EXTENDED Ly{alpha} EMISSION FROM INTERACTING GALAXIES AT HIGH REDSHIFTS

Journal Article · Tue Aug 20 04:00:00 EDT 2013 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/773/2/151· OSTI ID:22130972

Yajima, Hidenobu; Yuexing, Li

Recent observations have discovered a population of extended Ly{alpha} sources, dubbed Ly{alpha} blobs (LABs), at high redshift z {approx} 2-6.6. These LABs typically have a luminosity of L {approx} 10{sup 42}-10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}, and a size of tens of kiloparsecs, with some giant ones reaching up to D {approx} 100 kpc. However, the origin of these LABs is not well understood. In this paper, we investigate a merger model for the formation of LABs by studying Ly{alpha} emission from interacting galaxies at high redshifts by means of a combination of hydrodynamics simulations with three-dimensional radiative transfer calculations. Our galaxy simulations focus on a set of binary major mergers of galaxies with a mass range of 3-7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 12} M{sub Sun} in the redshift range z {approx} 3-7, and we use the newly improved ART{sup 2} code to perform the radiative transfer calculations, which couple multi-wavelength continuum, ionization of hydrogen, and Ly{alpha} line emission. We find that intense star formation and enhanced cooling induced by gravitational interaction produce strong Ly{alpha} emission from these merging galaxies. The Ly{alpha} emission appears to be extended due to the extended distribution of sources and gas. During the close encounter of galaxy progenitors when the star formation rate peaks at {approx}10{sup 3} M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}, our model produces LABs with luminosity of L {approx} 10{sup 42}-10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}, and size of D {approx} 10-20 kpc at z > 6 and D {approx} 20-50 kpc at z {approx} 3, in broad agreement with observations in the same redshift range. Our results suggest that merging galaxies may produce some typical LABs as observed, but the giant ones may be produced by mergers more massive than those in our model, or a combination of mergers and cold accretion from filaments on a large scale.

• OSTI ID: 22130972
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 773; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
COOLING
GALAXIES
GRAVITATIONAL INTERACTIONS
HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL
HYDROGEN
IONIZATION
LUMINOSITY
LYMAN LINES
RADIANT HEAT TRANSFER
RED SHIFT
STARS
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
WAVELENGTHS