Abstract
In this study, we investigate 89 radio galaxies that are spectroscopically confirmed to be members of five large-scale structures (LSSs) in the redshift range of 0.65 ≤ z ≤ 0.96. Based on a ...two-stage classification scheme, the radio galaxies are classified into three sub-classes: active galactic nucleus (AGN), Hybrid, and star-forming galaxy (SFG). We study the properties of the three radio sub-classes and their global and local environmental preferences. We find AGN hosts are the most massive population and exhibit quiescence in their star formation activity. The SFG population has a comparable stellar mass to those hosting a radio AGN but are unequivocally powered by star formation. Hybrids, though selected as an intermediate population in our classification scheme, were found in almost all analyses to be a unique type of radio galaxies rather than a mixture of AGN and SFGs. They are dominated by a high-excitation radio galaxy population. We discuss environmental effects and scenarios for each sub-class. AGN tend to be preferentially located in locally dense environments and in the cores of clusters/groups, with these preferences persisting when comparing to galaxies of similar colour and stellar mass, suggesting that their activity may be ignited in the cluster/group virialized core regions. Conversely, SFGs exhibit a strong preference for intermediate-density global environments, suggesting that dusty starbursting activity in LSSs is largely driven by galaxy–galaxy interactions and merging.
ABSTRACT
We present size measurements of 78 high-redshift (z ≥ 5.5) galaxy candidates from the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS). These distant galaxies are well resolved due to the ...gravitational lensing power of foreground galaxy clusters, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. We compute sizes using the forward-modelling code lenstruction and account for magnification using public lens models. The resulting size–magnitude measurements confirm the existence of many small galaxies with effective radii Reff < 200 pc in the early Universe, in agreement with previous studies. In addition, we highlight compact and highly star-forming sources with star formation rate surface densities $\Sigma _\text{SFR}\gt 10\, \mathrm{M}_\odot \, \text{yr}^{-1}\, \text{kpc}^{-2}$ as possible Lyman continuum leaking candidates that could be major contributors to the process of reionization. Future spectroscopic follow-up of these compact galaxies (e.g. with the James Webb Space Telescope) will further clarify their role in reionization and the physics of early star formation.
ABSTRACT We report on a $\rm {CII}_{158\mu \rm {m}}$ search using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) on three lensed, confirmed Ly α emitting galaxies at z ∼ 7. Our targets are ...ultraviolet (UV) faint systems with stellar masses on the order of M* ∼ 109 M⊙. We detect a single C ii line emission (4σ) from the brightest (L ∼ 2.4 × 1010L⊙) galaxy in our sample, MACS0454-1251. We determine a systemic redshift (zC ii = 6.3151 ± 0.0005) for MACS0454-1251 and measure a Ly α velocity offset of $\Delta v \approx 300 \pm 70 \rm {km\, s}^{-1}$. The remaining two galaxies we detect no C ii but provide 3σ upper limits on their C ii line luminosities which we use to investigate the $L_{\textrm {CII}} - \rm {SFR}$ relation. Overall our single C ii detection shows agreement with the relation for local dwarf galaxies. Our C ii deficient galaxies could potentially be exhibiting low metallicities (Z < Z⊙). Another possible explanation for weaker C ii emission could be strong feedback from star formation disrupting molecular clouds. We do not detect continuum emission in any of the sources, placing upper limits on their dust masses. Assuming a single dust temperature of $T_{d}=35 \rm {K}$ dust masses (Mdust) range from <4.8 × 107 M⊙ to 2.3 × 108 M⊙. Collectively, our results suggest faint reionization era sources could be metal poor and/or could have strong feedback suppressing C ii emission.
ABSTRACT
We present a rest-UV-selected sample of 32 lensed galaxies at z ∼ 2 observed with joint Keck/LRIS rest-UV and Keck/MOSFIRE rest-optical spectra behind the clusters Abell 1689, MACS J0717, ...and MACS J1149. The sample pushes towards the faintest UV luminosities observed ($-19 \le {M_{\rm UV}} \le -17$) at this redshift. The fraction of dwarf galaxies identified as Ly α emitters ($\rm EW \ge 20$ Å) is ${X_{\rm LAE}}=33^{+17}_{-12}\,{\rm per\, cent}$. We use the Balmer lines and UV continuum to estimate both the intrinsic EW and the Ly α escape fraction to determine their relative importance in dictating the observed EW distribution. Fainter galaxies (MUV > −19) show larger intrinsic EWs and escape fractions than brighter galaxies. Only galaxies with intrinsic EWs greater than 40 Å have escape fractions larger than 5 per cent. We find little to no anticorrelation between the escape fraction and dust in dwarf galaxies. The volumetric escape fraction of our sample is $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm Ly\alpha } = 4.6^{+2.0}_{-1.4}\,{\rm per\, cent}$ in agreement with measurements found elsewhere in the literature. 60 per cent of the total integrated Ly α luminosity density comes from galaxies with EWobs > 20 Å.
Galaxy interactions and mergers are thought to play an important role in the evolution of galaxies. Studies in the nearby universe show a higher fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in ...interacting and merging galaxies than in their isolated counterparts, indicating that such interactions are important contributors to black hole growth. To investigate the evolution of this role at higher redshifts, we have compiled the largest known sample of major spectroscopic galaxy pairs (2381 with ΔV < 5000 km s−1) at 0.5 < z < 3.0 from observations in the COSMOS and CANDELS surveys. We identify X-ray and IR AGNs among this kinematic pair sample, a visually identified sample of mergers and interactions, and a mass-, redshift-, and environment-matched control sample for each in order to calculate AGN fractions and the level of AGN enhancement as a function of relative velocity, redshift, and X-ray luminosity. While we see a slight increase in AGN fraction with decreasing projected separation, overall, we find no significant enhancement relative to the control sample at any separation. In the closest projected separation bin (< 25 kpc, ΔV < 1000 km s−1), we find enhancements of a factor of and for X-ray and IR-selected AGNs, respectively. While we conclude that galaxy interactions do not significantly enhance AGN activity on average over 0.5 < z < 3.0 at these separations, given the errors and the small sample size at the closest projected separations, our results would be consistent with the presence of low-level AGN enhancement.
ABSTRACT
Recent observations have revealed the presence of strong C iii emission (EW$_{\rm {C\,{\small III}}}\gt 20$ Å) in z > 6 galaxies, the origin of which remains unclear. In an effort to ...understand the nature of these line emitters, we have initiated a survey targeting C iii emission in gravitationally lensed reionization-era analogues identified in Hubble Space Telescope imaging of clusters from the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey. Here, we report initial results on four galaxies selected to have low stellar masses (2–8 × 107 M⊙) and J125-band flux excesses indicative of intense O iii + H β emission (EW$_{\rm {O\,{\small III}+H\,\beta }}$ = 500–2000 Å), similar to what has been observed at z > 6. We detect C iii emission in three of the four sources, with the C iii EW reaching values seen in the reionization era (EW$_{\rm {C\,{\small III}}}\simeq 17\!-\!22$ Å) in the two sources with the strongest optical line emission (EW$_{\rm {O\,{\small III}+H\,\beta }}\simeq 2000$ Å). We have obtained a Magellan/FIRE (Folded-port InfraRed Echellette) near-infrared spectrum of the strongest C iii emitter in our sample, revealing gas that is both metal poor and highly ionized. Using photoionization models, we are able to simultaneously reproduce the intense C iii and optical line emission for extremely young (2–3 Myr) and metal-poor (0.06–0.08 Z⊙) stellar populations, as would be expected after a substantial upturn in the star formation rate of a low-mass galaxy. The sources in this survey are among the first for which C iii has been used as the primary means of redshift confirmation. We suggest that it should be possible to extend this approach to z > 6 with current facilities, using C iii to measure redshifts of objects with IRAC excesses indicating EW$_{\rm {O\,{\small III}+H\,\beta }}\simeq 2000$ Å, providing a method of spectroscopic confirmation independent of Ly α.
Abstract
We present the most distant detection of cosmic voids (
z
∼ 2.3) and the first detection of three-dimensional voids in the Ly
α
forest. We used a 3D tomographic map of the absorption with ...an effective comoving spatial resolution of 2.5
h
−1
Mpc and a volume of 3.15 × 10
5
h
−3
Mpc
3
, which was reconstructed from moderate-resolution Keck I/LRIS spectra of 240 background Lyman-break galaxies and quasars in a 0.16 deg
2
footprint in the COSMOS field. Voids were detected using a spherical overdensity finder calibrated from hydrodynamical simulations of the intergalactic medium (IGM). This allows us to identify voids in the IGM corresponding to voids in the underlying matter density field, yielding a consistent volume fraction of voids in both data (19.5%) and simulations (18.2%). We fit excursion set models to the void radius function and compare the radially averaged stacked profiles of large voids (
r
> 5
h
−1
Mpc) to stacked voids in mock observations and the simulated density field. Comparing with 432 coeval galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the same volume as the tomographic map, we find that the tomography-identified voids are underdense in galaxies by 5.95
σ
compared to random cells.
Recent hydrodynamic simulations and observations of radio jets have shown that the surrounding environment has a large effect on their resulting morphology. To investigate this, we use a sample of 50 ...Extended Radio Active Galactic Nuclei (ERAGN) detected in the Observations of Redshift Evolution in Large-Scale Environments survey. These sources are all successfully cross-identified to galaxies within a redshift range of 0.55 ≤ z ≤ 1.35, either through spectroscopic redshifts or accurate photometric redshifts. We find that ERAGN are more compact in high-density environments than those in low-density environments at a significance level of 4.5 . Among a series of internal properties under our scrutiny, only the radio power demonstrates a positive correlation with their spatial extent. After removing the possible radio power effect, the difference of size in low- and high-density environments persists. In the global environment analyses, the majority (86%) of high-density ERAGN reside in the cluster/group environment. In addition, ERAGN in the cluster/group central regions are preferentially compact with a small scatter in size, compared to those in the cluster/group intermediate regions and fields. In conclusion, our data appear to support the interpretation that the dense intracluster gas in the central regions of galaxy clusters plays a major role in confining the spatial extent of radio jets.
ABSTRACT We report the detection of Ly emission at ∼9538 in the Keck/DEIMOS and Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 G102 grism data from a triply imaged galaxy at z = 6.846 0.001 behind galaxy cluster MACS ...J2129.4−0741. Combining the emission line wavelength with broadband photometry, line ratio upper limits, and lens modeling, we rule out the scenario that this emission line is O ii at z = 1.57. After accounting for magnification, we calculate the weighted average of the intrinsic Ly luminosity to be ∼ 1.3 × 10 42 erg s − 1 and Ly equivalent width to be 74 15 . Its intrinsic UV absolute magnitude at 1600 is −18.6 0.2 mag and stellar mass ( 1.5 0.3 ) × 10 7 M , making it one of the faintest (intrinsic L UV ∼ 0.14 L UV * ) galaxies with Ly detection at z ∼ 7 to date. Its stellar mass is in the typical range for the galaxies thought to dominate the reionization photon budget at z 7 ; the inferred Ly escape fraction is high ( 10 %), which could be common for sub-L* z 7 galaxies with Ly emission. This galaxy offers a glimpse of the galaxy population that is thought to drive reionization, and it shows that gravitational lensing is an important avenue for probing the sub-L* galaxy population.
ABSTRACT
We report the discovery of a double-peaked Lyman-α (Ly α) emitter (LAE) at z = 3.2177 ± 0.0001 in VLT/MUSE data. The galaxy is strongly lensed by the galaxy cluster RXC J0018.5+1626 recently ...observed in the RELICS survey, and the double-peaked Ly α emission is clearly detected in the two counter images in the MUSE field of view. We measure a relatively high Ly α rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of EWLy α, 0 = (63 ± 2) Å. Additional spectroscopy with Gemini/GNIRS in the near-infrared (NIR) allows us to measure the H β, O iii λ4959 Å, and O iii λ5007 Å emission lines, which show moderate rest-frame EWs of the order of a few ∼10–100 Å, an O iii λ5007 Å/H β ratio of 4.8 ± 0.7, and a lower limit on the O iii/O ii ratio of >9.3. The galaxy has very blue UV-continuum slopes of βFUV = −2.23 ± 0.06 and βNUV = −3.0 ± 0.2, and is magnified by factors μ ∼ 7–10 in each of the two images, thus enabling a view into a low-mass ($M_{\star }\simeq 10^{7.5}\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$) high-redshift galaxy analogue. Notably, the blue peak of the Ly α profile is significantly stronger than the red peak, which suggests an inflow of matter and possibly very low H i column densities in its circumgalactic gas. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detection of such a Ly α profile. Combined with the high lensing magnification and image multiplicity, these properties make this galaxy a prime candidate for follow-up observations to search for LyC emission and constrain the LyC photon escape fraction.
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