The environment of Lyman break analogues (ELBA) survey: star-forming galaxies in small groups

Journal Article · 10 September 2020 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa2757 · OSTI ID:1703218

Santana-Silva, L.  ^[1]; Gonçalves, T. S. ^[1]; Basu-Zych, A.  ^[2]; Soares-Santos, M. ^[3]; Menéndez-Delmestre, K. ^[1]; Drlica-Wagner, A. ^[4]; Riguccini, L. ^[1]; Kuropatkin, N. P. ^[4]; Yanny, B. ^[4]; Eufrasio, R. T. ^[5]

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1. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Valongo Observatory, Ladeira Pedro Antonio, 43 Saude, 20080-090 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Department of Astronomy and Center for Space Science and Technology (CRESST), University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421, USA, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA, Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
3. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA, Department of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
4. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA
5. Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

ABSTRACT The environment of Lyman break analogues survey is an imaging survey of 33 deg2 of the southern sky. The survey was observed in u, g, r, and i bands with the Dark Energy Camera on the Blanco telescope. The main goal of this project is to investigate the environment of Lyman break analogues (LBAs) low-redshift (z ∼0.2) galaxies that are remarkably similar to typical star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 3. We explore whether the environment has any influence on the observed properties of these galaxies, providing valuable insight on the formation and evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. Using the nearest neighbour method, we measure the local density of each object ranging from small to large scales (clusters of galaxies). Comparing the environment around LBAs with that of the general galaxy population in the field, we conclude that LBAs, on average, populate denser regions at small scales, but are located in similar environment to other star-forming galaxies at larger cluster-like scales. This offers evidence that nearby encounters such as mergers may influence the star formation activity in LBAs, before infall on to larger galaxy clusters. We interpret this as an indication of galaxy pre-processing, in agreement with theoretical expectations for galaxies at z ∼ 2–3 where the gravitational interactions are more intense in early formation processes of these objects.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 1703218
• Journal Information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 498; ISSN 0035-8711
• Publisher: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English