A NEW POPULATION OF HIGH-z, DUSTY Ly{alpha} EMITTERS AND BLOBS DISCOVERED BY WISE: FEEDBACK CAUGHT IN THE ACT?
- California Institute of Technology, MS249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH Leicester (United Kingdom)
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, MS 100-22, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Physics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States)
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
- Astronomy Department, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701 (South Africa)
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 (United States)
By combining data from the NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission with optical spectroscopy from the W. M. Keck telescope, we discover a mid-IR color criterion that yields a 78% success rate in identifying rare, typically radio-quiet, 1.6 {approx}< z {approx}< 4.6 dusty Ly{alpha} emitters (LAEs). Of these, at least 37% have emission extended on scales of 30-100 kpc and are considered Ly{alpha} ''blobs'' (LABs). The objects have a surface density of only {approx}0.1 deg{sup -2}, making them rare enough that they have been largely missed in deep, small area surveys. We measured spectroscopic redshifts for 92 of these galaxies, and find that the LAEs (LABs) have a median redshift of 2.3 (2.5). The WISE photometry coupled with data from Herschel (Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA) reveals that these galaxies are in the Hyper Luminous IR galaxy regime (L{sub IR} {approx}> 10{sup 13}-10{sup 14} L{sub Sun }) and have warm colors. They are typically more luminous and warmer than other dusty, z {approx} 2 populations such as submillimeter-selected galaxies and dust-obscured galaxies. These traits are commonly associated with the dust being illuminated by intense active galactic nucleus activity. We hypothesize that the combination of spatially extended Ly{alpha}, large amounts of warm IR-luminous dust, and rarity (implying a short-lived phase) can be explained if the galaxies are undergoing brief, intense ''feedback'' transforming them from an extreme dusty starburst/QSO into a mature galaxy.
- OSTI ID:
- 22126592
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 769, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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