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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 October 2005
Using H I absorption alone, we attempt to separate H I absorption lines in quasar spectra into two categories; HDLs (Higher Density Lines) and LDLs (Lower Density Lines), and we discuss the difference in their physical properties. We deblend and fit all H I lines with Voigt profiles, and make an unbiased sample of H I lines covering a wide column density range ($12 < \log N_{HI} < 19$ cm$^{-2}$). To reduce the influence of line blending, we simultaneously fit several Lyman series lines. As a result of a two-point correlation analysis, we found that higher column density H I lines are clustering at $\Delta v < 200$ km s$^{-1}$, while lower ones at $\Delta v < 100$ km s$^{-1}$. We define HDLs as H I lines with $15<\log N_{HI} < 19$ cm$^{-2}$ and all H I lines within $\pm$200 km s$^{-1}$ of a line with $\log N_{HI} > 15$ cm$^{-2}$, and LDLs as others with $12 < \log N_{HI} < 15$ cm$^{-2}$. We found that the HDLs have smaller minimum $b$-values for a given column density than the LDLs. This difference is successfully reproduced by our hydrodynamic simulation. The LDLs seem to be cool or shock-heated diffuse IGM gas, while the HDLs are likely to be cooler dense gas near to galaxies.