectroscopically confirmed z~0.1 star-forming galaxies at projected distances of D<6kpc. We demonstrate the data are consistent with the well known…
(Abridged) We compared the quantified morphological properties of 37 intermediate redshift MgII absorption selected galaxies to the properties of the absorbing halo gas, observed in the spectra of background quasars. The galaxy morphologies…
We present results from a survey of weak MgII absorbers in the VLT/UVES spectra of 81 QSOs obtained from the ESO archive. In this survey, we identified 112 weak MgII systems within the redshift interval 0.4 < z < 2.4 with 86% completeness…
We describe the first optical survey of absorption systems associated with galaxy clusters at z= 0.3-0.9. We have cross-correlated SDSS DR3 quasars with high-redshift cluster/group candidates from the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey. We have…
Strong foreground absorption features from singly-ionized Magnesium (Mg II) are commonly observed in the spectra of quasars and are presumed to probe a wide range of galactic environments. To date, measurements of the average dark matter…
We present the observations of a weak MgII absorption system detected at z~0.452 in the UVES high resolution spectrum of the QSO HE0001-2340. The weaker of the two MgII components forming the system shows associated absorptions due to SiI,…
We present the results of a survey for intervening MgII absorbers in the redshift range z $\simeq$2-6 in the foreground of four high redshift quasar spectra, 5.79$\le z_{em}\le$6.133, obtained with the ESO VLT X-shooter. We identify 24…
We investigate the dependence of gas kinematics and column densities in the MgII-absorbing circumgalactic medium on galaxy color, azimuthal angle, and inclination to trace baryon cycle processes. Our sample of 30 foreground isolated…
We report results from a survey of MgII absorbers in the spectra of background QSOs that are within close angular distances to a foreground galaxy at z<0.5, using the Magellan Echellette Spectrograph. We have established a spectroscopic…
The broad Mg II line in quasars has distinct variability properties compared with broad Balmer lines: it is less variable, and usually does not display a "breathing" mode, the increase in the average cloud distance when luminosity…
The physical origin of the near-ultraviolet MgII emission remains an under-explored domain, contrary to more typical emission lines detected in the spectra of star-forming galaxies. We explore the nebular and physical properties for a…
The conventional wisdom that the rate of incidence of Mg II absorption systems, dN/dz (excluding `associated systems' having velocity beta*c relative to the AGN of less than ~5000 km/s) is totally independent of the background AGN, has been…
We present the results of a survey of the analogs of weak MgII absorbers (rest frame equivalent width W(2796) < 0.3 A) at 0 < z < 0.3. Our sample consisted of 25 HST/STIS echelle quasar spectra (R = 45,000) which covered SiII 1260 and CII…
Radio wave propagation can be perturbed by compact ionized gas clumps through plasma lensing, which induces frequency dependent magnification and may distort the observed number counts of background sources. The quasar (QSO) number…