THE REST-FRAME ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT PROFILE SHAPES OF Ly{alpha}-EMITTING GALAXIES AT z = 3.1

Journal Article · Sat Dec 10 04:00:00 EST 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/1/9· OSTI ID:22004583

Gronwall, Caryl; Ciardullo, Robin ^[1]; Bond, Nicholas A; Gawiser, Eric ^[2]; Altmann, Martin ^[3]; Blanc, Guillermo A ^[4]

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1. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
2. Physics and Astronomy Department, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States)
3. University of Heidelberg, Center for Astronomy, Moenchhofstrasse 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)
4. Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)

We present a morphological analysis of the rest-frame ultraviolet emission of 78 resolved, high signal-to-noise z {approx} 3.1 Ly{alpha} emitters (LAEs) in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South. Using Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys V-band images taken as part of the Galaxy Evolution from Morphology and SEDs, Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, and Hubble Ultra Deep Field surveys, we investigate both single-component and multi-component LAEs, and derive concentration indices, Sersic indices, ellipticities, and half-light radii for all resolved components and systems with a signal-to-noise >30. We show that, although the LAE population is heterogeneous in nature, most LAEs are highly concentrated, with a distribution of C values similar to that measured for field stars; this suggests that the diagnostic is a poor discriminator near the resolution limit. The LAEs also display a wide range of Sersic indices (0 < n < 12), similar to that seen for galaxies in the local neighborhood. However, the majority of LAEs have n < 2, and a visual inspection of the images suggests that the small-n objects have extended or multimodal luminosity profiles, while the LAEs with n > 2 have compact components surrounded by diffuse emission. Moreover, unlike nearby spiral galaxies, whose distribution of ellipticities is flat, the LAE ellipticity distribution peaks near 1 - b/a {approx} 0.55. Thus, the population has more in common with z {approx} 3 Lyman-break galaxies than local star-forming objects.

• OSTI ID: 22004583
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 743; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
CAMERAS
COSMOLOGY
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
LUMINOSITY
NITROGEN 12
PHOTON EMISSION
RED SHIFT
RESOLUTION
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
TELESCOPES
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION