Related papers: Ly alpha Cloud Size Evolution and Shape from QSO G…
Recent evidence suggests that high-redshift Ly-alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) with logL(Ly-alpha) > 43.5 erg/s, referred to as ultraluminous LAEs (ULLAEs), may show less evolution than lower-luminosity LAEs in the redshift range z=5.7-6.6.…
We present HST and FUSE observations of the intergalactic absorption toward PG1116+215 in the 900-3000 A spectral region. We detect 25 Ly-alpha absorbers at rest-frame equivalent widths W_r > 30 mA, yielding (dN/dz)_Ly-alpha = 154+/-18 over…
We propose a new model for the extended Ly alpha blobs found recently at high redshift z ~ 3. The observational properties of these blobs are; 1) the observed Ly alpha luminosities are ~ 10^{43} h^{-2} ergs s^{-1}, 2) they appear elongated…
We have made a statistically complete, unbiased survey of C IV systems toward a region of high QSO density near the South Galactic Pole using 25 lines of sight spanning $1.5<z<2.8$. Such a survey makes an excellent probe of large-scale…
Motivated by the recent discovery of the near-ubiquity of Ly$\alpha$ emission around $z \gtrsim 3$ QSOs, we performed a systematic study of QSO circumgalactic Ly$\alpha$ emission at $z\approx2$, utilizing the unique capability of the Keck…
The two-point correlation function, $\xi$, of Lyman-alpha forest is found to be large, $\xi = 1.8^{+1.6}_{-1.2}$, > 90% confidence level, on the scale of 250-500 km/s for a sample of absorbers (0 < z < 1.3) assembled from HST Key Project…
Extended nebulae of Ly-alpha emission ("Ly-alpha blobs") are known to be associated with overdense regions at high redshift. Here we present six large Ly-alpha blobs in a previously known protocluster with galaxy overdensity delta ~ 7 at z…
We present HST spectra for a sample of six QSOs with intermediate redshift (z_a < 1) damped Ly-alpha systems. These observations aim at measuring the HI column density and detect metal lines in order to investigate the metal enrichment of…
We present a clustering analysis of QSOs over the redshift range z=0.3-2.9. We use a sample of 10558 QSOs taken from the preliminary catalogue of the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ). The two-point redshift-space correlation function of QSOs…
A comprehensive set of all available magnitudes, colors and redshifts for optically identified QSO absorbers is compiled from the literature. This results in a largely unbiased sample of galaxies at high redshifts, the size of the sample…
We revisit the proximity effect produced by QSOs at redshifts 2.1-3.3 applying the FLO approach (Saitta et al. 2008) to a sample of ~6300 Ly-alpha lines fitted in 21 high resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra. This new technique allows…
We measure the filling factor, correlation function, and power spectrum of transmitted flux in a large sample of Lya forest spectra, comprised of 30 Keck HIRES spectra and 23 Keck LRIS spectra. We infer the linear matter power spectrum P(k)…
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 review previous results on the clustering and environments of QSOs. We show that the correlation length for QSOs derived from existing surveys is r~5/h Mpc, similar to the observed correlation length for field galaxies at the present…
We have completed spectroscopic observations using LRIS on the Keck 1 telescope of 30 very high redshift quasars, 11 selected for the presence of damped Ly-alpha absorption systems and 19 with redshifts z > 3.5 not previously surveyed for…
The Lyman-alpha forest has opened a new redshift regime for cosmological investigation. At z > 2 it provides a unique probe of cosmic geometry and an independent constraint on dark energy that is not subject to standard candle or ruler…
We present a Keck ESI spectrum of FIRST 074711.2+273904, a K=15.4 quasar with redshift 4.11 that is detected by both FIRST and 2MASS. The spectrum contains at least 14 independent C IV absorption systems longward of the Ly-alpha forest.…
Lyman alpha absorber correlations contain information about the underlying density distribution associated with a particular class of absorbers. As such, they provide an opportunity to independently measure the "bias" of the Lyman alpha…
[Abridged] We previously presented evidence for a varying fine-structure constant, alpha, in two independent samples of Keck/HIRES QSO spectra. Here we present a detailed many-multiplet analysis of a third Keck/HIRES sample containing 78…
The flux power spectra of the Lyman-alpha forest from a sample of 27 QSOs taken with the high resolution echelle spectrograph UVES on VLT are presented. We find a similar fluctuation amplitude at the peak of the ``3D'' flux power spectrum…