(Proposal ID) S12A-071

(PI) Shen, Yue

(Proposal Title)
HDS Spectroscopy of Low-Redshift Narrow Associated Quasar Absorbers

(Abstract)
Intrinsic associated quasar absorption lines are great tools to probe the 
physical conditions and dynamical processes within the host of the quasar. 
They contain rich information about fueling and feedback processes occurring 
in the quasar host, and thus carry a key piece of information about the 
formation and evolution of quasars and massive galaxies. We propose high-
resolution HDS spectroscopy for a sample of three quasars with associated MgII 
absorbers at z~ 0.6. All three objects have deep HST imaging showing disturbed 
morphologies and/or close companions, suggesting that these systems are in 
early-stage mergers. By resolving the kinematic components of these associated 
absorption lines, we will measure the column densities and line widths of 
these absorbers, and test kinematic models that can reproduce the 
observations. We will also perform photoionization calculations to constrain 
the ionization state of these associated absorbers.