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Evidence for dust reddening in DLAs identified through CaII H&K absorption

Vivienne Wild·Paul C. Hewett
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Abstract

We present a new sample of 31 CaII(H&K) 3935,3970 absorption line systems with 0.84 99.99% confidence. The discovery of significant amounts of dust in a subsample of DLAs has direct implications for studies of the metallicity evolution of the universe and the nature of DLAs in relation to high redshift galaxies. The gas:dust ratio is discussed. Our results suggest that at least ~40% of the CaII absorption systems are excluded from the magnitude-limited SDSS quasar sample as a result of the associated extinction, a fraction similar to the upper limit deduced at higher redshifts from radio-selected surveys.

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Vivienne Wild, Paul C. Hewett. 2005-05-02. Evidence for dust reddening in DLAs identified through CaII H&K absorption. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2005.00058.x

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