HST/COS survey of z<0.9 AGNs. I.

We use high-quality, medium-resolution Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (HST/COS) observations of 82 UV-bright active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at redshifts z_AGN_<0.85 to construct the largest survey of the low-redshift intergalactic medium (IGM) to date: 5138 individual extragalactic absorption lines in HI and 25 different metal-ion species grouped into 2611 distinct redshift systems at z_abs_<0.75 covering total redshift pathlengths {Delta}z_HI_=21.7 and {Delta}z_OVI_=14.5.

Our semi-automated line-finding and measurement technique renders the catalog as objectively defined as possible. The cumulative column density distribution of HI systems can be parametrized d N(>N)/dz=C_14_(N/10^14^/cm2)^-({beta}-1)^, with C_14_=25+/-1 and {beta}=1.65+/-0.02. This distribution is seen to evolve both in amplitude, C_14_{propto}(1+z)^2.3+/-0.1^, and slope {beta}(z)=1.75-0.31 z for z<=0.47.