The complex molecular absorption line system at z=0.886 towards PKS1830-211

New millimeter wave observations of the molecular absorption line system in the gravitational lens to PKS1830-211 at z=0.88582 is presented. Self-calibrated interferometer data shows unequivocally that the previously detected absorption component is associated with the gravitationally lensed south-west image of the background source. A second absorption line of HCO+(2-1) at z=0.88582 is detected. This component is shifted in velocity by -147 km/s relative to the main absorption line, and is shown to be associated with the north-east image. These two absorption lines are used to constrain the mass of the lensing galaxy. Upper limits to absorption and emission lines from the possible absorption system at z=0.1927, seen in 21cm HI by Lovell et al, are reported.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

A search for molecules in damped Lyman-alpha absorbers occulting millimetre-loud quasars

We have used the SEST 15-metre and Onsala 20-metre telescopes to perform deep (r.m.s. >~ 30 mJy) integrations of various molecular rotational transitions towards damped Lyman-alpha absorption systems (DLAs) known to occult millimetre-loud quasars. We have observed 6 new systems and improved the existing limits for 11 transitions. These limits may be approaching the sensitivities required to detect new systems and we present a small number of candidate systems which we believe warrant further observation.Comment: 7 pages, 1 PS figure, 4 tables. Accepted by A&

Do the fundamental constants change with time ?

Comparisons between the redshifts of spectral lines from cosmologically-distant galaxies can be used to probe temporal changes in low-energy fundamental constants like the fine structure constant and the proton-electron mass ratio. In this article, I review the results from, and the advantages and disadvantages of, the best techniques using this approach, before focussing on a new method, based on conjugate satellite OH lines, that appears to be less affected by systematic effects and hence holds much promise for the future.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. This is an electronic version of an invited review article for Mod. Phys. Lett. A, published as [Mod. Phys. Lett. A, Vol. 23, No. 32, 2008, pp. 2711] (copyright World Scientific Publishing Company; http://www.worldscientific.com/

Distribution of the molecular absorption in front of the quasar B0218+357

The line of sight to the quasar B0218+357, one of the most studied lensed systems, intercepts a z=0.68 spiral galaxy, which splits its image into two main components A and B, separated by ca. 0.3'', and gives rise to molecular absorption. Although the main absorption component has been shown to arise in front of image A, it is not established whether some absorption from other velocity components is also occuring in front of image B. To tackle this question, we have observed the HCO+(2-1) absorption line during the commissioning phase of the new very extended configuration of the Plateau de Bure Interferometer, in order to trace the position of the absorption as a function of frequency. Visibility fitting of the self-calibrated data allowed us to achieve position accuracy between ~12 and 80 mas per velocity component. Our results clearly demonstrate that all the different velocity components of the HCO+(2-1) absorption arise in front of the south-west image A of the quasar. We estimate a flux ratio fA/fB = 4.2 (-1.0;+1.8 at 106 GHz.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A Letter special issue for the new extended configuration of the Plateau de Bure Interferomete

A survey for redshifted molecular and atomic absorption lines - II. Associated HI, OH and millimetre lines in the z >~ 3 Parkes quarter-Jansky flat-spectrum sample

We present the results of a z>2.9 survey for HI 21-cm and molecular absorption in the hosts of radio quasars using the GMRT and the Tidbinbilla 70-m telescope. Previously published searches, which are overwhelmingly at redshifts of z<1, exhibit a 42% detection rate (31 out of 73 sources), and the inclusion of our survey yields a 17% detection rate (2 out of 12 sources) at z>2.5. We therefore believe that our high redshift selection is responsible for our exclusive non-detections, and find that at ultra-violet luminosities of >10e23 W/Hz, 21-cm absorption has never been detected. We also find this to not only apply to our targets, but also those at low redshift exhibiting similar luminosities, giving zero detections out of a total of 16 sources over z=0.24 to 3.8. This is in contrast to the < 10e23 W/Hz sources where there is a near 50% detection rate of 21-cm absorption. The mix of 21-cm detections and non-detections is currently attributed to orientation effects, where according to unified schemes of active galactic nuclei, 21-cm absorption is more likely to occur in sources designated as radio galaxies (type-2 objects, where the nucleus is viewed through dense obscuring circumnuclear gas) than in quasars(type-1 objects, where we have a direct view to the nucleus). However, due to the exclusively high ultra-violet luminosities of our targets it is not clear whether orientation effects alone can wholly account for the distribution, although there exists the possibility that the large luminosities are indicative of a changing demographic of galaxy types. We also find that below luminosities of ~10e23 W/Hz, both type-1 and type-2 objects have a 50% likelihood of exhibiting 21-cm absorption.Comment: 21 pages, accepted by MNRA

Molecular Gas in the Powerful Radio Galaxies 3C~31 and 3C~264: Major or Minor Mergers?

We report the detection of $^{12}$CO~($1 \to 0$) and $^{12}$CO~($2 \to 1$) emission from the central regions ($\lesssim 5$--$10 {\rm kpc}$) of the two powerful radio galaxies 3C~31 and 3C~264. Their individual CO emission exhibits a double-horned line profile that is characteristic of an inclined rotating disk with a central depression at the rising part of its rotation curve. The inferred disk or ring distributions of the molecular gas is consistent with the observed presence of dust disks or rings detected optically in the cores of both galaxies. For a CO to H$_2$ conversion factor similar to that of our Galaxy, the corresponding total mass in molecular hydrogen gas is $(1.3 \pm 0.2) \times 10^9 {\rm M_{\odot}}$ in 3C~31 and $(0.31 \pm 0.06) \times 10^9 {\rm M_{\odot}}$ in 3C~264. Despite their relatively large molecular-gas masses and other peculiarities, both 3C~31 and 3C~264, as well as many other powerful radio galaxies in the (revised) 3C catalog, are known to lie within the fundamental plane of normal elliptical galaxies. We reason that if their gas originates from the mergers of two gas-rich disk galaxies, as has been invoked to explain the molecular gas in other radio galaxies, then both 3C~31 and 3C~264 must have merged a long time (a few billion years or more) ago but their remnant elliptical galaxies only recently (last tens of millions of years or less) become active in radio. Instead, we argue that the cannibalism of gas-rich galaxies provides a simpler explanation for the origin of molecular gas in the elliptical hosts of radio galaxies. Given the transient nature of their observed disturbances, these galaxies probably become active in radio soon after the accretion event when sufficient molecular gas agglomerates in their nuclei.Comment: 16 pages, 1 JPEG figure attached, accepted for publication in ApJ