The VLT LBG Redshift Survey II: Interactions between galaxies and the IGM at z ~3

CRIGHTON, N; BIELBY, R; SHANKS, T; INFANTE, L; BORNANCINI, C; BOUCHE, N; LAMBAS, D; LOWENTHAL, J; MINNITI, D; MORRIS, S; PADILLA, N; PEROUX, C; PETITJEAN, P; THEUNS, T; TUMMUANGPAK, P; WEILBACHER, P; WISOTZKI, L; WORSECK, G

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres, Inlgaterra; Año: 2011 vol. 414 p. 28 - 49

0035-8711

We have measured redshifts for 243 z~3 quasars in nine Very Large Telescope (VLT) Visible Imaging and Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) redshift survey areas, each of which is centred on a known bright quasar. Using the spectra of these quasars, we measure the cross-correlation between neutral hydrogen gas causing the Ly_alpha forest and 1020 LBGs at z~3. We find an increase in neutral hydrogen absorption within ~5 h-1 Mpc of a galaxy in agreement with the results of Adelberger et al. The Ly_alpha -LBG cross-correlation can be described by a power law on scales larger than 3 h-1 Mpc. When galaxy velocity dispersions are taken into account, our results at smaller scales (