# Has the Lyman-alpha forest ever been used to test Arp's theory?

Has the Lyman-alpha forest ever been used to test Halton Arp's theory that quasars are not cosmological but instead are ejected from relatively near-by galaxies? If Arp was right, then the spectra of the quasar and the 'parent galaxy' should both show the same Lyman-alpha forest; if it only appears in the quasar spectra, then the quasar must be much further away.

• By "parent galaxy", do you mean not the galaxy that hosts the quasar, but rather a galaxy that is nearby in projected distance but not in redshift? – pela Apr 21 '17 at 19:52
• Also, "relatively nearby galaxies" do not really show any Ly$\alpha$ forest since the Universe is completely ionized. A clear evolution in the Ly$\alpha$ forest is seen in quasar spectra. But arguably a more robust evidence for the cosmological nature of quasars is the redshift of their emission lines. – pela Apr 21 '17 at 19:59
• It is a concern here that google throws up a load of creationist nonsense associated with this question. – Rob Jeffries Apr 21 '17 at 20:10
• Yes, by 'parent galaxy' I meant the nearby galaxy with a lower redshift that, according to Arp, ejected the quasar. – Jerome Malenfant Apr 21 '17 at 22:17
• "It is a concern here that google throws up a load of creationist nonsense associated with this question." Yes, and it would be nice to be able to shoot them down by pointing to such a measurement that showed Ly-alpha in the quasar's spectra but not in the supposed 'parent galaxy'. – Jerome Malenfant Apr 25 '17 at 2:52