Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-06-15
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Published in ApJ, 3 figures
Scientific paper
Lyman alpha (Lya) emission lines should be attenuated in a neutral intergalactic medium (IGM). Therefore the visibility of Lya emitters at high redshifts can serve as a valuable probe of reionization at about the 50% level. We present an imaging search for z=7.7 Lya emitting galaxies using an ultra-narrowband filter (filter width= 9A) on the NEWFIRM imager at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. We found four candidate Lya emitters in a survey volume of 1.4 x 10^4 Mpc^3, with a line flux brighter than 6x10^-18 erg/cm^2/s (5 sigma in 2" aperture). We also performed a detailed Monte-Carlo simulation incorporating the instrumental effects to estimate the expected number of Lya emitters in our survey, and found that we should expect to detect one Lya emitter, assuming a non-evolving Lya luminosity function (LF) between z=6.5 and z=7.7. Even if one of the present candidates is spectroscopically confirmed as a z~8 Lya emitter, it would indicate that there is no significant evolution of the Lya LF from z=3.1 to z~8. While firm conclusions would need both spectroscopic confirmations and larger surveys to boost the number counts of galaxies, we successfully demonstrate the feasibility of sensitive near-infrared (1.06 um) narrow-band searches using custom filters designed to avoid the OH emission lines that make up most of the sky background.
Dickinson Mark
Finkelstein Steven L.
Hibon Pascale
Krug Hannah
Malhotra Sangeeta
No associations
LandOfFree
The Luminosity Function of Lyman alpha Emitters at Redshift z=7.7 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Luminosity Function of Lyman alpha Emitters at Redshift z=7.7, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Luminosity Function of Lyman alpha Emitters at Redshift z=7.7 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-99501