Keck Spectroscopy of Faint 3<z<7 Lyman Break Galaxies:- II. A High Fraction of Line Emitters at Redshift Six

As Lyman-alpha photons are scattered by neutral hydrogen, a change with redshift in the Lyman-alpha equivalent width distribution of distant galaxies offers a promising probe of the degree of ionization in the intergalactic medium and hence when cosmic reionization ended. This simple test is complicated by the fact that Lyman-alpha emission can also be affected by the evolving astrophysical details of the host galaxies. In the first paper in this series, we demonstrated both a luminosity and redshift dependent trend in the fraction of Lyman-alpha emitters seen within color-selected Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) over the range 3<z<6; lower luminosity galaxies and those at higher redshift show an increased likelihood of strong emission. Here we present the results from much deeper 12.5 hour exposures with the Keck DEIMOS spectrograph focused primarily on LBGs at z~6 which enable us to confirm the redshift dependence of line emission more robustly and to higher redshift than was hitherto possible. We find 54+/-11% of faint z~6 LBGs show strong (W_0>25 A) emission, an increase of 1.6x from a similar sample observed at z~4. With a total sample of 74 z~6 LBGs, we determine the luminosity-dependent Lyman-alpha equivalent width distribution. Assuming continuity in these trends to the new population of z~7 sources located with the Hubble WFC3/IR camera, we predict that unless the neutral fraction rises in the intervening 200 Myr, the success rate for spectroscopic confirmation using Lyman-alpha emission should be high.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ

Number Density of Bright Lyman-Break Galaxies at z~6 in the Subaru Deep Field

We report on the bright Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) selected in a 767 arcmin^2 area of the Subaru Deep Field. The selection is made in the i-zR vs zB-zR plane, where zB and zR are new bandpasses with a central wavelength of 8842A and 9841A, respectively. This set of bandpasses enables us to separate well z~6 LBGs from foreground galaxies and Galactic cool stars. We detect 12 LBG candidates down to zR=25.4, and calculate the normalization of the rest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV: 1400A) luminosity function at MFUV = -21.6 to be \phi(-21.6) = (2.6+/-0.7) x 10^{-5} mag^{-1} Mpc^{-3}. This must be the most reliable measurement ever obtained of the number density of bright z~6 LBGs, because it is more robust against both contamination and cosmic variance than previous values. The FUV luminosity density contributed from LBGs brighter than MFUV = -21.3 is (2.8+/-0.8) x 10^{24} ergs/s/Hz/Mpc^3, which is equivalent to a star formation rate density of (3.5+/-1.0) x 10^{-4} Msun/yr/Mpc^3. Combining our measurement with those at z<6 in the literature, we find that the FUV luminosity density of bright galaxies increases by an order of magnitude from z~6 to z~3 and then drops by 10^3 from z~3 to the present epoch, while the evolution of the total luminosity density is much milder. The evolutionary behavior of bright LBGs resembles that of luminous dusty star-forming galaxies and bright QSOs. The redshift of z~3 appears to be a remarkable era in the cosmic history when massive galaxies were being intensively formed.Comment: 12 pages, accepted for PASJ, a high resolution version is available at http://hikari.astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~shima/z6LBGs

The infrared-dark dust content of high redshift galaxies

We present a theoretical model aimed at explaining the IRX-$\beta$ relation for high redshift (z >5) galaxies. Recent observations (Capak+2015; Bouwens+2016) have shown that early Lyman Break Galaxies, although characterized by a large UV attenuation (e.g. flat UV beta slopes), show a striking FIR deficit, i.e. they are "infrared-dark". This marked deviation from the local IRX-beta relation can be explained by the larger molecular gas content of these systems. While dust in the diffuse ISM attains relatively high temperatures (Td = 45 K for typical size a=0.1 um; smaller grains can reach Td = 60 K), a sizable fraction of the dust mass is embedded in dense gas, and therefore remains cold. If confirmed, the FIR deficit might represent a novel, powerful indicator of the molecular content of high-z galaxies which can be used to pre-select candidates for follow-up deep CO observations. Thus, high-z CO line searches with ALMA might be much more promising than currently thought.Comment: 8 pages, 4 Figures, MNRAS Submitte

Fluorescent C II* 1335A emission spectroscopically resolved in a galaxy at z = 5.754

We report the discovery of the first spectroscopically resolved C II /C II* 1334, 1335A doublet in the Lyman-break galaxy J0215-0555 at z = 5.754. The separation of the resonant and fluorescent emission channels was possible thanks to the large redshift of the source and long integration time, as well as the small velocity width of the feature, 0.6 +- 0.2A. We model this emission and find that at least two components are required to reproduce the combination of morphologies of C II* emission, C II absorption and emission, and Lyman-alpha emission from the object. We suggest that the close alignment between the fluorescence and Lyman-alpha emission could indicate an ionisation escape channel within the object. While the faintness of such a C II /C II* doublet makes it prohibitively difficult to pursue for similar systems with current facilities, we suggest it can become a valuable porosity diagnostic in the era of JWST and the upcoming generations of ELTs.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Physical properties of z~4 LBGs: differences between galaxies with and without Ly-alpha emission

We have analysed the physical properties of z~4 Lyman Break Galaxies observed in the GOODS-S survey, in order to investigate the possible differences between galaxies where the Ly-alpha is present in emission, and those where the line is absent or in absorption. The objects have been selected from their optical color and then spectroscopically confirmed by Vanzella et al. (2005). From the public spectra we assessed the nature of the Ly-alpha emission and divided the sample into galaxies with Ly-alpha in emission and objects without Ly-alpha line (i.e. either absent or in absorption). We have then used the complete photometry, from U band to mid infrared from the GOODS-MUSIC database, to study the observational properties of the galaxies, such as UV spectral slopes and optical to mid-infrared colors, and the possible differences between the two samples. Finally through standard spectral fitting tecniques we have determined the physical properties of the galaxies, such as total stellar mass, stellar ages and so on, and again we have studied the possible differences between the two samples. Our results indicate that LBG with Ly-alpha in emission are on average a much younger and less massive population than the LBGs without Ly-alpha emission. Both populations are forming stars very actively and are relatively dust free, although those with line emission seem to be even less dusty on average. We briefly discuss these results in the context of recent models for the evolution of Lyman break galaxies and Ly-alpha emitters.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Uses aa.cls, 6 pages, 3 figure

Constraining the Lyα escape fraction with far-infrared observations of Lyα emitters

We study the far-infrared properties of 498 Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z = 2.8, 3.1, and 4.5 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South, using 250, 350, and 500μm data from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey and 870μm data from the LABOCA ECDFS Submillimeter Survey. None of the 126, 280, or 92 LAEs at z = 2.8, 3.1, and 4.5, respectively, are individually detected in the far-infrared data. We use stacking to probe the average emission to deeper flux limits, reaching 1σ depths of ∼0.1 to 0.4 mJy. The LAEs are also undetected at ?3σ in the stacks, although a 2.5σ signal is observed at 870μm for the z = 2.8 sources. We consider a wide range of far-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs), including an M82 and an Sd galaxy template, to determine upper limits on the far-infrared luminosities and far-infrared-derived star formation rates of the LAEs. These star formation rates are then combined with those inferred from the Lyα and UV emission to determine lower limits on the LAEs’ Lyα escape fraction (f esc (Lyα)). For the Sd SED template, the inferred LAEs f esc (Lyα) are ?30% (1σ) at z = 2.8, 3.1, and 4.5, which are all significantly higher than the global f esc (Lyα) at these redshifts. Thus, if the LAEs f esc (Lyα) follows the global evolution, then they have warmer far-infrared SEDs than the Sd galaxy template. The average and M82 SEDs produce lower limits on the LAE f esc (Lyα) of ∼10%–20% (1σ), all of which are slightly higher than the global evolution of f esc (Lyα), but consistent with it at the 2σ–3σ level

Subaru Deep Survey VI. A Census of Lyman Break Galaxies at z=4 and 5 in the Subaru Deep Fields: Clustering Properties

We investigate the clustering properties of 2,600 Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at z=3.5-5.2 in two large blank fields, the Subaru Deep Field and the Subaru/XMM Deep Field (600arcmin^2 each). The angular correlation functions of these LBGs show a clear clustering at both z~4 and 5. The correlation lengths are r_0= 4.1^{+0.2}_{-0.2} and 5.9^{+1.3}_{-1.7} h_{100}^{-1} Mpc (r_0= 5.1^{+1.0}_{-1.1} and 5.9^{+1.3}_{-1.7} h_{100}^{-1} Mpc) for all the detected LBGs (for L>L* LBGs) at z~4 and 5, respectively. These correlation lengths correspond to galaxy-dark matter biases of b_g= 2.9^{+0.1}_{-0.1} and 4.6^{+0.9}_{-1.2} (b_g=3.5^{+0.6}_{-0.7} and 4.6^{+0.9}_{-1.2}), for all the detected LBGs (for L>L^* LBGs) at z~4 and 5, respectively. These results, combined with estimates for z~3 LBGs in the literature, show that the correlation length of L>L^* LBGs is almost constant, ~5 h_{100}^{-1} Mpc, over z~3-5, while the bias monotonically increases with redshift at z>3. We also find that for LBGs at z~4 the clustering amplitude increases with UV-continuum luminosity and with the amount of dust extinction. We estimate the mass of dark halos hosting various kinds of high-z galaxies including LBGs with the analytic model given by Sheth & Tormen (1999). We find that the typical mass of dark halos hosting L>L^* LBGs is about 1x10^{12} h_{70}^{-1}Msol over z~3-5, which is comparable to that of the Milky Way Galaxy. A single dark halo with ~10^{12} h_{70}^{-1} Msol is found to host 0.1-0.3 LBG on average but host about four K-band selected galaxies.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, ApJ in press. Paper with high resolution figures is available at http://hikari.astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~ouchi/work/astroph/SDS_V_VI/SDS_VI.pdf (PDF) (The abstract was reduced by the revision.

Large Area Survey for z=7 Galaxies in SDF and GOODS-N: Implications for Galaxy Formation and Cosmic Reionization

We present results of our large-area survey for z'-band dropout galaxies at z=7 in a 1568 arcmin^2 sky area covering the SDF and GOODS-N fields. Combining our ultra-deep Subaru/Suprime-Cam z'- and y-band (lambda_eff=1um) images with legacy data of Subaru and HST, we have identified 22 bright z-dropout galaxies down to y=26, one of which has a spectroscopic redshift of z=6.96 determined from Lya emission. The z=7 luminosity function (LF) yields the best-fit Schechter parameters of phi*=0.69 +2.62/-0.55 x10^(-3) Mpc^(-3), Muv*=-20.10 +/-0.76 mag, and alpha=-1.72 +/-0.65, and indicates a decrease from z=6 at a >95% confidence level. This decrease is beyond the cosmic variance in our two fields, which is estimated to be a factor of <~2. We have found that the cosmic star formation rate density drops from the peak at z=2-3 to z=7 roughly by a factor of ~10 but not larger than ~100. A comparison with the reionization models suggests either that the Universe could not be totally ionized by only galaxies at z=7, or more likely that properties of galaxies at z=7 are different from those at low redshifts having, e.g., a larger escape fraction (>~0.2), and/or a flatter IMF. Our SDF z-dropout galaxies appear to form 60-Mpc long filamentary structures, and the z=6.96 galaxy with Lya emission is located at the center of an overdense region consisting of four UV bright dropout candidates, which might suggest an existence of a well-developed ionized bubble at z=7.Comment: 20 pages; ApJ in press, measurements improved with HST/WFC3 data point

Lyman-alpha emission galaxies at a redshift of z = 5.7 in the FORS Deep Field

We present the results of a search for Lyman-alpha emission galaxies at z~ 5.7 in the FORS Deep Field. The objective of this study is to improve the faint end of the luminosity function of high-redshift Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies and to derive properties of intrinsically faint Lyman-alpha emission galaxies in the young universe. Using FORS2 at the ESO VLT and a set of special interference filters, we identified candidates for high-redshift Lyman-alpha galaxies. We then used FORS2 in spectroscopic mode to verify the identifications and to study their spectral properties. The narrow-band photometry resulted in the detection of 15 likely Lyman-alpha emission galaxies. Spectra with an adequate exposure time could be obtained for eight galaxies. In all these cases the presence of Lyman-alpha emission at z = 5.7 was confirmed spectroscopically. The line fluxes of the 15 candidates range between 3 and 16 * 10^-21 Wm^-2, which corresponds to star-formation rates not corrected for dust between 1 and 5 Msun/yr. The luminosity function derived for our photometrically identified objects extends the published luminosity functions of intrinsically brighter Lyman-alpha galaxies. With this technique the study of high-redshift Lyman-alpha emission galaxies can be extended to low intrinsic luminosities.Comment: 9 pages, 17 figures. Accepted by A&A. PDF version with higher resolution figures here: http://www.lsw.uni-heidelberg.de/users/jheidt/fdf/pubs/fdflae5_7_110406.pd