STRONG CLUSTERING IN THE LOW-REDSHIFT L-GAMMA-ALPHA FOREST

The two-point correlation function, xi, of Ly alpha forest is found to be large, xi = 1.8(-1.2)(+1.6) greater than 90% confidence level, on the scale of 250-500 km s(-1) for a sample of absorbers (0 < z < 1.3) assembled from Hubble Space Telescope Key Project Observations. This c orrelation function is stronger than at high redshift (z > 1.7) where xi approximate to 0.2 for velocities greater than 250 km s(-1).