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Paper: [C II] 158 μm Probes of Damped Lyα Systems
Volume: 344, The Cool Universe: Observing Cosmic Dawn
Page: 67
Authors: Wolfe, A.M.
Abstract: Damped Lyα systems are a population of metal-enriched gas layers that serve as important reservoirs of neutral gas for star formation at high redshifts. This paper focuses on the interplay between stars and gas in this population of protogalaxies. Specific attention is given to the multi-phase nature of the neutral gas inferred from measurements of the [C II] 158 μm cooling rate obtained from studies of CII* λ1335.7 absorption. These results are used to estimate star formation rates: evidence is presented for a bimodal distribution of objects with and without ongoing star formation. We use the cooling rates to estimate flux densities of redshifted [C II] 158 μm radiation, which can be measured with ALMA. Such measurements determine the dark-matter masses of halos in which the gas is located and discriminate among competing models of galaxy formation.
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