251 research outputs found
The VANDELS survey: A strong correlation between Ly equivalent width and stellar metallicity at
We present the results of a new study investigating the relationship between
observed Ly equivalent width ((Ly)) and the
metallicity of the ionizing stellar population () for a sample of
star-forming galaxies at drawn from the VANDELS survey.
Dividing our sample into quartiles of rest-frame (Ly)
across the range -58 \unicode{xC5} \lesssim (Ly)
\lesssim 110 \unicode{xC5} we determine from full spectral
fitting of composite far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectra and find a clear
anti-correlation between (Ly) and . Our results
indicate that decreases by a factor between the lowest
(Ly) quartile
((Ly)\rangle=-18\unicode{xC5}) and the highest
(Ly) quartile
((Ly)\rangle=24\unicode{xC5}). Similarly,
galaxies typically defined as Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs;
(Ly) >20\unicode{xC5}) are, on average, metal poor with
respect to the non-LAE galaxy population ((Ly)
\leq20\unicode{xC5}) with
. Finally, based on the best-fitting stellar models, we
estimate that the increasing strength of the stellar ionizing spectrum towards
lower is responsible for of the observed variation
in (Ly) across our sample, with the remaining contribution
() being due to a decrease in the HI/dust covering fractions in
low galaxies.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS accepte
Physical properties of Lyman-alpha emitters at from UV-to-FIR measurements
The analysis of the physical properties of low-redshift Ly emitters
(LAEs) can provide clues in the study of their high-redshift analogues. At , LAEs are bright enough to be detected over almost the entire
electromagnetic spectrum and it is possible to carry out a more precise and
complete study than at higher redshifts. In this study, we examine the UV and
IR emission, dust attenuation, SFR and morphology of a sample of 23
GALEX-discovered star-forming (SF) LAEs at with direct UV (GALEX),
optical (ACS) and FIR (PACS and MIPS) data. Using the same UV and IR limiting
luminosities, we find that LAEs at tend to be less dusty, have
slightly higher total SFRs, have bluer UV continuum slopes, and are much
smaller than other galaxies that do not exhibit Ly emission in their
spectrum (non-LAEs). These results suggest that at Ly
photons tend to escape from small galaxies with low dust attenuation. Regarding
their morphology, LAEs belong to Irr/merger classes, unlike non-LAEs. Size and
morphology represent the most noticeable difference between LAEs and non-LAEs
at . Furthermore, the comparison of our results with those obtained
at higher redshifts indicates that either the Ly technique picks up
different kind of galaxies at different redshifts or that the physical
properties of LAEs are evolving with redshift.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
No strong dependence of Lyman continuum leakage on physical properties of star-forming galaxies at 3.1 âČ z âČ 3.5
We present Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation escape fraction (fesc) measurements for 183 spectroscopically confirmed star-forming galaxies in the redshift range 3.11 300 Ă
. For candidate LyC leakers, we find a weak negative correlation between fesc and galaxy stellar masses, no correlation between fesc and specific star-formation rates (sSFRs) and a positive correlation between fesc and EW0([O III] + HÎČ). The weak/no correlations between stellar mass and sSFRs may be explained by misaligned viewing angles and/or non-coincident timescales of starburst activity and periods of high fesc. Alternatively, escaping radiation may predominantly occur in highly localised star-forming regions, or fesc measurements may be impacted by stochasticity of the intervening neutral medium, obscuring any global trends with galaxy properties. These hypotheses have important consequences for models of reionisation
CANDELSz7: A large spectroscopic survey of CANDELS galaxies in the reionization epoch
We present the results of CANDELSz7, an ESO large program aimed at confirming
spectroscopically a homogeneous sample of z~6 and z~7 star forming galaxies.
The candidates were selected in the GOODS-South, UDS and COSMOS fields using
the official CANDELS catalogs based on H160-band detections. Standard color
criteria, which were tailored depending on the ancillary multi-wavelength data
available for each field, were applied to select more than 160 candidate
galaxies at z~6 and z~7. Deep medium resolution FORS2 spectroscopic
observations were then conducted with integration times ranging from 12 to 20
hours, to reach a Lyalpha flux limit of approximately 1-3x 10-18 erg/s/cm^2 at
3sigma. For about 40% of the galaxies we could determine a spectroscopic
redshift, mainly through the detection of a single emission line that we
interpret as Lyalpha emission, or for some of the brightest objects (H160<
25.5) from the presence of faint continuum and sharp drop that we interpret as
a Lyman break. In this paper we present the redshifts and main properties of 65
newly confirmed high redshift galaxies. Adding previous proprietary and
archival data we assemble a sample of ~260 galaxies that we use to explore the
evolution of the Lyalpha fraction in Lyman break galaxies and the change in the
shape of the emission line between z~6 and z~7. We also discuss the accuracy of
the CANDELS photometric redshifts in this redshift range.STFC
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The Lensed Lyman-Alpha MUSE Arcs Sample (LLAMAS): I. Characterisation of extended Lyman-alpha halos and spatial offsets
Aims. We present the Lensed Lyman-Alpha MUSE Arcs Sample (LLAMAS) selected from MUSE and HST observations of 17 lensing clusters. The sample consists of 603 continuum-faint (23 < MUV<-14) lensed Lyman-α emitters (producing 959 images) with secure spectroscopic redshifts between 2.9 and 6.7. Combining the power of cluster magnification with 3D spectroscopic observations, we were able to reveal the resolved morphological properties of 268 Lyman-α emitters. Methods. We used a forward-modeling approach to model both Lyman-α and rest-frame UV continuum emission profiles in the source plane and measure spatial extent, ellipticity, and spatial offsets between UV and Lyman-α emission. Results. We find a significant correlation between UV continuum and Lyman-α spatial extent. Our characterization of the Lyman-α halos indicates that the halo size is linked to the physical properties of the host galaxy (SFR, Lyman-α equivalent width, Lyman-α line FWHM). We find that 48% of Lyman-α halos are best fit by an elliptical emission distribution with a median axis ratio of q =0.48. We observe that 60% of galaxies detected both in UV and Lyman-α emission show a significant spatial offset (ÎLyα-UV). We measure a median offset of ÎLyα-UV=0.58± 0.14 kpc for the entire sample. By comparing the spatial offset values with the size of the UV component, we show that 40% of the offsets could be due to star-forming sub-structures in the UV component, while the larger offsets (60%) are more likely due to greater-distance processes such as scattering effects inside the circumgalactic medium or emission from faint satellites or merging galaxies. Comparisons with a zoom-in radiative hydrodynamics simulation of a typical Lyman-α emitting galaxy show a very good agreement with LLAMAS galaxies and indicate that bright star-formation clumps and satellite galaxies could produce a similar spatial offset distribution
PACS-Herschel FIR detections of Lyman-alpha emitters at 2.0<z<3.5
In this work we analyze the physical properties of a sample of 56
spectroscopically selected star-forming (SF) Ly emitting galaxies at
2.0z3.5 using both a spectral energy distribution (SED)
fitting procedure from rest-frame UV to mid-IR and direct 160m
observations taken with the Photodetector Array Camera & Spectrometer (PACS)
instrument onboard \emph{Herschel Space Observatory}. We define LAEs as those
Ly emitting galaxies whose rest-frame Ly equivalent widths
(Ly EW) are above 20\AA, the typical threshold in
narrow-band searches. Ly emitting galaxies with Ly
EW are called non-LAEs. As a result of an individual SED fitting
for each object, we find that the studied sample of LAEs contains galaxies with
ages mostly below 100Myr and a wide variety of dust attenuations, SFRs, and
stellar masses. The heterogeneity in the physical properties is also seen in
the morphology, ranging from bulge-like galaxies to highly clumpy systems. In
this way, we find that LAEs at 2.0z3.5 are very diverse,
and do not have a bimodal nature, as suggested in previous works. Furthermore,
the main difference between LAEs and non-LAEs is their dust attenuation,
because LAEs are not as dusty as non-LAEs. On the FIR side, four galaxies of
the sample (two LAEs and two non-LAEs) have PACS-FIR counterparts. Their total
IR luminosity place all of them in the ULIRG regime and are all dusty objects,
with A4mag. This is an indication from direct FIR
measurements that dust and Ly emission are not mutually exclusive. This
population of red and dusty LAEs is not seen at z0.3, suggesting an
evolution with redshift of the IR nature of galaxies selected via their
Ly emission.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Quartz fiber calorimetry
The fundamentals of a new electromagnetic and hadronic sampling calorimetry based on the detection of Cherenkov light generated in quartz optical fibers are presented. Optical fibers transport light only in a selected angular range which results in a non-obvious and absolutely unique characteristic for this new technique: showers of very narrow visible energy. In addition, the technique is characterized by radiation resistance measured in Gigarads and nanosecond signal duration. Combined, these properties make quartz fiber calorimetry a very promising technique for high intensity heavy ion experiments and for the high pseudorapidity regions of high intensity collider experiments. The results of beam tests and simulations are used to illustrate the basic properties and peculiar characteristics of this recent development
Lyα-Lyman continuum connection in 3:5 †z †4:3 star-forming galaxies from the VUDS survey
© ESO 2018. Context. To identify the galaxies responsible for the reionization of the Universe, we must rely on the investigation of the Lyman continuum (LyC) properties of z . 5 star-forming galaxies, where we can still directly observe their ionizing radiation. Aims. The aim of this work is to explore the correlation between the LyC emission and some of the proposed indirect indicators of LyC radiation at z 4 such as a bright Lyα emission and a compact UV continuum size. Methods. We selected a sample of 201 star-forming galaxies from the Vimos Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS) at 3:5 †z †4:3 in the COSMOS, ECDFS, and VVDS-2h fields, including only those with reliable spectroscopic redshifts, a clean spectrum in the LyC range and clearly not contaminated by bright nearby sources in the same slit. For all galaxies we measured the Lyα EW, the Lyα velocity shift with respect to the systemic redshift, the Lyα spatial extension and the UV continuum effective radius. We then selected different sub-samples according to the properties predicted to be good LyC emission indicators: in particular we created sub-samples of galaxies with EW(Lyα) λ 70, Lyαext †5:7 kpc, rUV †0:30 kpc and jÎvLyαj †200 km s-1. We stacked all the galaxies in each sub-sample and measured the flux density ratio ( fλ(895)= fλ(1470)), that we considered to be a proxy for LyC emission. We then compared these ratios to those obtained for the complementary samples. Finally, to estimate the statistical contamination from lower redshift inter-lopers in our samples, we performed dedicated Monte Carlo simulations using an ultradeep U-band image of the ECDFS field. Results. We find that the stacks of galaxies which are UV compact (rUV †0:30 kpc) and have bright Lyα emission (EW(Lyα) λ 70), have much higher LyC fluxes compared to the rest of the galaxy population. These parameters appear to be good indicators of LyC radiation in agreement with theoretical studies and previous observational works. In addition we find that galaxies with a low Lyα spatial extent (Lyαext †5:7 kpc) have higher LyC flux compared to the rest of the population. Such a correlation had never been analysed before and seems even stronger than the correlation with high EW(Lyα) and small rUV . These results assume that the stacks from all sub-samples present the same statistical contamination from lower redshift interlopers. If we subtract a statistical contamination from low redshift interlopers obtained with the simulations from the flux density ratios ( fλ(895)= fλ(1470)) of the significant sub-samples we find that these samples contain real LyC leaking flux with a very high probability, although the true average escape fractions are very uncertain. Conclusions. Our work indicates that galaxies with very high EW(Lyα), small Lyαext and small rUV are very likely the best candidates to show Lyman continuum radiation at z 4 and could therefore be the galaxies that have contributed most to reionisation
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