A Shot in the Dark: A Technique for Locating the Stellar Counterparts of Damped Lyman Alpha Absorbers

Abstract

We present initial results from a Magellan telescope program to image galaxies that give rise to damped Lyman absorbers (DLAs) at 1.63 < z_DLA < 2.37. Our program differs from previous efforts in that we target quasars with intervening Lyman limit systems (LLS) along the line of sight at redshift z_LLS > 3.5. The higher-redshift LLS is applied as a blocking filter to remove the glare of the background quasar at the rest-frame ultraviolet wavelengths of the foreground galaxy. The complete absence of quasar light offers an unimpeded view along the sightline to the redshift of the LLS, allowing an exhaustive search for the DLA galaxy to the sensitivity limit of the imaging data (at or better than 0.25L*). In both of our pilot fields (PKS2000-330, z_DLA=2.033 and SDSS0322-0558, z_DLA=1.69), we identify an L* galaxy within 5" of the sightline which has optical colors consistent with star-forming galaxies at z~2. We examine the correlation between absorption-line properties and galaxy luminosity and impact distance, and compare the high-redshift galaxy and absorber pairs with those known at z<1.

arXiv comment11 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJL

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• Directly imaging damped Ly-alpha galaxies at z>2. III: The star formation rates of neutral gas reservoirs at z~2.7
• Enriched haloes at redshift $z=2$ with no star-formation: Implications for accretion and wind scenarios
• Witnessing galaxy assembly in an extended z~3 structure
• Three intervening galaxy absorbers towards GRB060418: faint and dusty?
• Linking gas and galaxies at high redshift: MUSE surveys the environments of six damped Lyman alpha galaxies at z~3
• Directly imaging damped Ly-alpha galaxies at z>2. II: Imaging and spectroscopic observations of 32 quasar fields
• The Keck+Magellan Survey for Lyman Limit Absorption II: A Case Study on Metallicity Variations
• Directly imaging damped Lyman-alpha galaxies at z>2. I: Methodology and First Results
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• The Star Formation Rate Efficiency of Neutral Atomic-dominated Hydrogen Gas in the Outskirts of Star Forming Galaxies from z~1 to z~3
• The host galaxies of strong CaII QSO absorption systems at z<0.5
• Uncovering strong MgII absorbing galaxies: Imaging below the Lyman limit
• An Imaging and Spectroscopic Study of Four Strong MgII Absorbers Revealed By GRB060418
• The Ly$\alpha$ emission from high-$z$ galaxies hosting strong Damped Ly$\alpha$ systems
• Discovery of a Damped Lya Absorber at z = 3.3 along a galaxy sight-line in the SSA22 field
• HI 21cm emission from the sub-damped Lyman-alpha absorber at z=0.0063 towards PG1216+069
• Exploring Damped Lyman-$\alpha$ System Host Galaxies using Gamma-ray Bursts
• From Exoplanets to Quasars: Detection of Potential Damped Lyman Alpha Absorbing Galaxies Using Angular Differential Imaging
• Star-Formation in Neutral Hydrogen Gas Reservoirs at Cosmic Noon
• The stellar population of a $z\sim 3.25$ Ly$\alpha$ emitting group associated with a damped Ly$\alpha$ absorber