Related papers: The relation between QSO absorption systems and hi…
The transmission of Lyman-{\alpha} (Ly{\alpha}) in the spectra of distant quasars depends on the density, temperature, and ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Therefore, high-redshift (z > 5) Ly{\alpha} forests could be…
We present deep ground based imaging of the environments of five QSOs that contain sub-Damped Lyman-alpha systems at z<1 with the SOAR telescope and SOI camera. We detect a clear surplus of galaxies in these small fields, supporting the…
We investigate the association between galaxies and neutral OI absorption systems at z~6, which trace metal-enriched gas during the epoch of reionization. We identify 40 galaxies across six quasar fields, residing in 15 overdensities within…
Damped Lyman-alpha absorption systems found in the spectra of high redshift quasars are believed to trace the interstellar gas in high redshift galaxies. In this paper, we study the elemental abundances of C, N, O, Al, Si, S, Cr, Mn, Fe,…
There is accumulating observational evidence suggesting that damped Ly$\alpha$ absorption systems systems are the progenitors of present-day spiral galaxies. We use the observed properties of these systems to place constraints on the…
We present the first results of a survey designed to understand the origin of the Lyman alpha-forest absorption systems at low redshift. Using the WYFFOS and HYDRA multi-fibre spectrographs on the WHT and WIYN telescopes, we have identified…
QSO absorption spectroscopy provides a sensitive probe of both the neutral medium and diffuse ionized gas in the distant Universe. It extends 21cm maps of gaseous structures around low-redshift galaxies both to lower gas column densities…
We study the distribution and dynamics of the circum- and intergalactic medium using a dense galaxy survey covering the field around the Q0107 system, a unique z~1 projected quasar triplet. With full Ly$\alpha$ coverage along all three…
Star-forming galaxies in the early universe provide us with perhaps the most natural way of explaining the reionization of the universe. Current observational results are sufficiently comprehensive, as to allow us to approximately calculate…
We report new observations of ZnII and CrII absorption lines in 10 damped \lya systems (DLAs), mostly at redshift $z_{abs} \simgt 2.5$ . By combining these results with those from our earlier survey (Pettini et al. 1994) and other recent…
Modern theories of galaxy formation predict that galaxies impact on their gaseous surroundings, playing the fundamental role of regulating the amount of gas converted into stars. While star-forming galaxies are believed to provide feedback…
We compare the low redshift (z ~ 0.1) Lyman-alpha forest from hydrodynamical simulations with data from the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph (COS). We find tension between the observed number of lines with b-parameters in the range 25-45 km/s and…
We present the first detailed analysis of the chemical abundances, ionization state, and origin of a partial Lyman limit system (N(\hI) ~ 10^{16} \cmjj) at low redshift (z=0.167 towards PKS0405-1219). Two galaxies at ~ 70 h^{-1} kpc…
Observations of the epoch of reionization give us clues about the nature and evolution of the sources of ionizing photons, or early stars and galaxies. We present a new suite of structure formation and radiative transfer simulations from…
The environment of high-redshift galaxies is characterized by both wind-driven outflowing gas and gravitationally infalling streams. To investigate such galaxy-IGM interplay we have generated synthetic optical absorption line spectra…
By extrapolating the accumulated low-redshift data on the absorption radius of galaxies and its luminosity scaling, it is possible to predict the total absorption cross-section of the gas associated with collapsed structures in the universe…
We use new studies of the cosmic evolution of star-forming galaxies to estimate the production rate of ionizing photons from hot, massive stars at low and intermediate redshifts. The luminosity function of blue galaxies in the Canada-France…
The onset of galaxy formation is thought to be initiated by the infall of neutral, pristine gas onto the first protogalactic halos. However, direct constraints on the abundance of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) in galaxies have been difficult…
We present results from a search for galaxies that give rise to damped Lyman alpha (DLA), subDLA, and Lyman limit system (LLS) absorption at redshifts 0.1 ~< z ~< 1 in the spectra of background quasars. The sample was formed from a larger…
The physical conditions of the circumgalactic medium are probed by intervening absorption-line systems in the spectrum of background quasi-stellar objects out to the epoch of cosmic reionization. A correlation between the ionization state…