2010ApJ...724.1325J

We present the column densities of heavy elements and dust depletion studies in two strong Mg II absorption systems at z ∼ 1.4 displaying the 2175 Å dust extinction feature. Column densities are measured from low-ionization absorption lines using an Apparent Optical Depth Method on the Keck/ESI spectra. We find that the dust depletion patterns resemble that of cold diffuse clouds in the Milky Way (MW). The values, [Fe/Zn] ~-1.5 and [Si/Zn]←0.67, are among the highest dust depletion measured for quasar absorption line systems. In another 2175 Å absorber at z = 1.64 toward the quasar SDSS J160457.50+220300.5, Noterdaeme et al. reported a similar dust depletion measurement ([Fe/Zn] = -1.47 and [Si/Zn] = -1.07) and detected C I and CO absorption lines on its VLT/UVES spectrum. We conclude that heavy dust depletion (i.e., a characteristic of cold dense clouds in MW) is required to produce a pronounced 2175 Å extinction bump.