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We present the first Very Large Telescope (VLT) Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of a quasar featuring a proximate molecular absorption system, SDSS J125917.31+030922.5. The proximate damped Ly α absorption acts as a natural coronagraph, removing the quasar emission over ∼40 Å in wavelength, and allows us to detect extended Ly α emission without the necessity of subtracting the quasar emission. This natural coronagraph permits the investigation of the quasar environment down to its inner regions ( r 10 σ significance at 96 and 223 kpc from the quasar, making this field overdense relative to other similar observations of quasars at z ∼ 3. Our results support the hypothesis that quasars with proximate neutral and molecular absorption trace rich environments where galaxy interactions are at play and motivates further studies of H 2 -selected quasars to shed light on feeding and feedback processes.
Urbina et al. (Thu,) studied this question.