ABSTRACT We use the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archive of ultraviolet (UV) quasar spectroscopy to conduct the first blind survey for damped Ly absorbers (DLAs) at low redshift ( ). Our statistical ...sample includes 463 quasars with spectral coverage spanning a total redshift path or an absorption path . Within this survey path, we identify 4 DLAs defined as absorbers with H i column density cm−2, which implies an incidence per absorption length at a median survey path redshift of z = 0.623. While our estimate of is lower than earlier estimates at from H i 21 cm emission studies, the results are consistent within the measurement uncertainties. Our data set is too small to properly sample the frequency distribution function , but the observed distribution agrees with previous estimates at . Adopting the shape of , we infer an H i mass density at of . This is significantly lower than previous estimates from targeted DLA surveys with the HST, but consistent with results from low-z H i 21 cm observations, and suggests that the neutral gas density of the universe has been decreasing over the past 10 Gyr.
Studying giant star-forming clumps in distant galaxies is important to understand galaxy formation and evolution. At present, however, observers and theorists have not reached a consensus on whether ...the observed "clumps" in distant galaxies are the same phenomenon that is seen in simulations. In this paper, as a step to establish a benchmark of direct comparisons between observations and theories, we publish a sample of clumps constructed to represent the commonly observed "clumps" in the literature. This sample contains 3193 clumps detected from 1270 galaxies at 0.5 ≤ z < 3.0 . The clumps are detected from rest-frame UV images, as described in our previous paper. Their physical properties (e.g., rest-frame color, stellar mass ( M * ), star formation rate (SFR), age, and dust extinction) are measured by fitting the spectral energy distribution (SED) to synthetic stellar population models. We carefully test the procedures of measuring clump properties, especially the method of subtracting background fluxes from the diffuse component of galaxies. With our fiducial background subtraction, we find a radial clump U − V color variation, where clumps close to galactic centers are redder than those in outskirts. The slope of the color gradient (clump color as a function of their galactocentric distance scaled by the semimajor axis of galaxies) changes with redshift and M * of the host galaxies: at a fixed M * , the slope becomes steeper toward low redshift, and at a fixed redshift, it becomes slightly steeper with M * . Based on our SED fitting, this observed color gradient can be explained by a combination of a negative age gradient, a negative E(B − V) gradient, and a positive specific SFR gradient of the clumps. We also find that the color gradients of clumps are steeper than those of intra-clump regions. Correspondingly, the radial gradients of the derived physical properties of clumps are different from those of the diffuse component or intra-clump regions.
ABSTRACT
We present a robust measurement of the rest-frame UV luminosity function (LF) and its evolution during the peak epoch of cosmic star formation at
. We use our deep near-ultraviolet imaging ...from WFC3/UVIS on the
Hubble Space Telescope
and existing Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)/WFC and WFC3/IR imaging of three lensing galaxy clusters, Abell 2744 and MACS J0717 from the Hubble Frontier Field survey and Abell 1689. Combining deep UV imaging and high magnification from strong gravitational lensing, we use photometric redshifts to identify 780 ultra-faint galaxies with
AB mag at
. From these samples, we identified five new, faint, multiply imaged systems in A1689. We run a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the completeness correction and effective volume for each cluster using the latest published lensing models. We compute the rest-frame UV LF and find the best-fit faint-end slopes of
,
, and
at
,
, and
, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the UV LF becomes steeper from
to
with no sign of a turnover down to
AB mag. We further derive the UV LFs using the Lyman break “dropout” selection and confirm the robustness of our conclusions against different selection methodologies. Because the sample sizes are so large and extend to such faint luminosities, the statistical uncertainties are quite small, and systematic uncertainties (due to the assumed size distribution, for example) likely dominate. If we restrict our analysis to galaxies and volumes above
completeness in order to minimize these systematics, we still find that the faint-end slope is steep and getting steeper with redshift, though with slightly shallower (less negative) values (
, −1.69 ± 0.07, and −1.79 ± 0.08 for
, 1.9, and 2.6, respectively). Finally, we conclude that the faint star-forming galaxies with UV magnitudes of
covered in this study produce the majority (55%–60%) of the unobscured UV luminosity density at
.
Abstract
We present Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet and infrared observations of eight fast radio burst (FRB) host galaxies with subarcsecond localizations, including the hosts of three known ...repeating FRBs. We quantify their spatial distributions and locations with respect to their host galaxy light distributions, finding that they occur at moderate host-normalized offsets of 1.4
r
e
(0.6, 2.1
r
e
; 68% interval) and on fainter regions of their hosts in terms of IR light but overall trace the radial distribution of IR light in their galaxies. The FRBs in our tested distribution do not clearly trace the distributions of any other transient population with known progenitors and are statistically distinct from the locations of LGRBs, H-poor SLSNe, SGRBs, and Ca-rich transients. We further find that most FRBs are not in regions of elevated local star formation rates and stellar mass surface densities in comparison to the mean global values of their hosts. We also place upper limits on the IR flux at the FRB positions of
m
IR
≳ 24.8–27.6 AB mag, constraining both satellite and background galaxies to luminosities well below the host luminosity of FRB 121102. We find that 5/8 FRB hosts exhibit clear spiral arm features in IR light, and that the positions of all well-localized FRBs located in such hosts are consistent with their spiral arms, although not on their brightest regions. Our results do not strongly support the primary progenitor channel of FRBs being connected with either the most massive (stripped-envelope) stars or events that require kicks and long delay times (neutron star mergers).
We present a survey for metal absorption systems traced by neutral oxygen over 3.2 < z < 6.5. Our survey uses Keck/ESI and VLT/X-Shooter spectra of 199 QSOs with redshifts up to 6.6. In total, we ...detect 74 O i absorbers, of which 57 are separated from the background QSO by more than 5000 km s−1. We use a maximum likelihood approach to fit the distribution of O i λ1302 equivalent widths in bins of redshift and from this determine the evolution in number density of absorbers with W1302 > 0.05 , of which there are 49 nonproximate systems in our sample. We find that the number density does not monotonically increase with decreasing redshift, as would naively be expected from the buildup of metal-enriched circumgalactic gas with time. The number density over 4.9 < z < 5.7 is a factor of 1.7-4.1 lower (68% confidence) than that over 5.7 < z < 6.5, with a lower value at z < 5.7 favored with 99% confidence. This decrease suggests that the fraction of metals in a low-ionization phase is larger at z ∼ 6 than at lower redshifts. Absorption from highly ionized metals traced by C iv is also weaker in higher-redshift O i systems, supporting this picture. The evolution of O i absorbers implies that metal-enriched circumgalactic gas at z ∼ 6 is undergoing an ionization transition driven by a strengthening ultraviolet background. This in turn suggests that the reionization of the diffuse intergalactic medium may still be ongoing at or only recently ended by this epoch.
Although giant clumps of stars are thought to be crucial to galaxy formation and evolution, the most basic demographics of clumps are still uncertain, mainly because the definition of clumps has not ...been thoroughly discussed. In this paper, we carry out a study of the basic demographics of clumps in star-forming galaxies at 0.5 < z < 3, using our proposed physical definition that UV-bright clumps are discrete star-forming regions that individually contribute more than 8% of the rest-frame UV light of their galaxies. Clumps defined this way are significantly brighter than the H II regions of nearby large spiral galaxies, either individually or blended, when physical spatial resolution and cosmological dimming are considered. The clump contribution in the intermediate-mass and massive galaxies is possibly linked to the molecular gas fraction of the galaxies. The clump contribution to the SFR of star-forming galaxies, generally around 4%-10%, also shows dependence on the galaxy M, but for a given galaxy M, its dependence on the redshift is mild.
ABSTRACT To date, no direct detection of Lyman continuum emission has been measured for intermediate-redshift ( ) star-forming galaxies. We combine Hubble Space Telescope grism spectroscopy with ...GALEX UV and ground-based optical imaging to extend the search for escaping Lyman continuum to a large (∼600) sample of low-mass ( 9.3 ), moderately star-forming ( 10 yr−1) galaxies selected initially on H emission. The characteristic escape fraction of LyC from star-forming galaxies (SFGs) that populate this parameter space remains weakly constrained by previous surveys, but these faint (sub-L ) SFGs are assumed to play a significant role in the reionization of neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at high redshift . We do not make an unambiguous detection of escaping LyC radiation from this sample, individual non-detections to constrain the absolute Lyman continuum escape fraction, (3 ). We measure an upper limit of from a sample of SFGs selected on high H equivalent width (EW ), which are thought to be close analogs of high redshift sources of reionization. For reference, we also present an emissivity-weighted escape fraction that is useful for measuring the general contribution SFGs to the ionizing UV background. In the discussion, we consider the implications of these intermediate redshift constraints for the reionization of hydrogen in the IGM at high ( ) redshift. If we assume our SFGs, for which we measure this emissivity-weighted , are analogs to the high redshift sources of reionization, we find it is difficult to reconcile reionization by faint ( ) SFGs with a low escape fraction ( ), with constraints from independent high redshift observations. If evolves with redshift, reionization by SFGs may be consistent with observations from Planck.
ABSTRACT
High-redshift star-forming galaxies are likely responsible for the reionization of the universe, yet direct detection of their escaping ionizing (Lyman continuum LyC) photons has proven to ...be extremely challenging. In this study, we search for escaping LyC of the Cosmic Horseshoe, a gravitationally lensed, star-forming galaxy at
z
= 2.38 with a large magnification of ∼24. Transmission at wavelengths of low-ionization interstellar absorption lines in the rest-frame ultraviolet suggests a patchy, partially transparent interstellar medium. This makes it an ideal candidate for direct detection of the LyC. We obtained a 10-orbit Hubble near-UV image using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)/UVIS F275W filter that probes wavelengths just below the Lyman limit at the redshift of the Horseshoe in an attempt to detect escaping LyC radiation. After fully accounting for the uncertainties in the opacity of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and accounting for the charge transfer inefficiency in the WFC3 CCDs, we find a
upper limit for the relative escape fraction of
. This value is a factor of five lower than the value (0.4) predicted by the 40% transmission in the low-ion absorption lines. Though possible, it is unlikely that the nondetection is due to a high-opacity line of sight through the IGM (
% chance). We discuss several possible causes for the discrepancy between the escape fraction and the covering fraction and consider the implications for future attempts at both direct LyC detection and indirect estimates of the escape fraction.
ABSTRACT We present photometry and derived redshifts from up to eleven bandpasses for 9927 galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep field (UDF), covering an observed wavelength range from the ...near-ultraviolet (NUV) to the near-infrared (NIR) with Hubble Space Telescope observations. Our Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)/UV F225W, F275W, and F336W image mosaics from the ultra-violet UDF (UVUDF) imaging campaign are newly calibrated to correct for charge transfer inefficiency, and use new dark calibrations to minimize background gradients and pattern noise. Our NIR WFC3/IR image mosaics combine the imaging from the UDF09 and UDF12 campaigns with CANDELS data to provide NIR coverage for the entire UDF field of view. We use aperture-matched point-spread function corrected photometry to measure photometric redshifts in the UDF, sampling both the Lyman break and Balmer break of galaxies at - , and one of the breaks over the rest of the redshift range. Our comparison of these results with a compilation of robust spectroscopic redshifts shows an improvement in the galaxy photometric redshifts by a factor of two in scatter and a factor three in outlier fraction (OLF) over previous UDF catalogs. The inclusion of the new NUV data is responsible for a factor of two decrease in the OLF compared to redshifts determined from only the optical and NIR data, and improves the scatter at and at . The panchromatic coverage of the UDF from the NUV through the NIR yields robust photometric redshifts of the UDF, with the lowest OLF available.
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