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MgII absorption through intermediate redshift galaxies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2005

Christopher W. Churchill
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA email: cwc@nmsu.edu, glennk@nmsu.edu
Glenn G. Kacprzak
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA email: cwc@nmsu.edu, glennk@nmsu.edu
Charles C. Steidel
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA email: ccs@astro.caltech.edu
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Abstract

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The current status and remaining questions of MgII absorbers are reviewed with an eye toward new results incorporating high quality Hubble Space Telescope images of the absorbing galaxies. In the end, we find that our current picture of extended gaseous regions around galaxies at earlier epochs is in need of some revision; MgII absorbing “halos” appear to be patchier and their geometry less regular than previously inferred. We also find that the so-called “weak” MgII absorbers are associated with normal galaxies over a wide range of impact parameters, suggesting that this class of absorber does not strictly select low surface brightness, dwarf galaxies, or IGM material. We emphasise the need for a complete survey of the galaxies in quasar fields, and the importance of obtaining rotation curves of confirmed absorbing galaxies.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
© 2005 International Astronomical Union