Bibcode
Geier, S. J.; Heintz, K. E.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Ledoux, C.; Christensen, L.; Jakobsson, P.; Krogager, J.-K.; Milvang-Jensen, B.; Møller, P.; Noterdaeme, P.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 625, id.L9, 5 pp.
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5
2019
Journal
Citations
11
Refereed citations
9
Description
Damped Lyman-α absorbers (DLAs) as a class of quasi-stellar object
(QSO) absorption-line systems are currently our most important source of
detailed information on the cosmic chemical evolution of galaxies.
However, the degree to which this information is biased by dust remains
to be understood. One strategy is to specifically search for QSOs that
are reddened by metal-rich and dusty foreground absorbers. In this
Letter, we present the discovery of a z = 2.60 QSO that is strongly
reddened by dust in an intervening extremely strong DLA at z = 2.226.
This QSO was identified through a novel selection that combined the
astrometric measurements from ESA's Gaia satellite with extisting
optical and near- to mid-infrared photometry. We infer a total neutral
atomic-hydrogen column density of log N(H I) = 21.95 ± 0.15 and a
lower limit on the gas-phase metallicity of [Zn/H] > -0.96. This DLA
is also remarkable in that it exhibits shielded neutral gas that is
visible in C I, and it shows tentative detections of CO molecular bands.
The spectral energy distribution of the QSO is well accounted for by a
spectral energy distribution that is normal for a QSO and is reddened by
dust from a DLA with 10% solar metallicity, a dust extinction of
AV = 0.82 ± 0.02 mag, and an extinction curve that
resembles that of the Large Magellanic Cloud, including the
characteristic 2175 Å extinction feature. Such QSO absorption-line
systems have been shown to be very rare in previous surveys, which have
mostly revealed sight-lines with low extinction. The present case
therefore suggests that previous samples have under-represented the
fraction of dusty absorbers. Building a complete sample of such systems
is required to assess the significance of this effect.
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Formation and Evolution of Galaxies: Observations in Infrared and other Wavelengths
This IAC research group carries out several extragalactic projects in different spectral ranges, using space as well as ground-based telescopes, to study the cosmological evolution of galaxies and the origin of nuclear activity in active galaxies. The group is a member of the international consortium which built the SPIRE instrument for the
Ismael
Pérez Fournon