Reproducing the kinematics of damped Lyman α systems

We examine the kinematic structure of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) in a series of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations using the AREPO code. We are able to match the distribution of velocity widths of associated low-ionization metal absorbers substantially better than earlier work. Our simulations produce a population of DLAs dominated by haloes with virial velocities around 70 km s(-1), consistent with a picture of relatively small, faint objects. In addition, we reproduce the observed correlation between velocity width and metallicity and the equivalent width distribution of Si II. Some discrepancies of moderate statistical significance remain; too many of our spectra show absorption concentrated at the edge of the profile and there are slight differences in the exact shape of the velocity width distribution. We show that the improvement over previous work is mostly due to our strong feedback from star formation and our detailed modelling of the metal ionization state.