{"paper":{"title":"Dissecting the properties of optically-thick hydrogen at the peak of cosmic star formation history","license":"http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/","headline":"","cross_cats":[],"primary_cat":"astro-ph.CO","authors_text":"Gabor Worseck, John M. O'Meara, J. Xavier Prochaska, Michele Fumagalli","submitted_at":"2013-08-05T20:00:04Z","abstract_excerpt":"We present results of a blind survey of Lyman limit systems (LLSs) detected in absorption against 105 quasars at z~3 using the blue sensitive MagE spectrograph at the Magellan Clay telescope. By searching for Lyman limit absorption in the wavelength range ~3000-4000A, we measure the number of LLSs per unit redshift l(z)=1.21+/-0.28 at z~2.8. Using a stacking analysis, we further estimate the mean free path of ionizing photons in the z~3 Universe lambda^912 = 100+/-29 Mpc/h_70.4. Combined with our LLS survey, we conclude that systems with log N_HI >= 17.5 cm^-2 contribute only ~40% to the obser"},"claims":{"count":0,"items":[],"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"source":{"id":"1308.1101","kind":"arxiv","version":2},"verdict":{"id":null,"model_set":{},"created_at":null,"strongest_claim":"","one_line_summary":"","pipeline_version":null,"weakest_assumption":"","pith_extraction_headline":""},"references":{"count":0,"sample":[],"resolved_work":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}