Search

Absorption line spectroscopy of foreground gas in the spectra of background quasars has revealed some clear cases where neutral gas is present and associated with dwarf galaxies. Spectroscopy of Lyα and low-ionization metal lines can be combined to derive neutral gas phase metallicities. The damped Lyα absorbers (DLAs) in quasar spectra are the clearest cases of absorption by predominantly neutral gas regions. Here we present some results on neutral gas phase metallicities for cases where the DLA is clearly associated with a dwarf galaxy. We find that the neutral gas phase metallicities in these systems are similar to those in other DLAs. We argue that there may be many unrecognized cases where a DLA is actually associated with a dwarf galaxy even though there is a luminous galaxy within 100 kpc of the quasar sightline.

We present the study of a sample of nine QSO fields, with damped-Ly-alpha (DLA) or sub-DLA systems at z~0.6, observed with the X-Shooter spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope. By suitably positioning the X-Shooter slit based on high spatial resolution images of HST/ACS we are able to detect absorbing galaxies in 7 out of 9 fields (~ 78\% success rate) at impact parameters from 10 to 30 kpc. In 5 out of 7 fields the absorbing galaxies are confirmed via detection of multiple emission lines at the redshift of DLAs where only 1 out of 5 also emits a faint continuum. In 2 out of these 5 fields we detect a second galaxy at the DLA redshift. Extinction corrected star formation rates (SFR) of these DLA-galaxies, estimated using their H-alpha fluxes, are in the range 0.3-6.7 M_sun yr^-1. The emission metallicities of these five DLA-galaxies are estimated to be from 0.2 to 0.9 Z_sun. Based on the Voigt profile fits to absorption lines we find the metallicity of the absorbing neutral gas to be in a range of 0.05--0.6 Z_sun. The two remaining DLA-galaxies are quiescent galaxies with SFR < 0.4 M_sun yr^-1 (3-sigma) presenting continuum emission but weak or no emission lines. Using X-Shooter spectrum we estimate i-band absolute magnitude of -19.5+/-0.2 for both these DLA-galaxies that indicates they are sub-L* galaxies. Comparing our results with that of other surveys in the literature we find a possible redshift evolution of the SFR of DLA-galaxies.

We derive the statistical properties of neutral gas at redshifts 0.11, Comment: 16 pages

International audience; We present the study of a sample of nine quasi-stellar object fields, with damped Lyman alpha (DLA) or sub-DLA systems at z similar to 0.6, observed with the X-Shooter spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope. By suitably positioning the X-Shooter slit based on high spatial resolution images of Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys we are able to detect absorbing galaxies in seven out of nine fields (similar to 78 per cent success rate) at impact parameters from 10 to 30 kpc. In five out of seven fields the absorbing galaxies are confirmed via detection of multiple emission lines at the redshift of DLAs where only one out of five also emits a faint continuum. In two out of these five fields we detect a second galaxy at the DLA redshift. Extinction corrected star formation rates (SFRs) of these DLA galaxies, estimated using their H alpha fluxes, are in the range 0.3-6.7 M-aS (TM) yr(-1). The emission metallicities of these five DLA galaxies are estimated to be from 0.2 to 0.9 Z(aS (TM)). Based on the Voigt profile fits to absorption lines we find the metallicity of the absorbing neutral gas to be in a range of 0.05-0.6 Z(aS (TM)). The two remaining DLA galaxies are quiescent galaxies with SFR \textless 0.4 M-aS (TM) yr(-1) (3 sigma) presenting continuum emission but no emission lines. Using X-Shooter spectrum we estimate i-band absolute magnitude of -19.5 +/- 0.2 for both these DLA galaxies that indicates they are sub-L-a \textlessdagger galaxies. Comparing our results with that of other surveys in the literature we find a possible redshift evolution of the SFR of DLA galaxies.

We present the study of a sample of nine QSO fields, with damped-Ly-alpha (DLA) or sub-DLA systems at z~0.6, observed with the X-Shooter spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope. By suitably positioning the X-Shooter slit based on high spatial resolution images of HST/ACS we are able to detect absorbing galaxies in 7 out of 9 fields (~ 78\% success rate) at impact parameters from 10 to 30 kpc. In 5 out of 7 fields the absorbing galaxies are confirmed via detection of multiple emission lines at the redshift of DLAs where only 1 out of 5 also emits a faint continuum. In 2 out of these 5 fields we detect a second galaxy at the DLA redshift. Extinction corrected star formation rates (SFR) of these DLA-galaxies, estimated using their H-alpha fluxes, are in the range 0.3-6.7 M_sun yr^-1. The emission metallicities of these five DLA-galaxies are estimated to be from 0.2 to 0.9 Z_sun. Based on the Voigt profile fits to absorption lines we find the metallicity of the absorbing neutral gas to be in a range of 0.05--0.6 Z_sun. The two remaining DLA-galaxies are quiescent galaxies with SFR < 0.4 M_sun yr^-1 (3-sigma) presenting continuum emission but weak or no emission lines. Using X-Shooter spectrum we estimate i-band absolute magnitude of -19.5+/-0.2 for both these DLA-galaxies that indicates they are sub-L* galaxies. Comparing our results with that of other surveys in the literature we find a possible redshift evolution of the SFR of DLA-galaxies., MNRAS accepted

We describe the algorithm used to select the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) sample for the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) using photometric data from both the SDSS and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). LRG targets are required to meet a set of color selection criteria and have z-band and i-band MODEL magnitudes z < 19.95 and 19.9 < i < 21.8, respectively. Our algorithm selects roughly 50 LRG targets per square degree, the great majority of which lie in the redshift range 0.6 < z < 1.0 (median redshift 0.71). We demonstrate that our methods are highly effective at eliminating stellar contamination and lower-redshift galaxies. We perform a number of tests using spectroscopic data from SDSS-III/BOSS to determine the redshift reliability of our target selection and its ability to meet the science requirements of eBOSS. The SDSS spectra are of high enough signal-to-noise ratio that at least 89% of the target sample yields secure redshift measurements. We also present tests of the uniformity and homogeneity of the sample, demonstrating that it should be clean enough for studies of the large-scale structure of the universe at higher redshifts than SDSS-III/BOSS LRGs reached., Submitted in ApJS, 15 pages, 10 figures

We present an empirical connection between cold (∼104 K) gas in galactic haloes and star formation. Using a sample of more than 8500 Mg ii absorbers from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasar spectra, we report the detection of a 15σ correlation between the rest equivalent width W0 of Mg ii absorbers and the associated [O ii] luminosity, an estimator of star formation rate. This correlation has interesting implications: using only observable quantities we show that Mg ii absorbers trace a substantial fraction of the global [O ii] luminosity density and recover the overall star formation history of the Universe derived from classical emission estimators up to z∼ 2. We then show that the distribution function of Mg ii rest equivalent widths, dN/dW0, inherits both its shape and amplitude from the [O ii] luminosity function Φ(L). These distributions can be naturally connected, without any free parameter. Our results imply a high covering factor of cold gas around star-forming galaxies: C≳ 0.5, favouring outflows as the mechanism responsible for Mg ii absorption. We then argue that intervening Mg ii absorbers and blueshifted Mg ii absorption seen in the spectra of star-forming galaxies are essentially the same systems, implying that the observed outflowing gas can reach radii of ∼50 kpc. These results not only shed light on the nature of Mg ii absorbers but also provide us with a new probe of star formation, in absorption, i.e. in a way which does not suffer from dust extinction and with a redshift-independent sensitivity. As shown in this analysis, such a tool can be applied in a noise-dominated regime, i.e. using a data set for which emission lines are not detected in individual objects. This is of particular interest for high-redshift studies.

We present results from a search for galaxies that give rise to damped Lyman α (DLA), sub-DLA 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 sample of strong Mg ii absorbers (Wλ27960≥ 0.3 A) whose H i column densities were determined by measuring the Lyα line in Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectra. Photometric redshifts, galaxy colours and proximity to the quasar sightline, in decreasing order of importance, were used to identify galaxies responsible for the absorption. Our sample includes 80 absorption systems for which the absorbing galaxies have been identified, of which 54 are presented here for the first time. In some cases a reasonable identification for the absorbing galaxy could not be made. The main results of this study are (i) the surface density of galaxies falls off exponentially with increasing impact parameter, b, from the quasar sightline relative to a constant background of galaxies, with an e-folding length of ≈46 kpc. Galaxies with b≳ 100 kpc calculated at the absorption redshift are statistically consistent with being unrelated to the absorption system, and are either background or foreground galaxies. (ii) is inversely correlated with b at the 3.0σ level of significance. DLA galaxies are found systematically closer to the quasar sightline, by a factor of 2, than are galaxies which give rise to sub-DLAs or LLSs. The median impact parameter is 17.4 kpc for the DLA galaxy sample, 33.3 kpc for the sub-DLA sample and 36.4 kpc for the LLS sample. We also find that the decline in with b can be roughly described by an exponential with an e-folding length of 12 kpc that occurs at . (iii) Absorber galaxy luminosity relative to L*, L/L*, is not significantly correlated with Wλ27960, or b. (iv) DLA, sub-DLA and LLS galaxies comprise a mix of spectral types, but are inferred to be predominantly late-type galaxies based on their spectral energy distributions. (v) The properties of low-redshift DLAs and sub-DLAs are very different in comparison to the properties of gas-rich galaxies at the present epoch. A significantly higher fraction of low-redshift absorbers have large b values, and a significantly higher fraction of the large b value galaxies have luminosities L < L*. The implications of these results are discussed.

(Abridged) Star formation-driven outflows are a critical phenomenon in theoretical treatments of galaxy evolution, despite the limited ability of observations to trace them across cosmological timescales. If the strongest MgII absorption-line systems detected in the spectra of background quasars arise in such outflows, "ultra-strong" MgII (USMgII) absorbers would identify significant numbers of galactic winds over a huge baseline in cosmic time, in a manner independent of the luminous properties of the galaxy. To this end, we present the first detailed imaging and spectroscopic study of the fields of two USMgII absorber systems culled from a statistical absorber catalog, with the goal of understanding the physical processes leading to the large velocity spreads that define such systems. Each field contains two bright emission-line galaxies at similar redshift (dv < 300 km/s) to that of the absorption. Lower-limits on their instantaneous star formation rates (SFR) from the observed OII and Hb line fluxes, and stellar masses from spectral template fitting indicate specific SFRs among the highest for their masses at z~0.7. Additionally, their 4000A break and Balmer absorption strengths imply they have undergone recent (~0.01 - 1 Gyr) starbursts. The concomitant presence of two rare phenomena - starbursts and USMgII absorbers - strongly implies a causal connection. We consider these data and USMgII absorbers in general in the context of various popular models, and conclude that galactic outflows are generally necessary to account for the velocity extent of the absorption. We favour starburst driven outflows over tidally-stripped gas from a major interaction which triggered the starburst as the energy source for the majority of systems. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results and speculate on the overall contribution of such systems to the global SFR density at z~0.7.

We present a statistical analysis of the photometric properties and spatial distribution of more than 2,800 MgII absorbers with 0.370.8\AA detected in SDSS quasar spectra. Using an improved image stacking technique, we measure the cross-correlation between MgII gas and light (in the g, r, i and z-bands) from 10 to 200 kpc and infer the light-weighted impact parameter distribution of MgII absorbers. Such a quantity is well described by a power-law with an index that strongly depends on W_0, ranging from ~-1 for W_0~ 1.5\AA. At redshift 0.37, Comment: ApJ in press, 28 pages, 16 figures, using emulateapj. Only typo corrections wrt the original submission (v1)

We have studied a sample of 809 Mg II absorption systems with 1.0 < z_abs < 1.86 in the spectra of SDSS QSOs, with the aim of understanding the nature and abundance of the dust and the chemical abundances in the intervening absorbers. Normalized, composite spectra were derived, for abundance measurements, for the full sample and several sub-samples, chosen on the basis of the line strengths and other absorber and QSO properties. Average extinction curves were obtained for the sub-samples by comparing their geometric mean spectra with those of matching samples of QSOs without absorbers in their spectra. There is clear evidence for the presence of dust in the intervening absorbers. The 2175 A feature is not present in the extinction curves, for any of the sub-samples. The extinction curves are similar to the SMC extinction curve with a rising UV extinction below 2200 A. The absorber rest frame colour excess, E(B-V), derived from the extinction curves, depends on the absorber properties and ranges from < 0.001 to 0.085 for various sub-samples. The column densities of several ions do not show such a correspondingly large variation. The depletion pattern is similar to halo clouds in the Galaxy. Assuming an SMC gas-to-dust ratio we find a trend of increasing abundance with decreasing extinction; systems with N_H I \~ 10^{20} cm^{-2} show solar abundance of Zn. The large velocity spread of strong Mg II systems seems to be mimicked by weak lines of other elements. The ionization of the absorbers, in general appears to be low. QSOs with absorbers are, in general, at least three times as likely to have highly reddened spectra as compared to QSOs without any absorption systems in their spectra.

The local power law relationship between the surface densities of neutral hydrogen gas and star formation rate (SFR) can be used to explore the SFR properties of damped Lyman alpha (DLA) systems at higher redshift. We find that while the SFR densities for DLA systems are consistent with luminous star forming galaxies at redshifts below z~0.6, at higher redshifts their SFR density is too low for them to provide a significant contribution to the cosmic star formation history (SFH). This suggests that the majority of DLAs may be a distinct population from the Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) or submillimeter star-forming galaxies that together dominate the SFR density at high redshift. It is also possible that the DLAs do not trace the bulk of the neutral gas at high redshift. The metallicity properties of DLAs are consistent with this interpretation. The DLAs show a metal mass density lower by two orders of magnitude at all redshifts than that inferred from the SFH of the universe. These results are consistent with DLAs being dominated by low mass systems having low SFRs or a late onset of star formation, similar to the star formation histories of dwarf galaxies in the local universe.

We present the results of a MgII absorption-line survey using QSO spectra from the SDSS EDR. Over 1,300 doublets with rest equivalent widths greater than 0.3\AA and redshifts $0.366 \le z \le 2.269$ were identified and measured. We find that the $\lambda2796$ rest equivalent width ($W_0^{\lambda2796}$) distribution is described very well by an exponential function $\partial N/\partial W_0^{\lambda2796} = \frac{N^*}{W^*} e^{-\frac{W_0}{W^*}}$, with $N^*=1.187\pm0.052$ and $W^*=0.702\pm0.017$\AA. Previously reported power law fits drastically over-predict the number of strong lines. Extrapolating our exponential fit under-predicts the number of $W_0 \le 0.3$\AA systems, indicating a transition in $dN/dW_0$ near $W_0 \simeq 0.3$\AA. A combination of two exponentials reproduces the observed distribution well, suggesting that MgII absorbers are the superposition of at least two physically distinct populations of absorbing clouds. We also derive a new redshift parameterization for the number density of $W_0^{\lambda2796} \ge 0.3$\AA lines: $N^*=1.001\pm0.132(1+z)^{0.226\pm0.170}$ and $W^*=0.443\pm0.032(1+z)^{0.634\pm 0.097}$\AA. We find that the distribution steepens with decreasing redshift, with $W^*$ decreasing from $0.80\pm0.04$\AA at $z=1.6$ to $0.59\pm0.02$\AA at $z=0.7$. The incidence of moderately strong MgII $\lambda2796$ lines does not show evidence for evolution with redshift. However, lines stronger than $\approx 2$\AA show a decrease relative to the no-evolution prediction with decreasing redshift for $z \lesssim 1$. The evolution is stronger for increasingly stronger lines. Since $W_0$ in saturated absorption lines is an indicator of the velocity spread of the absorbing clouds, we interpret this as an evolution in the kinematic properties of galaxies from moderate to low z.

New optical and infrared observations along the sight-line toward the quasar OI 363 (0738+313) are presented and discussed. Excluding systems which lack confirming UV spectroscopic observations of the actual Lyman alpha line, this sight-line presently contains the two lowest-redshift classical damped Lyman alpha (DLA) quasar absorption line systems known (i.e. with N(HI) \ge 2 x 10^{20} atoms cm^{-2}), one at z(abs)=0.0912 and the other at z(abs)=0.2212. The z=0.09 DLA galaxy appears to be an extended low surface brightness galaxy which is easily visible only in infrared images and shows rich morphological structure. Subtraction of the quasar nuclear and host light yields L_K \approx 0.08L_K* at z=0.09. The impact parameter between the galaxy and quasar sight-line is very small, b

The discovery of a zabs=0.0912 damped Lyα absorption-line system in the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Spectrograph ultraviolet spectrum of the quasar OI 363 (0738+313) is reported. This is the lowest redshift quasar-damped Lyα system known. Its neutral hydrogen column density is N(H I) =1.5 ± 0.2 × 1021 atoms cm-2, which easily exceeds the classical criterion for damped Lyα of N(H I) ≥2 × 1020 atoms cm-2. Remarkably, a zabs=0.2212 damped system with N(H I) =7.9 ± 1.4 × 1020 atoms cm-2 has also been discovered in the same spectrum. In the past, the standard paradigm for damped Lyα systems has been that they arise in galactic or protogalactic H I disks with low impact parameters in luminous galaxies. However, WIYN imaging of the OI 363 field shows that none of the galaxies visible in the vicinity of the quasar is a luminous gas-rich spiral with low impact parameter, either at z=0.0912 or z=0.2212. Thus, these damped systems are among the clearest examples yet of cases that are inconsistent with the standard damped Lyα-H I-disk paradigm.

We present HST-COS spectra of ten quasars located behind M31, selected to investigate the properties of gas associated with its extended disk and high velocity clouds (HVCs). The sightlines have impact parameters ranging between b= 13 kpc and 112 kpc. No absorption is detected in the four sightlines beyond b=57 kpc. Of the six remaining sightlines, all of which lie at b, Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 23 pages

We present a catalog of intervening MgII quasar absorption-line systems in the redshift interval 0.36 17,000 measured MgII doublets. We also present data on the ~44,600 quasar spectra which were searched to construct the catalog, including redshift and magnitude information, continuum-normalized spectra, and corresponding arrays of redshift-dependent minimum rest equivalent widths detectable at our confidence threshold. The catalog is available on the web. A careful second search of 500 random spectra indicated that, for every 100 spectra searched, approximately one significant MgII system was accidentally rejected. Current plans to expand the catalog beyond DR4 quasars are discussed. Many MgII absorbers are known to be associated with galaxies. Therefore, the combination of large size and well understood statistics makes this catalog ideal for precision studies of the low-ionization and neutral gas regions associated with galaxies at low to moderate redshift. An analysis of the statistics of MgII absorbers using this catalog will be presented in a subsequent paper., AJ, in press

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 sample of strong MgII absorbers (W_0^(2796) >= 0.3 A) whose HI column densities were determined by measuring the Ly-alpha line in HST UV spectra. Photometric redshifts, galaxy colors, and proximity to the quasar sightline, in decreasing order of importance, were used to identify galaxies responsible for the absorption. Our sample includes 80 absorption systems for which the absorbing galaxies have been identified, of which 54 are presented here for the first time. The main results of this study are: (i) the surface density of galaxies falls off exponentially with increasing impact parameter, b, from the quasar sightline relative to a constant background of galaxies, with an e-folding length of ~46 kpc. Galaxies with b >~ 100 kpc calculated at the absorption redshift are statistically consistent with being unrelated to the absorption system. (ii) log N(HI) is inversely correlated with b at the 3.0 sigma level of significance. DLA galaxies are found systematically closer to the quasar sightline, by a factor of two, than are galaxies which give rise to subDLAs or LLSs. The median impact parameter is 17.4 kpc for the DLA galaxy sample, 33.3 kpc for the subDLA sample, and 36.4 kpc for the LLS sample. (iii) Absorber galaxy luminosity relative to L*, L/L*, is not significantly correlated with W_0^(2796), log N(HI), or b. (iv) DLA, subDLA, and LLS galaxies comprise a mix of spectral types, but are inferred to be predominantly late type galaxies based on their spectral energy distributions. The implications of these results are discussed. (Abridged), Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Using a sample of almost 7000 strong MgII absorbers with 0.4 < z < 2.2 detected in the SDSS DR4 dataset, we investigate the gravitational lensing and dust extinction effects they induce on background quasars. After carefully quantifying several selection biases, we isolate the reddening effects as a function of redshift and absorber rest equivalent width, W_0. We find the amount of dust to increase with cosmic time as (1+z)^(-1.1 +/- 0.4), following the evolution of cosmic star density or integrated star formation rate. We measure the reddening effects over a factor 30 in E(B-V) and we find the dust column density to be proportional to W_0^(1.9 +/- 0.2), which provides an important scaling for theoretical modeling of metal absorbers. We also measure the dust-to-metals ratio and find it similar to that of the Milky Way. In contrast to previous studies, we do not detect any gravitational magnification by MgII systems. We measure the upper limit \mu, Comment: Submitted

We describe a new method of combining optical and infrared photometry to select Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) at redshifts $z > 0.6$. We explore this technique using a combination of optical photometry from CFHTLS and HST, infrared photometry from the WISE satellite, and spectroscopic or photometric redshifts from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey or COSMOS. We present a variety of methods for testing the success of our selection, and present methods for optimization given a set of rest-frame color and redshift requirements. We have tested this selection in two different regions of the sky, the COSMOS and Extended Groth Strip (EGS) fields, to reduce the effect of cosmic/sample variance. We have used these methods to assemble large samples of LRGs for two different ancillary programs as a part of the SDSS-III/ BOSS spectroscopic survey. This technique is now being used to select $\sim$600,000 LRG targets for SDSS-IV/eBOSS, which began observations in Fall 2014, and will be adapted for the proposed DESI survey. We have found these methods can select high-redshift LRGs efficiently with minimal stellar contamination; this is extremely difficult to achieve with selections that rely on optical photometry alone., 10 pages, 13 figures, Published in the Astrophysical Journal

We present r'- or i'-band WIYN images of the fields of 15 Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars that have spectra exhibiting intervening MgII absorption-line systems with rest equivalent widths 2.7A \le REW \le 6.0A and redshifts 0.42 < z_{abs} < 0.84. Such systems are rare and exhibit projected absorption velocity spreads in excess of \approx 300-650 km/s. Approximately 60% are expected to be damped Ly��systems. In each of our fields we detect at least one galaxy that, if at the absorption redshift, would have impact parameter b \lesssim 40 kpc and luminosity L \gtrsim 0.3 L*. We measure a significant excess of galaxies at low-b to the sightlines over a large range of luminosity. Many of the sightlines are found to pass either through or close to the optically-luminous extent of a galaxy. Considering the very large velocity spreads seen in absorption, this suggests that these absorbing regions are more kinematically complex than local spirals such as the Milky Way. Our data indicate that interactions and galaxy pairs may be a contributing factor to the production of such large velocity spreads. Finally, we also find evidence that a population of galaxies with luminosities in the range 4L* \lesssim L \lesssim 13 L* may contribute to the presence of ultra-strong MgII absorption. Thus, some of the absorbing galaxies may represent a population intermediate to the very luminous high-redshift Lyman break galaxies and the fainter local starburst population., 52 pages, 9 figures, accepted to ApJ For higher-res versions of images, see: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~dbn/Images/

We find evidence for dust in the intervening QSO absorbers from the spectra of QSOs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 1. No evidence is found for the 2175 A feature which is present in the Milky Way dust extinction curve. The extinction curve resembles the SMC extinction curve. The observed Delta(g-i) excess for QSOs with strong absorption systems appears to be a result of the reddening due to dust in the intervening absorbers., Poster paper presented at the IAU Colloquium #199 on "Probing Galaxies through Quasar Absorption Lines" held in Shanghai, China from March 14th to 18th, 2005

Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasar spectroscopy is yielding a database of strong low-ionization MgII absorbers over the redshift interval 0.36, Comment: To appear in "Probing Galaxies through Quasar Absorption Lines", Proceedings IAU Colloquium 199, 2005; Williams, Shu, & Menard, eds

Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) early data release spectra, we have identified 370 MgII absorption systems with MgII 2796 rest equivalent widths >= 1A and redshifts z=0.9-2.2. From our previous and ongoing HST UV spectroscopic studies, we estimate that the mean neutral hydrogen column density of a system selected in this manner is N(HI) = 3.6 +/- 1.3 x10^(20) atoms cm^(-2), which corresponds to the damped Ly-alpha (DLA) regime. We have formed high signal-to-noise ratio composite spectra using 223 of these systems with z=0.9-2.0 in order to study the strength of the ZnII and CrII absorption lines corresponding to this mean neutral hydrogen column density. After making a correction for missed DLAs, overall we find that [Zn/H] = -1.13 +/- 0.19. We find [Cr/Zn] = -0.45 +/- 0.13, which indicates that approx 65% of the Cr is depleted on to grains, but this does not correct for the missed DLAs. We have also derived Zn and Cr abundances in two kinematic regimes, and within each regime we consider two redshift intervals. We find trends which indicate that metallicities are higher in the composites where the absorption has larger velocity spreads as measured by MgII 2796 rest equivalent width. Larger velocity spreads may correspond to deeper gravitational potential wells which represent more massive and chemically evolved structures, and/or regions associated with winds from starbursting galaxies, also leading to kinematically broad structures of chemically enriched gas. Within the large velocity spread regime, we find that at lower redshifts the Zn metallicity is larger and more Cr is depleted on to grains., 5 pages, emulateapj.cls included. Accepted for publication in ApJL

We detail a powerful indirect method for the study of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) at low redshift. We increase the probability of finding a low-redshift DLA to nearly 50% by targeting QSOs that are known to have strong low-redshift MgII and FeII absorption lines in their spectra. We are using Sloan Digital Sky Survey QSO spectra complemented by a survey we are conducting at the MMT to study the metal-line systems. The Hubble Space Telescope is being used to confirm low-redshift DLAs. In addition, we are imaging low-redshift DLA galaxies with several ground-based telescopes to directly study their environments.

Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) ACIS-S spectra of three quasars which lie behind three foreground damped Lyman alpha (DLA) absorbers are analyzed in order to attempt to determine the amount of photoelectric absorption due to metals present in their x-ray spectra. These absorbers are the three largest neutral hydrogen column density absorption-line systems known at low redshift (0.313 \le z_abs \le 0.524). They have HI column densities which lie between 3E21 and 5E21 atoms/cm^2. At these redshifts the amount of photoelectric absorption at x-ray energies is primarily an indicator of the oxygen abundance. Since the column densities of these systems are so high, one would expect accurate metallicity measurements of them to yield a robust estimate of the column-density-weighted cosmic neutral-gas-phase metallicity at z \approx 0.4. We consider cases where the DLA gas has solar element abundance ratios and ones with the alpha-group element abundance ratios enhanced. For the adopted assumptions, the column-density-weighted cosmic neutral-gas-phase metallicity of the non-enhanced elements (e.g. Zn) at z \approx 0.4 likely lies in the range \approx 0.04-0.38 Z_solar., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We present optical and near-infrared ground-based imaging results on four low-redshift damped Ly-alpha (DLA) galaxies. The corresponding DLA systems were discovered in our HST spectroscopic surveys for DLA lines in known strong MgII absorption-line systems toward the quasars B2 0827+243 (z{DLA}=0.525), PKS 0952+179 (z{DLA}=0.239), PKS 1127-145 (z{DLA}=0.313), and PKS 1629+120 (z{DLA}=0.532). The DLA galaxies span a mixture of morphological types from patchy, irregular, and low surface brightness to spiral galaxies. The luminosities range from 0.02L_K* to 1.2L_K*. We also discovered several extremely red objects (EROs) in two of these fields and discuss the possibility that they are associated with the DLA galaxies. These observations add to the small but growing list of DLA galaxies at low redshift. At the present time, 14 DLA galaxies in the redshift range 0.05 < z, 15 pages, to appear in ApJ, September 20, 2003. Typo fixed

Images of five QSO fields containing six damped Lyman alpha (DLA) systems at redshifts 0.09, Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, uses newpasp.sty. To appear in ASP Conference Series "Extragalactic Gas at Low Redshift", J. Mulchaey and J. Stocke, eds

The discovery of a z_abs = 0.0912 damped Lyman-alpha absorption-line system in the HST-FOS ultraviolet spectrum of the quasar OI 363 (0738+313) is reported. This is the lowest redshift quasar damped Lyman-alpha system known. Its neutral hydrogen column density is N(HI) = 1.5(+/- 0.2) E21 atoms/cm^2, which easily exceeds the classical criterion for damped Lyman-alpha of N(HI) greater than or equal to 2E20 atoms/cm^2. Remarkably, a z_abs = 0.2212 damped system with N(HI) = 7.9(+/- 1.4) E20 atoms/cm^2 has also been discovered in the same spectrum. In the past, the standard paradigm for damped Lyman-alpha systems has been that they arise in galactic or protogalactic HI disks with low impact parameters in luminous galaxies. However, WIYN imaging of the OI 363 field shows that none of the galaxies visible in the vicinity of the quasar is a luminous gas-rich spiral with low impact parameter, either at z = 0.0912 or z = 0.2212. Thus, these damped systems are among the clearest examples yet of cases that are inconsistent with the standard damped Lyman-alpha - HI-disk paradigm., to be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters