Interpreting Lyman α emission from absorption-selected galaxies

by Mr Peter Laursen (Dark Cosmology Centre)

Friday 24 Feb 2012, 10:30 → 11:30 Europe/Stockholm

FB42

Galaxies are detected by a number of different methods, which by construction select different types of galaxies. The so-called "damped Lyman α systems" (DLAs) are huge reservoirs of neutral gas, detected by their ability to cause broad absorption lines in the spectra of bright background objects, such as quasars. Thought to be the progenitors of present-day galaxies, they are also expected to emit light from new-born stars. However, this has only been seen in a handful of cases. In this seminar, I will report on the detection of the largest high-redshift DLA to date, and show how numerical simulations have helped us understand the nature of the galaxy responsible for the absorption.