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arXiv · 2608.08393

Constructing a Hydrogen Line Library for Ly{\alpha} Emitters at Low Redshifts (z < 0.4): Estimating Dust Extinction and Assessing Paschen line Detectability with SPHEREx

Junho Song·Hyunmi Song·Hyunjin Shim
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Abstract

Hydrogen recombination lines, one of the strongest emission lines from star-forming galaxies, are used to probe the early Universe as indicators of star formation rates and ionizing photon production rates. Ratios between different recombination lines provide clues to estimate dust attenuation, in addition to the H II region physical diagnostics. To prepare for future near-infrared spectral surveys and optical narrow-band imaging surveys aiming for hydrogen lines in different redshifts, we construct hydrogen recombination line libraries by compiling data from published literature. Our compilation includes 260 galaxies mostly at z < 0.4, of which at least one hydrogen recombination line is observed. The specific hydrogen emission lines under investigation encompass three Balmer lines (H{\alpha}, H\b{eta} and H{\gamma}) and Ly{\alpha} line. Of the compiled galaxies, we estimated dust extinction for 85 galaxies that have detections of at least two Balmer lines, by assuming the Case B recombination and Calzetti extinction curve, based on which Ly{\alpha} escape fraction is also inferred. For each of the 14 galaxies with detections of all three Balmer lines, we optimized the extinction curve so that it yields consistent E(B-V) values across the three possible Balmer line ratios, showing the variety in the slope of the dust attenuation curve. We further evaluated the feasibility of studying hydrogen emission line-selected galaxies with future spectral surveys such as SPHEREx by modeling the Paschen lines of our galaxy sample.

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Junho Song, Hyunmi Song, Hyunjin Shim. 2026-08-09. Constructing a Hydrogen Line Library for Ly{\alpha} Emitters at Low Redshifts (z < 0.4): Estimating Dust Extinction and Assessing Paschen line Detectability with SPHEREx. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.08393

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