THE HETDEX PILOT SURVEY. IV. THE EVOLUTION OF [O II] EMITTING GALAXIES FROM z {approx} 0.5 TO z {approx} 0
We present an analysis of the luminosities and equivalent widths of the 284 z < 0.56 [O II]-emitting galaxies found in the 169 arcmin{sup 2} pilot survey for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). By combining emission-line fluxes obtained from the Mitchell spectrograph on the McDonald 2.7 m telescope with deep broadband photometry from archival data, we derive each galaxy's dereddened [O II] {lambda}3727 luminosity and calculate its total star formation rate. We show that over the last {approx}5 Gyr of cosmic time, there has been substantial evolution in the [O II] emission-line luminosity function, with L* decreasing by {approx}0.6 {+-} 0.2 dex in the observed function, and by {approx}0.9 {+-} 0.2 dex in the dereddened relation. Accompanying this decline is a significant shift in the distribution of [O II] equivalent widths, with the fraction of high equivalent-width emitters declining dramatically with time. Overall, the data imply that the relative intensity of star formation within galaxies has decreased over the past {approx}5 Gyr, and that the star formation rate density of the universe has declined by a factor of {approx}2.5 between z {approx} 0.5 and z {approx} 0. These observations represent the first [O II]-based star formation rate density measurements in this redshift range, and foreshadow the advancements which will be generated by the main HETDEX survey.
- OSTI ID:
- 22126618
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 769, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
THE HETDEX PILOT SURVEY. I. SURVEY DESIGN, PERFORMANCE, AND CATALOG OF EMISSION-LINE GALAXIES
THE HETDEX PILOT SURVEY. II. THE EVOLUTION OF THE Ly{alpha} ESCAPE FRACTION FROM THE ULTRAVIOLET SLOPE AND LUMINOSITY FUNCTION OF 1.9 < z < 3.8 LAEs