A Survey of Weak MgII Absorbers at 0.4 < z < 2.4

We present results from a survey of weak MgII absorbers in the VLT/UVES spectra of 81 QSOs obtained from the ESO archive. In this survey, we identified 112 weak MgII systems within the redshift interval 0.4 < z < 2.4 with 86% completeness down to a rest-frame equivalent width of W_r(2796) = 0.02A, covering a cumulative redshift path length of deltaZ=77.3. From this sample, we estimate that the number of weak absorbers per unit redshift dN/dz increases from 1.06 +/- 0.04 at =1.9 to 1.76 +/- 0.08 at =1.2 and thereafter decreases to 1.51 +/- 0.09 at =0.9 and 1.06 +/- 0.10 at =0.6. Thus we find evidence for an evolution in the population of weak MgII absorbers, with their number density peaking at z=1.2. We also determine the equivalent width distribution of weak systems at =0.9 and =1.9. At 0.4 < z < 1.4, there is evidence for a turnover from a powerlaw of the form n(W_r) \propto W_r^{-1.04} at W_r(2796) < 0.1A. This turnover is more extreme at 1.4 < z < 2.4, where the equivalent width distribution is close to an extrapolation of the exponential distribution function found for strong MgII absorbers. Based on these results, we discuss the possibility that some fraction of weak MgII absorbers, particularly single cloud systems, are related to satellite clouds surrounding strong MgII systems. These structures could also be analogs to Milky Way high velocity clouds. In this context, the paucity of high redshift weak MgII absorbers is caused by a lack of isolated accreting clouds on to galaxies during that epoch.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, ApJ accepte

A Spectropolarimetric Test of the Structure of the Intrinsic Absorbers in the Quasar HS1603+3820

We report the results of a spectropolarimetric observation of the C IV mini-BAL in the quasar HS1603+3820. The observations were carried out with the FOCAS instrument on the Subaru telescope and yielded an extremely high polarization sensitivity of 0.1%, at a resolving power of 1500. HS1603+3820 has been the target of a high-resolution spectroscopic monitoring campaign for more than four years, aimed at studying its highly variable C IV mini-BAL profile. Using the monitoring observations, in an earlier paper we were able to narrow down the causes of the variability to the following two scenarios: (1) scattering material of variable optical depth redirecting photons around the absorber, and (2) a variable, highly-ionized screen between the continuum source and the absorber which modulates the UV continuum incident on the absorber. The observations presented here provide a crucial test of the scattering scenario and lead us to disfavor it because (a) the polarization level is very small (p~0.6%) throughout the spectrum, and (b) the polarization level does not increase across the mini-BAL trough. Thus, the variable screen scenario emerges as our favored explanation of the C IV mini-BAL variability. Our conclusion is bolstered by recent X-ray observations of nearby mini-BAL quasars, which show a rapidly variable soft X-ray continuum that appears to be the result of transmission through an ionized absorber of variable ionization parameter and optical depth.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal, vol. 719, August 201

The Advantage of Increased Resolution in the Study of Quasar Absorption Systems

We compare a new R = 120,000 spectrum of PG1634+706 (z_QSO = 1.337,m_V = 14.9) obtained with the HDS instrument on Subaru to a R = 45, 000 spectrum obtained previously with HIRES/Keck. In the strong MgII system at z = 0.9902 and the multiple cloud, weak MgII system at z = 1.0414, we find that at the higher resolution, additional components are resolved in a blended profile. We find that two single-cloud weak MgII absorbers were already resolved at R = 45,000, to have b = 2 - 4 km/s. The narrowest line that we measure in the R = 120, 000 spectrum is a component of the Galactic NaI absorption, with b = 0.90+/-0.20 km/s. We discuss expectations of similarly narrow lines in various applications, including studies of DLAs, the MgI phases of strong MgII absorbers, and high velocity clouds. By applying Voigt profile fitting to synthetic lines, we compare the consistency with which line profile parameters can be accurately recovered at R = 45,000 and R = 120,000. We estimate the improvement gained from superhigh resolution in resolving narrowly separated velocity components in absorption profiles. We also explore the influence of isotope line shifts and hyperfine splitting in measurements of line profile parameters, and the spectral resolution needed to identify these effects. Super high resolution spectra of quasars, which will be routinely possible with 20-meter class telescopes, will lead to greater sensitivity for absorption line surveys, and to determination of more accurate physical conditions for cold phases of gas in various environments.Comment: To appear in AJ. Paper with better resolution images available at http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/anand/superhigh.AJ.pd

The Chemical and Ionization Conditions in Weak Mg II Absorbers

We present an analysis of the chemical and ionization conditions in a sample of 100 weak Mg II absorbers identified in the VLT/UVES archive of quasar spectra. Using a host of low ionization lines associated with each absorber in this sample, and on the basis of ionization models, we infer that the metallicity in a significant fraction of weak Mg II clouds is constrained to values of solar or higher, if they are sub-Lyman limit systems. Based on the observed constraints, we present a physical picture in which weak Mg II absorbers are predominantly tracing two different astrophysical processes/structures. A significant population of weak Mg II clouds, those in which N(Fe II) is much less than N(Mg II), identified at both low (z ~ 1) and high (z ~ 2) redshift, are potentially tracing gas in the extended halos of galaxies, analogous to the Galactic high velocity clouds. These absorbers might correspond to alpha-enhanced interstellar gas expelled from star-forming galaxies, in correlated supernova events. On the other hand, N(FeII) approximately equal to N(Mg II) clouds, which are prevalent only at lower redshifts (z < 1.5), must be tracing Type Ia enriched gas in small, high metallicity pockets in dwarf galaxies, tidal debris, or other intergalactic structures.Comment: 35 pages (including tables & figures). Accepted for publication in ApJ. A high resolution version of the paper is available at "http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~anand/weakMgII.pdf

Rb-Sr Isotopic Studies Of Antarctic Lherzolitic Shergottite Yamato 984028

Yamato 984028 is a Martian meteorite found in the Yamato Mountains of Antarctica. It is classified as a lherzolitic shergottite and petrographically resembles several other lherzolitic shergottites, i.e. ALHA 77005, LEW 88516, Y-793605 and Y-000027/47/97 [e.g. 2-5]. These meteorites have similarly young crystallization ages (152-185 Ma) as enriched basaltic shergottites (157-203 Ma), but have very different ejection ages (approximately 4 Ma vs. approximately 2.5 Ma), thus they came from different martian target crater areas. Lherzolitic shergottites have mg-values approximately 0.70 and represent the most mafic olivine-pyroxene cumulates. Their parental magmas were melts derived probably from the primitive Martian mantle. Here we present Rb-Sr isotopic data for Y-984028 and compare these data with those obtained from other lherzolitic and olivine-phyric basaltic shergottites to better understand the isotopic characteristics of their primitive mantle source regions. Corresponding Sm-Nd analyses for Y-984028 are in progress

Spectroscopic Observations of the Outflowing Wind in the Lensed Quasar SDSS J1001+5027

We performed spectroscopic observations of the small-separation lensed quasar SDSS J1001+5027, whose images have an angular separation $\theta \sim 2.^{\!\!\prime\prime}86$, and placed constraints on the physical properties of gas clouds in the vicinity of the quasar (i.e., in the outflowing wind launched from the accretion disk). The two cylinders of sight to the two lensed images go through the same region of the outflowing wind and they become fully separated with no overlap at a very large distance from the source ($\sim 330$ pc). We discovered a clear difference in the profile of the CIV broad absorption line (BAL) detected in the two lensed images in two observing epochs. Because the kinematic components in the BAL profile do not vary in concert, the observed variations cannot be reproduced by a simple change of ionization state. If the variability is due to gas motion around the background source (i.e., the continuum source), the corresponding rotational velocity is $v_{rot}\geq 18,000$ km/s, and their distance from the source is $r\leq 0.06$ pc assuming Keplerian motion. Among three MgII and three CIV NAL systems that we detected in the spectra, only the MgII system at $z_{abs} = 0.8716$ shows a hint of variability in its MgI profile on a rest-frame time scale of $\Delta t_{rest}$ $\leq 191$ days and an obvious velocity shear between the sightlines whose physical separation is $\sim 7$ kpc. We interpret this as the result of motion of a cosmologically intervening absorber, perhaps located in a foreground galaxy.Comment: 15 pages, including 7 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Possible Origins of Magmatic and Isotopic Heterogeneity in Zagami.

第3回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回南極隕石シンポジウム 11月29日（木） 国立国語研究所 2階講

The Physical Conditions of the Intrinsic N V Narrow Absorption Line Systems of Three Quasars

We employ detailed photoionization models to infer the physical conditions of intrinsic narrow absorption line systems found in high resolution spectra of three quasars at z=2.6-3.0. We focus on a family of intrinsic absorbers characterized by N V lines that are strong relative to the Ly-alpha lines. The inferred physical conditions are similar for the three intrinsic N V absorbers, with metallicities greater than 10 times the solar value (assuming a solar abundance pattern), and with high ionization parameters (log U ~ 0). Thus, we conclude that the unusual strength of the N V lines results from a combination of partial coverage, a high ionization state, and high metallicity. We consider whether dilution of the absorption lines by flux from the broad-emission line region can lead us to overestimate the metallicities and we find that this is an unlikely possibility. The high abundances that we infer are not surprising in the context of scenarios in which metal enrichment takes place very early on in massive galaxies. We estimate that the mass outflow rate in the absorbing gas (which is likely to have a filamentary structure) is less than a few solar masses per year under the most optimistic assumptions, although it may be embedded in a much hotter, more massive outflow.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journa