Related papers: High-ion absorption in the proximate damped Lyman-…

We have obtained very deep near-infrared images in the fields of 10 QSOs whose spectra contain damped Lyman-alpha absorption (DLA) systems with 1.7<z_abs <2.5. The main aim of our investigation is to provide new constraints on the…

Detailed analysis of the spectral lines from two low redshift damped Lyman alpha absorbers (DLA) confirms that they are a heterogeneous population. Both systems have low metal abundances of approximately 0.05 to 0.1 solar. The abundance…

We present new spectroscopic observations of the quasar Q2059-360, confirming the existence of an emission feature within the Damped Lyman Alpha (DLA) absorption trough. By observing also at slit positions offset from the quasar, we show…

We searched quasar spectra from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) for the rare occurrences where a strong damped Lyman-alpha absorber (DLA) blocks the Broad Line Region emission from the quasar and acts as a…

We present a low-redshift (z=0.029) Damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) system in the spectrum of a background Quasi-Stellar Object (QSO). The DLA is associated with an interacting galaxy pair within a galaxy group. We detected weak Lyman-alpha…

We report the detection of redshifted HI~21cm absorption in the $z \sim 2.347$ damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorber (DLA) towards PKS B0438-436, with the Green Bank Telescope. This is the second-highest redshift at which 21cm absorption has been…

We examined the sizes of the absorption clouds in a z=1.3911 damped Ly-alpha absorber (DLA) in the double image lensed quasar Q0957+561 A,B (separation 135 pc at the absorber redshift). Using HIRES/Keck spectra, we studied the MgII…

We present new imaging and spectroscopic observations of the fields of five QSOs with very strong intervening CaII absorption systems at redshifts z<0.5 selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Recent studies of these very rare absorbers…

We report results from a deep search for redshifted HI 21cm absorption from eight damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorbers (DLAs) detected in our earlier optical survey for DLAs towards radio-loud quasars. HI 21cm absorption was detected from the $z…

We report on high spectral resolution observations of five damped Ly-alpha absorbers. Line velocity profiles and heavy element abundances are discussed. Nitrogen is found to have abundances less than silicon in the systems toward Q…

We report coincident damped Lyman alpha (DLA) and sub-DLA absorption at z = 2.66 and z = 2.94 towards the z ~ 3 13.8 arcsecond separation binary quasar SDSS 1116+4118 AB. At the redshifts of the absorbers, this angular separation…

Composite spectra of 85 proximate absorbers (log N(HI)>20 and velocity difference between the absorption and emission redshift, dv<10,000 km/s) in the SDSS are used to investigate the trends of metal line strengths with velocity separation…

We report new HST and ground-based observations of a damped Lyman-alpha absorption system toward the QSO 0850+4400. The redshift of the absorption system is z = 0.163770 and the neutral hydrogen column density of the absorption system is…

Damped Lyman-{\alpha} Absorbers (DLAs) as a class of QSO absorption-line systems are currently our most important source of detailed information on the cosmic chemical evolution of galaxies. However, the degree to which this information is…

We have initiated a survey using the newly commissioned X-shooter spectrograph to target candidate relatively metal-rich damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs). The spectral coverage of X-shooter allows us to search for not only Lyman-alpha…

With close pairs of quasars at different redshifts, a background quasar sightline can be used to study a foreground quasar's environment in absorption. We search 149 moderate resolution background quasar spectra, from Gemini, Keck, the MMT,…

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 optical spectra of QSO HS~1946+7658 with either high resolution (FWHM=10 km/s) or high signal to noise ratio (SNR=40-100). We find 113 Lyman alpha and six metal line systems. The metal systems at Zabs=2.844 and 3.050 have complex…

We search for galaxy counterparts to damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs) at z>2 towards nine quasars, which have 14 DLAs and 8 sub-DLAs in their spectra. We use integral field spectroscopy to search for Ly-alpha emission line objects at the…

We report on the results of a search for CO(3-2) emission from the galaxy counterpart of a high-metallicity Damped Ly-alpha Absorber (DLA) at z=2.5832 towards the quasar Q0918+1636. We do not detect CO emission from the previously…