The spatial cross-correlation of Damped Lyman-Alpha Systems and galaxies at z 3

For the last 20 years, damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) detected in quasar lines-of-sight have offered insight into protogalactic chemical abundances and gas kinematics, yet little is known about the mass of these systems and the population of galaxies they represent. We present a spectroscopic measurement of the cross-correlation of DLAs with Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and apply this toward determining the average mass of DLAs at z &#0732; 3. From a survey of 9 quasar fields, we use &#0732; 200 LBG spectra (2.4 < z < 3.6) to cross-correlate with 10 known z &#0732; 3 DLAs. The inferred average mass of DLAs is presented and a discussion of its implications