Metal abundances and kinematics of quasar absorbers. II. Absorption systems toward Q0347-3819 and APM BR J0307-4945

Detailed Monte Carlo inversion analysis of the spectral lines from three Lyman limit systems (LLSs) [N(H I) greater than or similar to 1.0 x 10(17) cm(-2)] and nine lower N(H I) systems [2 x 10(14) cm(-2) less than or similar to N(H I) less than or similar to 2 x 10(16) cm(-2)] observed in the Very Large Telescope/UV-Visual Echelle Spectrograph spectra of Q0347-3819 (in the range 2.21 less than or equal to z less than or equal to 3.14) and of APM BR J0307-4945 (at z = 4.21 and 4.81) is presented. Combined with the results from a previous work, the analyzed LLSs show that they are a heterogeneous population originating in different environments. A functional dependence of the line-of-sight velocity dispersion sigma(v) on the absorber size L is confirmed: the majority of the analyzed systems follow the scaling relation sigma(v) similar to (NHL)(0.3) (with N-H being the total gas column density). This means that most absorbers may be related to virialized systems such as galaxies or their halos. Previously noted enhancement of the metal content in small-size systems is also confirmed: metallicities of Z similar to (1/3-1/2) Z. are found in systems with L less than or similar to 0.4 kpc, whereas we observe much lower metal abundances in systems with larger linear sizes. For the first time in LLSs, a pronounced [alpha-element/iron peak] enrichment is revealed: the absorber at z(abs) = 2.21 shows [O/Fe] = 0.65 +/- 0.11, [Si/Fe] = 0.51 +/- 0.11, and [Mg/Fe] = 0.38 +/- 0.11. Several absorption systems exhibit characteristics that are very similar to those observed in high-velocity clouds (HVCs) in the Milky Way and may be considered as high-redshift counterparts of Galactic HVCs.