Extending Deep H-alpha Galaxy Surveys to Higher Redshift with NEWFIRM

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

H-alpha nebular emission is one of the most direct tracers of star formation. As such, a great deal of our current understanding of star formation in local galaxies is based on a long and rich history of H-alpha observational studies. However, there is a dearth of analogous work at intermediate redshifts -- a critical period in galaxy evolution where the overall star formation activity reaches its maximum. Here, we present first results from our on-going campaign to extend deep, wide H-alpha galaxy surveys to earlier cosmic times by taking advantage of the new capabilities offered by the NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Imager (NEWFIRM) at the KPNO 4m. Our strategy is to obtain (1%) narrowband imaging of key extragalactic fields in low-OH airglow windows at 1.19 and 2.09 microns (H-alpha at z 0.8 and 2.2, respectively). Our filters are coupled such that the [OII] emission of H-alpha emitters detected at 2.09 microns will also be captured in the 1.19 micron narrowband. Continuum measurements are provided by J and Ks-band observations. Follow-up spectroscopy is being obtained with IMACS at the Magellan 6.5m at Las Campanas. We discuss our overall survey design and candidate selection, examine the properties of our narrowband excess emitters, and give an overview of the science that our survey data will address. The H-alpha SFR limits of our 1.19 and 2.09 micron data will reach to 1 M_sun/yr and 12 M_sun/yr, respectively. A companion poster describes preliminary results on H-alpha luminosity functions and star formation rate densities.

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