Measuring Feedback in Damped Lyman Alpha Systems
Abstract
We measure feedback (heating rates) in damped Lyman alpha systems from the cooling rate of the neutral gas. Since cooling occurs through [C II] 158 micron emission, we infer cooling from C II* 1335.7 absorption lines detected with HIRES on the Keck I telescope. The inferred heating rates are about 30 times lower than for the Galaxy ISM. At z = 2.8, the implied star formation rate per unit area is 10-2.4+-0.3 solar masses per kpc2 per year, and the the star formation rate per unit comoving volume is 10-0.8+-0.2 solar masses per Mpc3 per year. This is the first measurement of star formation rates in objects likely to be the progenitors of current galaxies.
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