Related papers: The Metal-Strong Damped Lyman-alpha Systems

We present a VLT/UVES spectrum of a proximate sub-damped Lyman-alpha (sub-DLA) system at z=2.65618 toward the quasar Q0331-4505 (z_qso=2.6785+/-0.0030). Absorption lines of O I, Si II, Si III, Si IV, C II, C III, C IV, Fe II, Al II, and O…

We present the results of a search for damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) systems in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS), Data Release 7. We use a fully automatic procedure to identify DLAs and derive their column densities. The procedure is…

We present the results of a spectroscopic analysis of extremely strong damped Lyman-{\alpha} absorbers (ESDLAs, log N(Hi)>=21.7) observed with VLT-XShooter. ESDLAs probe gas from within the star-forming disk of the associated galaxies and…

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 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 use Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 2 QSO spectra to constrain the dust-reddening caused by intervening damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs). Comparing the spectral index distribution of a 70 sight-line DLA sample with that of a large…

We report observations of four sub-damped Lyman-alpha (sub-DLA) quasar absorbers at z<0.5 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. We measure the available neutrals or ions of C, N, O, Si, P, S, Ar, Mn, Fe,…

An accurate method to measure the abundance of high-redshift galaxies consists in the observation of absorbers along the line of sight toward a background quasar. Here, we present abundance measurements of 13 z>3 sub-Damped Lyman-alpha…

We analyse a sample of 24 damped Lyman-alpha (DLA)/moderate DLA systems at 0.3<z<2.2, all with measurement of the weak MnII absorption lines, to investigate which elemental ratios could possibly be used as tracers of either dust depletion…

To fully exploit the potential of quasars as probes of cosmic chemical evolution and the internal gas dynamics of galaxies it is important to understand the selection effects behind the quasar samples and in particular if the selection…

Starting from a summary of detection statistics of our recent X-shooter campaign, we review the major surveys, both space and ground based, for emission counterparts of high-redshift damped Ly$\alpha$ absorbers (DLAs) carried out since the…

Quasar absorption systems not only affect the way quasars are selected, but also serve as key probes of galaxies, providing insight into their chemical evolution and interstellar medium (ISM). Recently, a method based on Gaia astrometric…

The goal of the Complete Optical and Radio Absorption Line System (CORALS) survey is to quantify the potential impact on QSO absorber statistics from dust in intervening galaxies. Dust may introduce a selection bias in surveys which are…

We study metal depletion due to dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) to infer the properties of dust grains and characterize the metal and dust content of galaxies, down to low metallicity and intermediate redshift z. We provide metal…

We report the first discovery of a QSO damped Ly-alpha (DLA) system by the GALEX satellite. The system was initially identified as an MgII absorption-line system (z_abs=1.028) in the spectrum of SDSS QSO J0203-0910 (z_em=1.58). The presence…

We present abundance measurements for two super Lyman Limit systems (SLLS; quasar absorption line systems with 10^19 cm^-2 < N_HI < 10^20.3 cm^-2) selected from a set of metal-strong absorbers in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar…

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 show that the extinction of quasar absorbers increases exponentially with the logarithmic column density of any volatile metal (e.g. zinc), with a charateristic turning point above which the quasars are severely dimmed. We derive the…

We present a new catalogue of Damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorbers from SDSS DR16Q, as well as new estimates of their statistical properties. Our estimates are computed with the Gaussian process models presented in Garnett et al. (2017); Ho et…

Element abundances in high-redshift quasar absorbers offer excellent probes of the chemical enrichment of distant galaxies, and can constrain models for population III and early population II stars. Recent observations indicate that the…