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  • HIGH-RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOP...
    Vanzella, E; De Barros, S; Cupani, G; Karman, W; Gronke, M; Balestra, I; Coe, D; Mignoli, M; Brusa, M; Calura, F

    Astrophysical journal. Letters, 04/2016, Volume: 821, Issue: 2
    Journal Article

    We present VLT/X-Shooter and MUSE spectroscopy of a faint F814W = 28.60 + or - 0.33 (M sub(UV)=-17.0, low-mass (<, ~10 super(7)M sub(middo t in circle)), and compact (R sub(eff)= 62 pc) freshly star-forming galaxy at z= 3.1169 magnified (16x) by the Hubble Frontier Fields galaxy cluster Abell S1063. Gravitational lensing allows for a significant jump toward low-luminosity regimes, in moderately high-resolution spectroscopy (R= lambda /dlambda ~ 3000-7400). We measured C IV lambda 1548, 1550, He II lambda 1640, O IIIlambda 1661,1666, C IIIlambdalambda 1907,1909, Hbeta, OIIIlambdalambda 4959,5007 emission lines with <, ~ 50 km s super(-1) and (de-lensed) fluxes spanning the interval 1.0 x 10 super(-19)-2 x 10 super(-18) erg s super(-1) cm super(-2) at signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 4-30. The double-peaked Lyalpha emission with Deltanured - blue) = 280 (+ or -7) km s super(-1) and de-lensed fluxes 2.4 sub((blue)) 8.5 sub((red)) x 10 super(-18) erg s super(-1) cm super(-2)(S/N = 38 sub((blue)) 110 sub((red))) indicate a low column density of neutral hydrogen gas consistent with a highly ionized interstellar medium as also inferred from the large OIIIlambda 5007/ OIIlambda 3727 > 10 ratio. We detect C IV lambda 1548,1550 resonant doublet in emission, each component with FWHM <, ~ 45 km s super(-1) and redshifted by +51(+ or -10) km s super(-1) relative to the systemic redshift. We interpret this as nebular emission tracing an expanding optically thin interstellar medium. Both C IV lambda 1548,1550 and He II lambda 1640 suggest the presence of hot and massive stars (with a possible faint active galactic nucleus). The ultraviolet slope is remarkably blue, beta =-2.95 + or - 0.20 (F sub(lambda)= lambda super(beta)), consistent with a dust-free and young <, ~20 Myr galaxy. Line ratios suggest an oxygen abundance 12 + log(O/H) < 7.8. We are witnessing an early episode of star formation in which a relatively low N sub(H I) and negligible dust attenuation might favor a leakage of ionizing radiation. This galaxy currently represents a unique low-luminosity reference object for future studies of the reionization epoch with the James Webb Space Telescope.