A search for organic molecules in intermediate redshift DLAs

Abstract

There has been a renewed interest in searching for diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) due to their probable connection to organic molecules and, thus, their possible link to life in the Universe. Our group is undertaking an extensive search for DIBs in DLAs via QSO absorption-line systems. Six of our DLA targets are presented here. Our equivalent width (EW) limits for the 5780 DIB line strongly suggest that DIB abundance is below the Milky Way expected value or that metallicity plays a large role in DIB strengths.