Abstract
Comparison of the observed properties of damped Lyα absorbers (DLAs) seen in QSO spectra with different structures in the interstellar medium of our own and nearby galaxies shows that these absorbers may be interpreted as giant hydrogen clouds (GHCs) in intervening galaxies along the lines-of-sight. We show that the observational data on the redshift and column density distribution of the DLAs may be used to study the mass spectrum of GHCs and its evolution with cosmic time. The derived mass spectrum may be represented by a power-law relation with rapid cosmic evolution in the exponent. The evolution may be interpreted in terms of global star formation processes in young galaxies.
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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Khersonsky, V.K., Turnshek, D.A. (1995). The Mass Spectrum of Giant Hydrogen Clouds Associated with Damped Lyα Absorbers. In: Meylan, G. (eds) QSO Absorption Lines. ESO Astrophysics Symposia. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49458-4_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49458-4_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-22373-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49458-4
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