A Ly{alpha} GALAXY AT REDSHIFT z = 6.944 IN THE COSMOS FIELD

Journal Article · Wed Jun 20 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/752/2/L28· OSTI ID:22047739

Rhoads, James E; Hibon, Pascale; Malhotra, Sangeeta ^[1]; Cooper, Michael ^[2]; Weiner, Benjamin ^[3]

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1. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)
2. Center for Galaxy Evolution, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, 4129 Frederick Reines Hall, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States)
3. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, AZ (United States)

Ly{alpha} emitting galaxies can be used to study cosmological reionization, because a neutral intergalactic medium (IGM) scatters Ly{alpha} photons into diffuse halos whose surface brightness falls below typical survey detection limits. Here, we present the Ly{alpha} emitting galaxy LAE J095950.99+021219.1, identified at redshift z = 6.944 in the COSMOS field using narrowband imaging and follow-up spectroscopy with the IMACS instrument on the Magellan I Baade telescope. With a single object spectroscopically confirmed so far, our survey remains consistent with a wide range of IGM neutral fraction at z Almost-Equal-To 7, but further observations are planned and will help clarify the situation. Meantime, the object we present here is only the third Ly{alpha}-selected galaxy to be spectroscopically confirmed at z {approx}> 7, and is {approx}2-3 times fainter than the previously confirmed z Almost-Equal-To 7 Ly{alpha} galaxies.

• OSTI ID: 22047739
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 752; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
BRIGHTNESS
COSMIC PHOTONS
COSMOLOGY
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
GALAXIES
INTERGALACTIC SPACE
LYMAN LINES
RED SHIFT
SENSITIVITY
SPECTROSCOPY
STARS
SURFACES
TELESCOPES
UNIVERSE