%0 Generic %1 noterdaeme2012column %A Noterdaeme, P. %A Petitjean, P. %A Carithers, W. C. %A Pâris, I. %A Font-Ribera, A. %A Bailey, S. %A Aubourg, E. %A Bizyaev, D. %A Ebelke, G. %A Finley, H. %A Ge, J. %A Malanushenko, E. %A Malanushenko, V. %A Miralda-Escudé, J. %A Myers, A. D. %A Oravetz, D. %A Pan, K. %A Pieri, M. M. %A Ross, N. P. %A Schneider, D. P. %A Simmons, A. %A York, D. G. %D 2012 %K column density distribution dla %T Column density distribution and cosmological mass density of neutral gas: Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III Data Release 9 %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.1213 %X We present the first results from an ongoing survey for Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) in the spectra of z>2 quasars observed in the course of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) III. Our full (non-statistical) sample, based on Data Release 9, comprises 12,081 systems with log N(HI)>=20, out of which 6,839 have log N(HI)>=20.3. This is the largest DLA sample ever compiled, superseding that from SDSS-II by a factor of seven. Using a statistical sub-sample and estimating systematics from realistic mock data, we probe the N(HI) distribution at <z> = 2.5. Contrary to what is generally believed, the distribution extends beyond 10^22 cm^-2 with a moderate slope of index\approx-3.5. This result matches surprisingly well the opacity-corrected distribution observed at z = 0. The cosmological mass density of neutral gas in DLAs is found to be Omega_g_DLA~10^-3, evolving only mildly over the past 12 billion years.

@misc{noterdaeme2012column, abstract = {We present the first results from an ongoing survey for Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) in the spectra of z>2 quasars observed in the course of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) III. Our full (non-statistical) sample, based on Data Release 9, comprises 12,081 systems with log N(HI)>=20, out of which 6,839 have log N(HI)>=20.3. This is the largest DLA sample ever compiled, superseding that from SDSS-II by a factor of seven. Using a statistical sub-sample and estimating systematics from realistic mock data, we probe the N(HI) distribution at <z> = 2.5. Contrary to what is generally believed, the distribution extends beyond 10^22 cm^-2 with a moderate slope of index\approx-3.5. This result matches surprisingly well the opacity-corrected distribution observed at z = 0. The cosmological mass density of neutral gas in DLAs is found to be Omega_g_DLA~10^-3, evolving only mildly over the past 12 billion years.}, added-at = {2012-10-05T15:57:38.000+0200}, author = {Noterdaeme, P. and Petitjean, P. and Carithers, W. C. and Pâris, I. and Font-Ribera, A. and Bailey, S. and Aubourg, E. and Bizyaev, D. and Ebelke, G. and Finley, H. and Ge, J. and Malanushenko, E. and Malanushenko, V. and Miralda-Escudé, J. and Myers, A. D. and Oravetz, D. and Pan, K. and Pieri, M. M. and Ross, N. P. and Schneider, D. P. and Simmons, A. and York, D. G.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2e0905b4b151966414284074551450ef1/miki}, description = {[1210.1213] Column density distribution and cosmological mass density of neutral gas: Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III Data Release 9}, interhash = {3f3895c5169af761c5697e3cc07d5c35}, intrahash = {e0905b4b151966414284074551450ef1}, keywords = {column density distribution dla}, note = {cite arxiv:1210.1213Comment: Accepted for publication as Letter to the Editor in A&A}, timestamp = {2012-10-05T15:57:38.000+0200}, title = {Column density distribution and cosmological mass density of neutral gas: Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III Data Release 9}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.1213}, year = 2012 }