Published June 1, 2020 | Version v1
Journal article

Spectroscopically Confirmed Lyα Emitters from Redshift 5 to 7 behind 10 Galaxy Cluster Lenses

  • 1. Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States)
  • 2. Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam (Germany)
  • 3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138 (United States)
  • 4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States)
  • 5. INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monteporzio (RM) (Italy)
  • 6. School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, VIC (Australia)
  • 7. Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218 (United States)

Description

We present 36 spectroscopically confirmed intrinsically UV-faint Lyα-emitting galaxies from follow-up observations with Keck/DEep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph of gravitationally lensed high-redshift candidates. Candidates were selected to be between 5 ≲ z ≲ 7 from photometric data using Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer imaging surveys. We performed an integrated photometric redshift probability cut >1% between 5 < z < 7 to construct a sample of 198 high-redshift objects. Our sample spans intrinsic UV luminosities from a few L* down to 0.001L*. We identified 19 high-confidence detections and 17 likely detections of Lyα. We divided our sample into lower-redshift (z ∼ 5.5) and higher-redshift (z ∼ 6.5) bins and ran Monte Carlo trials, incorporating the strengths of the Lyα emission and the photometric redshifts of the nondetections. Considering only objects where Lyα could be detected at EW(Lyα) > 25 Å at 3σ at the fiducial depth of our survey, and only those galaxies with EW(Lyα) > 25 Å, and only objects with m AB < 26.8, we found the Lyα emitter (LAE) fraction to be flat or modestly increase from 0.26 ± 0.04 to 0.30 ± 0.04. These values are consistent with a rising LAE fraction with redshift out to z ∼ 6, but at z ∼ 6.5, there is some tension between our results and results from surveys at intrinsically brighter luminosities. We conclude that intrinsically fainter galaxies have Lyα emission, and there is a steep drop in the LAE fraction from our high-redshift sample at z ∼ 6.5 and from similar galaxies at z ∼ 7.5. This likely indicates we are witnessing the tail end of the epoch of reionization, as such a drop is not expected due to changes of intrinsic galaxy properties between these redshifts.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab959f

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal
Journal Volume
896
Journal Issue
2
Journal Page Range
[19 p.]
ISSN
0004-637X
CODEN
ASJOAB

INIS

Country of Publication
United Kingdom
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
52065344
Subject category
S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
Descriptors DEI
EMISSION; GALAXY CLUSTERS; GRAVITATIONAL LENSES; LUMINOSITY; LYMAN LINES; MONTE CARLO METHOD; RED SHIFT; SPACE VEHICLES; TELESCOPES
Descriptors DEC
CALCULATION METHODS; LENSES; OPTICAL PROPERTIES; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; VEHICLES