Inhomogeneous metal enrichment at

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of three metal absorption systems observed in the spectrum of the HDF-South quasar J2233-606 ($z_{\rm em}=2.238$), taking advantage of new VLT-UVES high resolution data ($R=45 000$, $S/N=40{-}60$, $\lambda\lambda 3050{-}10 000$ Å). Three main components, spanning about 300 km s-1, can be distinguished in the Lyman limit system at $z\sim 1.92$. They show a surprisingly large variation in metallicities, respectively ~1/500, $1/8$ and $1/100$ solar. The large value found for the second component at $z\simeq1.9259$, suggests that the line of sight crosses a star-forming region. In addition, there is a definite correlation between velocity position and ionisation state in this component, which we interpret as a possible signature of an expanding Hi