Narrowband Lyman-continuum imaging of galaxies at z ∼ 2.85
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, 430 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)
- Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, MS 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521 (United States)
We present results from a survey for z ∼ 2.85 Lyman-continuum (LyC) emission in the HS1549+1933 field and place constraints on the amount of ionizing radiation escaping from star-forming galaxies. Using a custom narrowband filter (NB3420) tuned to wavelengths just below the Lyman limit at z ≥ 2.82, we probe the LyC spectral region of 49 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and 91 Lyα emitters (LAEs) spectroscopically confirmed at z ≥ 2.82. Four LBGs and seven LAEs are detected in NB3420. Using V-band data probing the rest-frame nonionizing UV, we observe that many NB3420-detected galaxies exhibit spatial offsets between their LyC and nonionizing UV emission and are characterized by extremely blue NB3420–V colors, corresponding to low ratios of nonionizing to ionizing radiation (F {sub UV}/F {sub LyC}) that are in tension with current stellar population synthesis models. We measure average values of (F {sub UV}/F {sub LyC}) for our LBG and LAE samples, correcting for foreground galaxy contamination and H I absorption in the intergalactic medium. We find (F{sub UV}/F{sub LyC}){sub corr}{sup LBG}=82±45 and (F{sub UV}/F{sub LyC}){sub corr}{sup LAE}=7.4±3.6. These flux density ratios correspond, respectively, to relative LyC escape fractions of f{sub esc,} {sub rel}{sup LBG}=5%--8% and f{sub esc,} {sub rel}{sup LAE}=18%--49%, absolute LyC escape fractions of f{sub esc}{sup LBG}=1%--2% and f{sub esc}{sup LAE}=5%--15%, and a comoving LyC emissivity from star-forming galaxies of 8.8-15.0 × 10{sup 24} erg s{sup –1} Hz{sup –1} Mpc{sup –3}. In order to study the differential properties of galaxies with and without LyC detections, we analyze narrowband Lyα imaging and rest-frame near-infrared imaging, finding that while LAEs with LyC detections have lower Lyα equivalent widths on average, there is no substantial difference in the rest-frame near-infrared colors of LBGs or LAEs with and without LyC detections. These preliminary results are consistent with an orientation-dependent model where LyC emission escapes through cleared paths in a patchy interstellar medium.
- OSTI ID:
- 22348485
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 779, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A REFINED ESTIMATE OF THE IONIZING EMISSIVITY FROM GALAXIES AT z {approx_equal} 3: SPECTROSCOPIC FOLLOW-UP IN THE SSA22a FIELD
Lyα emitter galaxies at z ∼ 2.8 in the extended Chandra Deep Field South. I. Tracing the large-scale structure via Lyα imaging