A New Extensive Catalog of Heavy-Element QSO Absorbers: First Results

Session 23 - High Luminosity AGN and QSOs.
Oral session, Monday, June 10
Union Theater,

[23.06] A New Extensive Catalog of Heavy-Element QSO Absorbers: First Results

D. E. Vanden Berk, J. M. Quashnock, D. G. York, C. Mallouris, D. Bruni (U. Chicago)

We have compiled a new and extensive catalog of heavy-element QSO absorption line systems drawn from the literature and complete through December 1995. It contains redshift and equivalent width information on almost 2000 absorbers in over 500 QSOs, as well as extensive information on the absorption line data quality for each QSO. We have examined various properties of the absorbers including: number density, equivalent width distributions, large-scale clustering properties, and gravitational lensing of the backlighting QSOs. We confirm the clustering signal previously seen on scales below 600 km/s, and we find evidence for significant clustering on scales of order 2000 and 6000 km/s. The number density of C \sc iv absorbers is strongly dependent on QSO absolute magnitude, which may indicate the presence of gravitational lensing by mass associated with the absorbers.

Program listing for Monday