Abstract
There are a number of known quasars for which our line of sight to the high redshift quasar passes within a few Holmberg radii of a low redshift galaxy. In a few of these cases, spectra of the quasar reveal absorption by gas associated with the low redshift galaxy. A number of these pairs imply absorption by gas which lies well outside the optical disk of the associated galaxy, leading to models of galaxies with ‘halos’ or ‘disks’ of gas extending to large radii. We present observations of 4 such pairs. In three of the four cases, we find that the associated galaxy is highly disturbed, typically due to a gravitational interaction with a companion galaxy, while in the fourth case the absorption can be explained by clouds in the optical disk of the associated galaxy. We are led to an alternative hypothesis concerning the origin of the low redshift absorption line systems: the absorption is by gas clouds which have been gravitationally stripped from the associated galaxy. These galaxies are rapidly evolving, and should not be used as examples of absorption by clouds in halos of field spirals. We conclude by considering the role extended gas in interacting systems plays in the origin of higher redshift quasar absorption line systems.
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