Speaker
Dr
Richard Bielby
(Durham University)
Description
We present results from the VLT LBG Redshift Survey (VLRS), probing the HI distribution around z ~ 3 galaxies. The VLRS consists of ~ 2,000 galaxy redshifts at z > 2 in the foreground of bright QSOs with pre-existing high-resolution spectra. We have further added to the QSO sample within our survey fields by identifying and observing fainter QSOs with X-Shooter. We present the widest area cross-correlation between galaxies and HI at z ~ 2 - 3, showing the distribution from scales of ~ 100 kpc to 10 Mpc. The overdensity of neutral HI gas around star-forming galaxies extends to scales of 2 - 3 Mpc, whilst the gas profile shows a steady increase in the gas density closer to the galaxies. We present an analysis of the data by incorporating SPH simulations (GIMIC & OWLS), constraining the effects of galaxy and gas dynamics on our measurements.
