Related papers: Modelling intergalactic low ionisation metal absor…
We present a survey for low-ionization metal absorption line systems towards 17 QSOs at redshifts z_em=5.8-6.4. Nine of our objects were observed at high resolution with either Keck/HIRES or Magellan/MIKE, and the remainder at moderate…
Low ionization metal absorption due to OI has been identified as an important probe of the physical state of the inter-/circumgalactic medium at the tail-end of reionization. We use here high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations to interpret…
We measured metallicities for 33 z=3.4-4.2 absorption line systems drawn from a sample of H I-selected-Lyman limit systems (LLSs) identified in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasar spectra and stratified based on metal line features. We…
We examine the relationship between galaxies and the intergalactic medium at z < 1 using a group of three closely spaced background QSOs with z_em ~1 observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Using a new grouping algorithm, we identify…
We report the serendipitous detection of a 0.2 L$^*$, Lyman-$\alpha$ emitting galaxy at redshift 2.5 at an impact parameter of 50 kpc from a bright background QSO sightline. A high-resolution spectrum of the QSO reveals a partial…
We report on the detection of a population of weak metal-line absorbers in the halo or nearby intergalactic environment of the Milky Way. Using high-resolution ultraviolet absorption-line spectra of bright QSOs obtained with the Space…
We present the equivalent width and column density measurements for low and intermediate ionization states of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) surrounding 44 low-z, L ~ L* galaxies drawn from the COS-Halos survey. These measurements are…
We present an absorption line analysis of the Lyman limit system (LLS) at z=3.55 in our Magellan/MIKE spectrum of PKS2000-330. Our analysis of the Lyman limit and full HI Lyman series constrains the total HI column density of the LLS (N_HI…
Using new HST/FOS, NTT/EMMI, and Keck/HIRES spectra of the gravitationally-lensed double QSO HE 1104-1805 AB (z=2.31, \theta=3.2), and assuming UV photoionization by a metagalactic radiation field, we derive physical conditions (ionization…
This paper provides a general reference for deriving the ionizations and metal abundances for absorption-line clouds in photoionization equilibrium with a QSO spectrum. The results include a quantitative assessment of the theoretical…
Low-ionization metal absorption lines provide a primary probe of cool gas in and around galaxies. We confront observations of metal-line absorption in quasar spectra with predictions from the IllustrisTNG cosmological simulation in order to…
We report on a population of absorption systems selected by the presence of very weak Mg II doublets. A sub-population of these systems are iron enriched and have near solar metallicities. This would indicated advanced stages (i.e. few Gyr)…
We propose that a large fraction of the QSO Lyman limit absorption systems (LLS) observed at high redshift (z > 3) originate from gas trapped in small objects, such as minihalos, that form prior to reionization. In the absence of a strong…
We study the physical properties of a homogeneous sample of 157 optically-thick absorption line systems at redshifts ~1.8-4.4, selected from a high-dispersion spectroscopic survey of Lyman limit systems (LLSs). By means of multiple…
We combine cosmological, hydrodynamical simulations with accurate radiative transfer corrections to investigate the relation between strong HI absorbers (N_HI >~ 10^17 /cm^2) and galaxies at redshift z = 3. We find a strong anti-correlation…
We use cosmological hydrodynamic simulations with stellar feedback from the FIRE project to study the physical nature of Lyman limit systems (LLSs) at z<1. At these low redshifts, LLSs are closely associated with dense gas structures…
A model of Lyman limit QSO absorption systems is investigated where they are produced in gaseous galactic halos with a two-phase structure: a hot phase at the halo virial temperature in approximate pressure equilibrium, and a cold,…
In a hierarchical cosmogony present-day galaxies build up by continuous merging of smaller structures. At a redshift of three the matter content of a typical present-day galaxy is split into about ten individual protogalactic clumps.…
We present a theoretical study of intergalactic metal absorption lines imprinted in the spectra of distant quasars during and after the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). We use high resolution hydrodynamical simulations at high redshift ($4…
We use the observed number and column-density distributions of intergalactic O VI absorbers to constrain the distribution of metals in the low-redshift intergalactic medium (IGM). In this simple model the metals in the O VI absorbers are…