Spectroscopy of PKS 0528-260: New Limits on CO Absorption and Emission

Abstract

We have obtained a moderate resolution spectrum of the quasar PKS 0528-250 with the Red Channel Spectrograph on the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) in order to study a damped Lyman alpha absorption line system at z = 2.8115. We obtain a new upper limit for the CO column density for the z = 2.8108 velocity component in the z = 2.8115 damped Lyman alpha system. The ionization of different species in this component rules out a quasar spectral energy distribution (SED) as the ionization field,and implies an ultraviolet radiation field intensity a few times that of the Milky Way value. The estimated total number density is n(H) about 20 cm^{-3}. The physical size for the z = 2.8108 component implied by these models is about 40 parsecs. The ionization of different species also suggests a structure with a hot intercloud medium associated with a H I cloud in this component, that is, most low ionized ions are from the cold medium where photoionization and photodissociation dominates. The highly ionized species may be from the intercloud medium where collisional ionization dominates. We also present newly identified Ni II absorption lines in the z = 2.1408 and z = 2.8115 damped Ly$\alpha$ systems. The derived depletion of nickel by dust confirms previous results that the dust-to-gas ratio in these two damped Lyman alpha systems is about 10% of the Milky Way ratio. Millimeter wavelength observations obtained at the NRAO 12 meter telescope provide new upper limits on CO (3-2) emission in the z = 2.8115 damped Lyman alpha system.

arXiv commentApJ, 1997, 486, in press, 28 pages and 7 figs included, also available at http://qso.as.arizona.edu/~jge/projects.html

References in corpus (5)

• Abundances at High Redshifts: the Chemical Enrichment History of Damped Lyman-alpha Galaxies
• Molecular gas and dust around a radio-quiet quasar at redshift 4.7
• A New Measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Temperature at z = 1.97
• New Observations and a New Interpretation of CO(3--2) in IRAS F10214+4724
• Molecular Hydrogen Absorption in the z= 1.97 Damped Lyman alpha Absorption system toward QSO 0013-004

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Extended Ly-alpha emission from a damped Ly-alpha absorber at z = 1.93, and the relation between DLAs and Lyman-break galaxies
• Are high-redshift DLA galxies Lyman-break galaxies?
• Molecular fraction limits in damped Lyman-alpha absorption systems
• Nature of the DLA towards Q0528-250: High pressure and strong UV field revealed by excitation of CI, H2 and SiII