The Advantage of Increased Resolution in the Study of Quasar Absorption Systems

Abstract

We compare a new R = 120,000 spectrum of PG1634+706 (z_QSO = 1.337,m_V = 14.9) obtained with the HDS instrument on Subaru to a R = 45, 000 spectrum obtained previously with HIRES/Keck. In the strong MgII system at z = 0.9902 and the multiple cloud, weak MgII system at z = 1.0414, we find that at the higher resolution, additional components are resolved in a blended profile. We find that two single-cloud weak MgII absorbers were already resolved at R = 45,000, to have b = 2 - 4 km/s. The narrowest line that we measure in the R = 120, 000 spectrum is a component of the Galactic NaI absorption, with b = 0.90+/-0.20 km/s. We discuss expectations of similarly narrow lines in various applications, including studies of DLAs, the MgI phases of strong MgII absorbers, and high velocity clouds. By applying Voigt profile fitting to synthetic lines, we compare the consistency with which line profile parameters can be accurately recovered at R = 45,000 and R = 120,000. We estimate the improvement gained from superhigh resolution in resolving narrowly separated velocity components in absorption profiles. We also explore the influence of isotope line shifts and hyperfine splitting in measurements of line profile parameters, and the spectral resolution needed to identify these effects. Super high resolution spectra of quasars, which will be routinely possible with 20-meter class telescopes, will lead to greater sensitivity for absorption line surveys, and to determination of more accurate physical conditions for cold phases of gas in various environments.