The Clustering and Evolution of Mg II and C IV Absorption Systems in the BOSS Quasar Spectra

The more than 160,000 quasars observed to date by the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey have produced an unprecedented sample of metal absorption lines with which to study the gas content of quasar host galaxies, the IGM, and the halos of foreground galaxies at z<4. Tens of thousands of individually detected Mg II and C IV absorption systems, either intrinsic to the quasars or intervening at lower redshift along the line of sight, have now been extracted, enabling precision measurements of the clustering and number density evolution of metal absorption systems from high redshift. We present highlights of these results and projections for the final sample size by survey completion.