Clustering of Absorbers

S. Cristiani, S. D'Odorico, V. D'Odorico, A. Fontana, E. Giallongo, L. Moscardini, S. Savaglio

Published 1997-11-14Version 1

The observed clustering of Lyman-$\alpha$ lines is reviewed and compared with the clustering of CIV systems. We argue that a continuity of properties exists between Lyman-$\alpha$ and metal systems and show that the small-scale clustering of the absorbers is consistent with a scenario of gravitationally induced correlations. At large scales statistically significant over and under-densities (including voids) are found on scales of tens of Mpc.