On the kinematics of damped Lyman-alpha systems

We report on high spectral resolution observations of five damped Ly-alpha absorbers. Line velocity profiles and heavy element abundances are discussed. Nitrogen is found to have abundances less than silicon in the systems toward Q 0347-383, Q 0913+072, and Q 1213+093. The absorber toward Q 0913+072 is the most metal-deficient damped system known, with [Fe/H] 200 km/s are peculiar with kinematics consistent with random motions. They show sub-systems as those expected if the objects are in the process of merging (abridged).