Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Open Access Articles

An Aztec 1.1 Mm Survey Of The Goods-N Field - Ii. Multiwavelength Identifications And Redshift Distribution, Edward L. Chapin, Alexandra Pope, Douglas Scott, Itziar Aretxaga, Jason E. Austermann, Ranga Ram Chary, Kristen Coppin, Mark Halpern, David H. Hughes, James D. Lowenthal, Glenn E. Morrison, Thushara A. Perera, Kimberly S. Scott, Grant W. Wilson, Min S. Yun

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present results from a multiwavelength study of 29 sources (false detection probabilities cent) from a survey of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North (GOODS-N) field at 1.1 mm using the Astronomical Thermal Emission Camera (AzTEC). Comparing with existing 850 μm Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) studies in the field, we examine differences in the source populations selected at the two wavelengths. The AzTEC observations uniformly cover the entire survey field to a 1σ depth of ∼1 mJy. Searching deep 1.4 GHz Very Large Array (VLA) and Spitzer 3-24 μm catalogues, we identify robust counterparts for 21 1.1 mm sources, …

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Dynamics Of Lyman Break Galaxies And Their Host Halos, James D. Lowenthal, David C. Koo, Luc Simard, Eelco Van Kampen

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present deep two-dimensional spectra of 22 candidate and confirmed Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at redshifts 2 < z < 4 in the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) obtained at the Keck II telescope. The targets were preferentially selected with spatial extent and/or multiple knot morphologies, and we used slitmasks and individual slits tilted to optimize measurement of any spatially resolved kinematics. Our sample is more than 1 mag fainter and is at higher redshift than the kinematic LBG targets previously studied by others. The median target magnitude was I814 = 25.3, and total exposure times ranged from 10 to 50 ks. We measure redshifts, some new, ranging from z = 0.2072 to z = 4.056, including two interlopers at z < 1, and resulting in a sample of 14 LBGs with a median redshift z = 2.424. The morphologies and kinematics of the close pairs and multiple knot sources in our sample are generally inconsistent with galaxy formation scenarios postulating that LBGs occur only at the bottom of the potential wells of massive host halos; rather, they support "collisional starburst" models with significant …

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The Aztec/Sma Interferometric Imaging Survey Of Submillimeter-Selected High-Redshift Galaxies, Joshua D. Younger, Giovanni G. Fazio, Jia Sheng Huang, Min S. Yun, Grant W. Wilson, Matthew L.N. Ashby, Mark A. Gurwell, Alison B. Peck, Glen R. Petitpas, David J. Wilner, David H. Hughes, Itziar Aretxaga, Sungeun Kim, Kimberly S. Scott, Jason Austermann, Thushara Perera, James D. Lowenthal

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present results from a continuing interferometric survey of high-redshift submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) with the Submillimeter Array, including high-resolution (beam size ∼ 2 arcsec) imaging of eight additional AzTEC 1.1 mm selected sources in the COSMOS field, for which we obtain six reliable (peak signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) >5 or peak S/N >4 with multiwavelength counterparts within the beam) and two moderate significance (peak S/N >4) detections. When combined with previous detections, this yields an unbiased sample of millimeter-selected SMGs with complete interferometric follow up. With this sample in hand, we (1) empirically confirm the radio-submillimeter association, (2) examine the submillimeter …

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Evidence For A Population Of High-Redshift Submillimeter Galaxies From Interferometric Imaging, Joshua D. Younger, Giovanni G. Fazio, Jia Sheng Huang, Min S. Yun, Grant W. Wilson, Matthew L.N. Ashby, Mark A. Gurwell, Kamson Lai, Alison B. Peck, Glen R. Petitpas, David J. Wilner, Daisuke Iono, Kotaro Kohno, Ryohei Kawabe, David H. Hughes, Itziar Aretxaga, Tracy Webb, Alejo Martínez-Sansigre, Sungeun Kim, Kimberly S. Scott, Jason Austermann, Thushara Perera, James Lowenthal, Eva Schinnerer, Vernesa Smolčić

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We have used the Submillimeter Array to image a flux-limited sample of seven submillimeter galaxies, selected by the AzTEC camera on the JCMT at 1.1 mm, in the COSMOS field at 890 μm with ∼2″ resolution. All of the sources - two radio-bright and five radio-dim - are detected as single point sources at high significance (>6 σ), with positions accurate to ∼0.2″ that enable counterpart identification at other wavelengths observed with similarly high angular resolution. All seven have IRAC counterparts, but only two have secure counterparts in deep HST ACS imaging. As compared to the two radio-bright sources …

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The Nature Of Compact Galaxies In The Hubble Deep Field. Ii. Spectroscopic Properties And Implications For The Evolution Of The Star Formation Rate Density Of The Universe, Rafael Guzmán, Jesús Gallego, David C. Koo, Andrew C. Phillips, James D. Lowenthal, S. M. Faber, Garth D. Illingworth, Nicole P. Vogt

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present a spectroscopic study of 51 compact field galaxies with redshifts z < 1.4 and apparent magnitudes I < 23.74 in the flanking fields of the Hubble Deep Field. These galaxies are compact in the sense that they have small apparent half-light radii (r ≤ 0″.5) and high surface brightnesses (μ ≤ 22.2 mag arcsec ). The spectra, taken at the Keck telescope, show emission lines in 88% of our sample, and only absorption lines in the remaining 12%. Emission-line profiles are roughly Gaussian with velocity widths that range from the measurement limit of σ ∼ 35 km s to 150 km s . Rest frame [O II] λ3727 equivalent widths range from 5 to 94 Å, yielding star formation rates (SFRs) of ∼0.1 to 14 M yr . The analysis of various line diagnostic diagrams reveals that ∼60% of compact emission-line galaxies have velocity widths, excitations, Hβ luminosities, SFRs, and mass-to-light ratios characteristic of young star-forming H II galaxies. The remaining 40% form a more heterogeneous class of evolved starbursts, similar to local starburst disk galaxies. We find that, although the compact galaxies at z > 0.7 have similar SFRs per unit mass to those at z < 0.7, they are on average ∼10 times more massive. Our sample implies a lower limit for the global comoving SFR density of ∼0.004 M yr Mpc at z = 0.55, and ∼0.008 M yr Mpc at z = 0.85 (assuming Salpeter IMF, H = 50 km s Mpc , and q = 0.5). These values, when compared to estimates for a sample of local compact galaxies selected in a similar fashion, support a history of the universe in which the SFR density declines by a factor ∼10 from z = 1 to today. From the comparison with the SFR densities derived for magnitude-limited samples of field galaxies, we conclude that compact emission-line galaxies, though only ∼20% of the general field population, may contribute as much as ∼45% to the global SFR of the universe at 0.4 < z < 1. © 1997. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. 814 1/2 I814 ⊙ ⊙ ⊙ 0 o -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -3 -1 -3 -1 -1

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Discovery Of A Lyα Galaxy Near A Damped Lyα Absorber At Z = 2.3, James D. Lowenthal, Craig J. Hogan, Richard F. Green, Adeline Caulet, Bruce E. Woodgate, Larry Brown, Craig B. Foltz

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We report the detection of a galaxy associated with the damped Lyα absorbing cloud seen at z = 2.309 toward the QSO PHL 957 (zem = 2.681). The galaxy was discovered in deep Fabry-Perot narrow-band CCD frames and was subsequently imaged spectroscopically. In addition to a strong but narrow Lyα emission line (FLyα = 5.6 × 10-16 ergs s-1 cm-2, FWHM ∼ 700 km s-1) and weaker C IV and He II lines, the object shows continuum at V ∼ 24, with a slope (in Fν) rising slightly toward the red, similar to what is seen in high-redshift radio galaxies; …

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Spectroscopic Limits On High-Redshift Lyα Emission, James D. Lowenthal, Craig J. Hogan, Robert W. Leach, Gary D. Schmidt, Craig B. Foltz

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We have conducted a deep long-slit spectroscopic search for high-redshift (2.7 < z < 4.7) Lyα emission. Four pairs of deep, high-resolution (R ≈ 2000), long-slit CCD frames were taken at the Multiple Mirror Telescope. The "blank sky" in each pair of frames was searched for faint emission features unresolved spatially and spectrally. No emission features were found down to a limiting line surface brightness (1 σ) of 1-4 × 10-18 ergs s-1 cm-2 arcsec-2. The sensitivity of the search was calibrated using simulations with synthetic features added to the data frames. The data set upper limits on the mean space density 〈n〉 and line flux of randomly distributed Lyα-emitting clouds; for example, at z ≈ 4.5 we have a 95% confidence limit of 〈n〉 < 1 Mpc-3 h1003 at a total line flux level of ∼3 × 10-17 ergs s-1 cm-2. These limits approach expected emission levels for fairly conservative published primeval galaxy models. In addition, Lyα emission was searched for, but not detected, from a known Lyα-limit absorption cloud toward QSO 0731+653. Assuming that the gas in this cloud is spatially resolved (size ≳ 4h-1 kpc) we set an upper limit on the diffuse ionizing flux density at z = 2.912 of Jv ≲ 2 × 10-19 ergs s-1 cm-2 sr-1 Hz-1.

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Dynamics Of Lyman Break Galaxies And Their Host Halos, James D. Lowenthal, David C. Koo, Luc Simard, Eelco Van Kampen

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Discovery Of A Lyα Galaxy Near A Damped Lyα Absorber At Z = 2.3, James D. Lowenthal, Craig J. Hogan, Richard F. Green, Adeline Caulet, Bruce E. Woodgate, Larry Brown, Craig B. Foltz

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Spectroscopic Limits On High-Redshift Lyα Emission, James D. Lowenthal, Craig J. Hogan, Robert W. Leach, Gary D. Schmidt, Craig B. Foltz

Astronomy: Faculty Publications