IRON-GROUP ABUNDANCE PATTERN OF THE DAMPED LYMAN-ALPHA ABSORBER AT Z=1.3726 TOWARD THE QSO-0935+417

We present high-resolution (18 km s(-1)), high S/N (approximate to 50) observations of the Zn II, Cr II, Fe II, Mn II, and Ti II absorption in the damped Ly alpha system at z = 1.3726 toward the QSO 0935+417. W e measure a Zn metallicity ([Zn/H] = -0.70) in this system that is abo ut 3 times greater than those of the lower redshift damped absorbers t oward 3C 286 and 0454+039 and comparable to those of the highest metal licity absorbers observed at higher redshifts. The Cr II and Fe II col umn densities yield gas-phase abundance ratios of [Cr/Zn] = -0.10 and [Fe/Zn] = -0.29 that are much greater than even those of low-density G alactic ISM sightlines and imply that the 0935+417 absorber is essenti ally a dust-free environment. We also find evidence of a Mn underabund ance and a Ti overabundance that is consistent with the nucleosyntheti c signature of a gas cloud with a base metallicity similar to that of metal-poor Galactic stars. In summary, the iron group abundance patter n of the z = 1.3726 absorber toward 0935+417 is what one might expect from a dust-free, metal-poor galaxy evolving on a metallicity track si milar to that of the Milky Way.