Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009hst..prop12310o&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #12310. Cycle 18
Physics
Scientific paper
Lyman-alpha {Lya} is intrinsically the strongest recombination line in HII nebulae, reprocessing around 1/3 of the ionizing energy. This fact, combined with a rest wavelength that makes it convenient for high redshift studies have made Lya the dominant spectral probe of galaxy formation and evolution in the distant universe. At the same time, our understanding of emission and escape from galaxies is extremely patchy, for two reasons: 1} The resonant nature of Lya makes radiative transfer effects very important, and 2} with a rest wavelength pretty far out in the ultra violet {UV}, detailed studies of local galaxies are difficult and require space instrumentation. In contrast to the thousands of galaxies in the nearby universe that have been studied at high spatial resolution {through ground based telescopes and yet a little further with HST} in optical broad bands and emission lines like H-alpha, only six {sic!} galaxies have Lya imaging available. The Lya images available so far indicate that when Lya escapes, it does so primarilly through a low surface brightness resonantly scattered component. With this proposal, we aim at observing 14 new targets and thereby increase the number of high resolution Lya images to 20, for a UV and H-alpha selected sample. By utilizing an alternative observational approach we will also improve the quality of the images by an order of magnitude. A better physical understanding of how Lya photons travel through and escape from galaxies is vital for interpreting and understanding observations at high redshifts, and would be an important legacy of HST in the JWST and ELT era, when the high-resolution UV imaging window on the Universe has been closed.;
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