Related papers: The Column Density Distribution Function at z=0 fr…

We image 19 quasars with 22 damped Lyman alpha (DLA) systems using the F160W filter and the Near-Infrared Camera and Multiobject Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, in both direct and coronagraphic modes. We reach 5 sigma…

Quasar damped Ly-alpha (DLA) absorption line systems with redshifts z<1.65 are used to trace neutral gas over approximately 70 per cent of the most recent history of the Universe. However, such systems fall in the UV and are rarely found in…

The number of z ~ 1 damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs, log N(HI) >= 20.3) per unit redshift is approximately 0.1, making them relatively rare objects. Large, blind QSO surveys for low redshift DLAs are therefore an expensive prospect for…

We study the H2 molecular content in high redshift damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) as a function of the HI column density. We find a significant increase of the H2 molecular content around log N(HI) (cm^-2)~21.5-22, a regime unprobed…

We measure the z=0 B-band optical luminosity function (LF) for galaxies selected in a blind HI survey. The total LF of the HI selected sample is flat, with Schechter parameters M*=-19.38_{-0.62}^{+1.02} + 5 log h mag and…

We present Keck/LRIS spectra of a candidate damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) galaxy toward the QSO 3C196 (z_em = 0.871). The DLA absorption system has a redshift of z_DLA = 0.437, and a galaxy at 1.5" from the QSO has been identified in high…

The history and progress of DLA research over the past several decades is reviewed here. Larger datasets and deeper surveys, particularly over the last couple of years, have improved our knowledge of the neutral gas content and distribution…

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…

We measure the clustering of DEEP2 galaxies at z=1 as a function of luminosity on scales 0.1 Mpc/h to 20 Mpc/h. Drawing from a parent catalog of 25,000 galaxies at 0.7<z<1.3 in the full DEEP2 survey, we create volume-limited samples having…

We present a sample of 33 damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) whose absorption redshifts (z_abs) are within 6000 km/s of the QSO's systemic redshift (z_sys). Our sample is based on 731 2.5 <…

We are undertaking an ALMA survey of molecular gas in galaxies selected for their strong HI absorption, so-called DLA/sub-DLA galaxies. Here we report CO(2-1) detection from a DLA galaxy at z = 0.716. We also present optical and…

Essentially all high-redshift galaxies show evidence for strong large-scale outflows that should have a profound effect on the structure and kinematics of both the galaxies themselves and their environment. The interstellar absorption…

We used our database of ESO VLT-UVES spectra of quasars to build up a sample of 67 Damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) systems with redshifts 1.7<zabs<3.7. For each system, we measured average metallicities relative to Solar, [X/H] (with either X=Zn,…

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 use a model of galaxy disk formation to explore the metallicities, dust content, and neutral-gas mass density of damped Lyman-$\alpha$ (D\lya) absorbers. We find that the [Zn/H] abundance measurements of D\lya systems now available can…

Damped Ly-alpha Systems (DLAs), with N(HI)>2*10^20 cm^{-2}, observed in quasars have allowed us to quantify the chemical content of the Universe over cosmological scales. Such studies can be extended to lower N(HI), in the sub-DLA range…

I review current results from searching for galaxies giving rise to damped Lya absorbers (DLAs) at z<1. Using 14 confirmed DLA galaxies, I further show that intermediate-redshift galaxies possess large HI envelope out to 24-30 h^{-1} kpc…

We construct a simple, robust model of the chemical evolution of galaxies from high to low redshift, and apply it to published observations of damped Lyman-alpha quasar absorption line systems (DLAs). The elementary model assumes quiescent…

Using galaxies as background light sources to map the Lya absorption lines is a novel approach to study Damped Lya Absorbers (DLAs). We report the discovery of an intervening z = 3.335 +- 0.007 DLA along a galaxy sight-line identified among…

We present Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) HI 21cm emission images of the z=0.009 damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) absorber towards the QSO HS 1543+5921. The DLA has been earlier identified as a low surface brightness galaxy SBS 1543+593 at…