Surveys for z > 3 Damped Lyα Absorption Systems: The Evolution of Neutral Gas
Abstract
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 Lyα absorption systems and 19 with redshifts z > 3.5 not previously surveyed for absorption systems. We have surveyed an additional 10 QSOs with the Lick 120'' and the Anglo-Australian Telescope. We have combined these with previous data, resulting in a statistical sample of 646 QSOs and 85 damped Lyα absorbers with column densities N_(H i) ≥ 2 × 10^(20) atoms cm^(-2) covering the redshift range 0.008 ≤ z ≤ 4.694. Four main features of how the neutral gas in the universe evolves with redshift are evident from these data.
Additional Information
© 2000. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2000 March 2; accepted 2000 June 12. We thank Julia Kennefick, George Djorgovski, Mike Irwin, and Richard McMahon for providing QSO coordinates prior to publication and the staff at Keck, Lick, and the AAT for their able assistance in obtaining these observations. L. S. L. thanks Jason Prochaska, Celine Peroux, and Max Pettini, and an anonymous referee for helpful suggestions.Errata
Lisa J. Storrie-Lombardi and Arthur M. Wolfe 2003 ApJ 592 1263Attached Files
Published - Storrie-Lombardi_2000_ApJ_543_552.pdf
Erratum - Storrie-Lombardi_2003_ApJ_592_1263.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 75276
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20170321-135400195
- Created
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2017-03-21Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2023-06-01Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)