New detections of Ly-alpha emission in young galaxies

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

40

Active Galaxies, Emission Spectra, Galactic Evolution, H Ii Regions, Lyman Alpha Radiation, Abundance, Iue, Red Shift, Star Formation Rate, Stellar Radiation, Ultraviolet Spectra

Scientific paper

We report IUE observations of two extremely low-metallicity H II galaxies. Ly-alpha emission was detected in both galaxies. Our results confirm previous findings that young or unevolved galaxies exhibit weak or absent Ly-alpha emission combined with a strong UV continuum, and that the Ly-alpha H beta ratio and metal content are correlated in the sense that the lower the abundance, the larger the ratio. This supports the hypothesis that in the higher metallicity systems Ly-alpha is destroyed by dust absorption. At redshifts of between 2 and 3, Ly-alpha emission comparable to the strongest detected in H II galaxies L(Ly-alpha) about 5 x 10 to the 42nd erg/s would be barely visible; this fact can explain the relative lack of success in detecting Ly-alpha emission associated with low-metallicity damped Ly-alpha systems in QSOs. Our results cast doubt on claims of detection of high-redshift young galaxies associated with active galaxies, or with strong Ly-alpha and both C IV and H II, since they may represent very extended narrow-line regions photoionized by radiation with a power-law spectrum rather than by normal hot stars.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

New detections of Ly-alpha emission in young galaxies 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 New detections of Ly-alpha emission in young galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and New detections of Ly-alpha emission in young galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1262919

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.