Observations of NI II absorption at Z = 2.811 toward the QSO PKS 0528-250

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (43) References (23) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Observations of NI II Absorption at Z = 2.811 toward the QSO PKS 0582-250 Meyer, David M. ; York, Donald G. Abstract Observations of strong Ni II absorption corresponding to the damped Ly-alpha absorption-line system at z = 2.811 toward the QSO PKS 0528-250 are presented. Cr II absorption corresponding to the damped Ly-alpha system at z = 2.142 has also been detected toward this QSO. These observations constitute the first confident identifications of Ni and Cr in a QSO absorption-line system. The abundances of Ni II and Cr II relative to H I indicate that much less Ni and Cr is depleted from the gas phase in these systems than in Galactic interstellar clouds. The 2sigma upper limit of 3.0 x 10 to the 13th/sq cm on the column density of C I in the z = 2.811 system is consistent with this implied lack of dust in that C I is much more likely to be photoionized when there are few dust grains to shield it from the surrounding radiation field. The implications of these observations with regard to the interpretation of damped Ly-alpha systems as galactic disks and the possibility of using them as probes of galactic evolution at early epochs is discussed. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: August 1987 DOI: 10.1086/184952 Bibcode: 1987ApJ...319L..45M Keywords: Absorption Spectra; Abundance; Chromium; Interstellar Matter; Lyman Alpha Radiation; Quasars; Disk Galaxies; Line Of Sight; Morphology; Signal To Noise Ratios; Astrophysics; QUASARS; ABUNDANCES full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (7) NED (5)