Instruct: Identify the main and secondary category of Arxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: MMT Survey for Intervening MgII Absorption   We present the results from a spectroscopic survey for intervening MgII
absorption in the spectra of 381 background QSOs conducted at the Multiple
Mirror Telescope. This survey complements our earlier SDSS EDR MgII survey,
extending our results to lower redshift ($z \simeq 0.15$) and weaker MgII
$\lambda2796$ rest equivalent width ($W_0^{\lambda2796} \simeq 0.1$\AA). We
confirm two major results from that survey: the transition in the
$W_0^{\lambda2796}$ distribution at $W_0^{\lambda2796} \approx 0.3$\AA, and the
$W_0^{\lambda2796}$-dependent evolution of the incidence of systems. The nature
of $\partial^2N/\partial z \partial W_0^{\lambda2796}$ is consistent with the
idea that multiple physically-distinct components/processes contribute to the
incidence of MgII absorption systems in a $W_0$-dependent manner and evolve at
different rates. A significant decrease in the total proper absorption cross
section is detected in our MMT data for systems as weak as 1.0 \AA $\le
W_0^{\lambda2796} < 1.5$\AA at $z\lesssim 0.4$. We discuss this $W_0$-dependent
evolution in the context of the evolution of galaxy structures, processes
including superwinds and interactions, and damped-Ly$\alpha$ absorbers. We also
consider the possibility that the observed redshift and $W_0^{\lambda2796}$
dependence of the incidence of absorption in spectroscopic surveys for
low-ion/neutral gas results from the effects of dust-induced extinction.

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The categories of this paper are: atom-ph
7
The categories of this paper are: hep-th
0
The categories of this paper are: hep-ph
3
The categories of this paper are: physics
20
The categories of this paper are: acc-phys
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The categories of this paper are: ao-sci
28
The categories of this paper are: alg-geom
27
The categories of this paper are: comp-gas
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The categories of this paper are: bayes-an
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The categories of this paper are: funct-an
21
The categories of this paper are: adap-org
4
The categories of this paper are: cond-mat
12
The categories of this paper are: nucl-th
11
The categories of this paper are: hep-lat
5
The categories of this paper are: gr-qc
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The categories of this paper are: supr-con