Speaker
Mr
Marcel Neeleman
(UCSD)
Description
The study of the high redshift universe through quasar absorption lines allows us to measure in great detail the properties of the gas that is responsible for the absorption. Damped Lyα systems, DLAs, the largest of these absorbers, are intimately linked to the predecessors of modern-day galaxies, and their study provide insight into how galaxies form and evolve. In this talk, I will review some of the key parameters we measure for DLAs. I will explain how their distributions and correlations help us understand the properties of the gas surrounding high-redshift galaxies, and how these constrain current galaxy formation models. Furthermore, I will explore if there is any additional constraint besides these distributions and correlations, that can provide further insight into the properties of the absorbing gas. I conclude that indeed such a constraint exist, dubbing it the Fundamental Plane of DLAs.
