相关论文: Zn and Cr abundances in damped Lyman alpha systems…
(Abridged) We present the first results from the Complete Optical and Radio Absorption Line System (CORALS) survey. We have compiled a homogeneous sample of radio-selected QSOs from the Parkes Catalogue and searched for damped Lyman alpha…
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 present the first results from the Complete Optical and Radio Absorption Line System (CORALS) survey for Damped Lyman Alpha (DLA) systems based on a radio-selected sample of quasars. We find that the number density and neutral gas…
Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) and sub-DLAs seen toward background quasars provide the most detailed probes of elemental abundances. Somewhat paradoxically these measurements are more difficult at lower redshifts due to the atmospheric…
If damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) contain even modest amounts of dust, the ultraviolet luminosity of the background quasar can be severely diminished. When the spectrum is redshifted, this leads to a bias in optical surveys for DLAs.…
We report spectroscopic observations with the Multiple Mirror Telescope for 11 damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs) or strong DLA candidates at 0.1 < z < 1.5, including several absorbers discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In…
The Complete Optical and Radio Absorption Line System (CORALS) survey has previously been used to demonstrate that the number density, gas and metals content of z>1.6 damped Lyman alpha systems is not significantly under-estimated in…
In this paper we point out a previously unnoticed anticorrelation between the observed abundance ratio [X/Zn] (where Zn is assumed to be undepleted and X stands for the refractories Fe, Cr and Ni) and metal column density…
Measurements of Zn and Cr abundances in damped Lyman alpha systems at absorption redshifts between 0.692 and 3.390 show that metals and dust are much less abundant in high redshift galaxies than in the Milky Way today. We conclude that the…
We present a list of z_abs ~ z_em (Delta v < 3000 km/s) DLAs discovered during the CORALS survey for absorbers in a radio-selected QSO sample. On the assumption that z_abs ~ z_em DLAs are neither ejecta from the QSO, nor part of the host…
We present arguments based on the measured abundances in individual damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) and sub-damped Lyman alpha systems (sub-DLAs), and also the average abundances inferred in large samples of QSO absorption line systems,…
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 present a brief overview of the ongoing Complete Optical and Radio Absorption Line System (CORALS) survey. We review the results of our survey for z>2.2 damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) and present the preliminary results of an extended…
We present chemical abundance measurements from high resolution observations of 7 sub-damped Lyman-alpha absorbers and 1 damped Lyman-alpha system at z<1.5. Three of these objects have high metallicity, with near or super-solar Zn…
Damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs), seen in absorption against a background quasar, provide the most detailed probes available of element abundances in the Universe over > 90 % of its age. DLAs can be used to observationally measure the…
The evolution of the metallicity of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) is investigated in order to understand the nature of these systems. The observational data on chemical abundances of DLAs are analysed with robust statistical methods,…
We have studied a sample of 1084 intervening absorption systems with 2.15$\le z_{ab}\le$5.2, having log(N$_{\rm HI}$) $>$ 20.0 in the spectra of QSOs in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data release 7 (DR7), with the aim of understanding the…
Zinc is a good indicator of metallicity in Damped Lyman alpha (DLA) systems because it is almost unaffected by dust depletion. However, the use of zinc as a tracer of metallicity evolution has been hampered by the difficulty of detecting…
The presence of dust in quasar absorbers, such as damped Lyman alpha (DLA) systems, may cause the background QSO to appear reddened. We investigate the extent of this potential reddening by comparing the optical-to-infrared (IR) colors of…
We present elemental abundance measurements for 9 damped Ly-alpha systems (DLAs) and 1 sub-DLA at 0.1 < z < 1.5 from recent observations with the Multiple Mirror Telescope. Most of these absorbers are found to be metal-poor, while 2 are…