arXiv subjects

Claudia Scarlata

Publications and source records attributed to Claudia Scarlata.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

O VI Emission Imaging of a Galaxy with the Hubble Space Telescope: a Warm Gas Halo Surrounding the Intense Starburst SDSS J115630.63+500822.1

We report results from a new HST study of the OVI 1032,1038Å doublet in emission around intensely star-forming galaxies. The programme aims to characterize the energy balance in starburst galaxies and gas cooling in the difficult-to-map coronal temperature regime of 2-5 x $10^5$K. We present the first resolved image of gas emission in the OVI line. Our target, SDSS J1156+5008, is very compact in the continuum but displays OVI emission to radii of 23 kpc. The surface brightness profile is well fit by an exponential with a scale of 7.5kpc. This is ten times the size of the photoionized gas, and we estimate that 1/6 the total OVI luminosity comes from resonantly scattered continuum radiation. Spectroscopy - which closely resembles a stacked sample of archival spectra - confirms the OVI emission, and determines the column density and outflow velocity from blueshifted absorption. The combination of measurements enables several new calculations with few assumptions. The OVI regions fill only ~$10^{-3}$ of the volume. By comparing the cooling time with the cloud sound-crossing time, the cooling distance with the size, and the pressure in the OVI and nebular gas, we conclude that the OVI-bearing gas cannot have been lifted to the scale height at this temperature, and must be cooling in situ through this coronal temperature regime. The coronal phase contains ~1% of the ionized mass, and its kinetic energy is currently ~1% of the budget set by supernova feedback. However a much larger amount of the gas must have cooled through this phase during the star formation episode. The outflow exceeds the escape velocity and the gas may become unbound, but it will recombine before it escapes and become visible to Lyman (and OI) spectroscopy. The mapping of this gas represents a crucial step in further constraining galaxy formation scenarios and guiding the development of future satellites.

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arXiv2016

The Star Formation Rate Efficiency of Neutral Atomic-dominated Hydrogen Gas in the Outskirts of Star Forming Galaxies from z~1 to z~3

Current observational evidence suggests that the star formation rate (SFR) efficiency of neutral atomic hydrogen gas measured in Damped Ly-alpha Systems (DLAs) at z~3 is more than 10 times lower than predicted by the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation. To understand the origin of this deficit, and to investigate possible evolution with redshift and galaxy properties, we measure the SFR efficiency of atomic gas at z~1, z~2, and z~3 around star-forming galaxies. We use new robust photometric redshifts in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field to create galaxy stacks in these three redshift bins, and measure the SFR efficiency by combining DLA absorber statistics with the observed rest-frame UV emission in the galaxies' outskirts. We find that the SFR efficiency of HI gas at z>1 is ~1-3% of that predicted by the KS relation. Contrary to simulations and models that predict a reduced SFR efficiency with decreasing metallicity and thus with increasing redshift, we find no significant evolution in the SFR efficiency with redshift. Our analysis instead suggests that the reduced SFR efficiency is driven by the low molecular content of this atomic-dominated phase, with metallicity playing a secondary effect in regulating the conversion between atomic and molecular gas. This interpretation is supported by the similarity between the observed SFR efficiency and that observed in local atomic-dominated gas, such as in the outskirts of local spiral galaxies and local dwarf galaxies.

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arXiv2016

Spectro-polarimetry confirms central powering of a Ly$α$ nebula at z=3.09

We present a follow-up study to the imaging polarimetry performed by Hayes et. al. 2011 on LAB1 in the SSA22 protocluster region. Arguably the most well-known Lyman-$α$ "blob", this radio-quiet emission-line nebula likely hosts a galaxy which is either undergoing significant star formation or hosts an AGN, or both. We obtain deep, spatially resolved spectro-polarimetry of the Ly$α$ emission and detect integrated linear polarization of $9$-$13\%\pm2$-$3\%$ at a distance of approximately 15 kpc north and south of the peak of the Lyman-$α$ surface brightness with polarization vectors lying tangential to the galactic central source. In these same regions, we also detect a wavelength dependence in the polarization which is low at the center of the Ly$α$ line profile and rises substantially in the wings of the profile. These polarization signatures are easily explained by a weak out-flowing shell model. The spectral dependence of the polarization presented here provide a framework for future observations and interpretations of the southern portion of LAB1 in that any model for this system must be able to reproduce this particular spectral dependence. However, questions still remain for the northern-most spur of LAB1. In this region we detect total linear polarization of between $3$ and $20\%$ at the $5\%$ significance level. Simulations predict that polarization should increase with radius for a symmetric geometry. That the northern spur does not suggests either that this region is not symmetric (which is likely) and exhibits variations in columns density, or that it is kinematically distinct from the rest of LAB1 and powered by another mechanism altogether.

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arXiv2015

The Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of Low-Mass Star-Forming Galaxies at z~1

To date no direct detection of Lyman continuum emission has been measured for intermediate--redshift z~1 star-forming galaxies . We combine HST grism spectroscopy with GALEX UV and ground--based optical imaging to extend the search for escaping Lyman continuum to a large (~600) sample of z~1 low-mass, moderately star-forming galaxies selected initially on H$α$ emission. The characteristic escape fraction of LyC from SFGs that populate this parameter space remains weakly constrained by previous surveys, but these faint SFGs are assumed to play a significant role in the reionization of neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at high redshift (z>6). We do not make an unambiguous detection of escaping LyC radiation from this $z\sim1$ sample, individual non--detections to constrain the absolute Lyman continuum escape fraction, $f_{esc}$<2.1% (3$σ$). We measure upper limits of $f_{esc}$<9.6% from a sample of SFGs selected on high H$α$ equivalent width (EW>200Å), which are thought to be close analogs of high redshift sources of reionization. For reference, we also present an emissivity--weighted escape fraction which is useful as a measurement of the general contribution of the SFGs to the z~1 ionizing UV background. In the discussion, we consider the implications of these intermediate redshift constraints for the reionization of hydrogen in the intergalactic medium at high (z > 6) redshift. If we assume our $z\sim1$ SFGs, for which we measure this emissivity-weighted $f_{esc}$, are analogs to the high redshift sources of reionization, we find is difficult reconcile reionization by faint (M$_{UV}<-13$) SFGs with a low escape fraction ($f_{esc}<$3%), with constraints from independent high redshift observations. If $f_{esc}$ evolves with redshift, reionization by SFGs may be consistent with observations from Planck.

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arXiv2015

Predicting the redshift 2 Halpha luminosity function using [OIII] emission line galaxies

Upcoming space-based surveys such as Euclid and WFIRST-AFTA plan to measure Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAOs) in order to study dark energy. These surveys will use IR slitless grism spectroscopy to measure redshifts of a large number of galaxies over a significant redshift range. In this paper, we use the WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallel Survey (WISP) to estimate the expected number of Halpha (Ha) emitters observable by these future surveys. WISP is an ongoing HST slitless spectroscopic survey, covering the 0.8-1.65micron wavelength range and allowing the detection of Ha emitters up to z~1.5 and [OIII] emitters to z~2.3. We derive the Ha-[OIII] bivariate line luminosity function for WISP galaxies at z~1 using a maximum likelihood estimator that properly accounts for uncertainties in line luminosity measurement, and demonstrate how it can be used to derive the Ha luminosity function from exclusively fitting [OIII] data. Using the z~2 [OIII] line luminosity function, and assuming that the relation between Ha and [OIII] luminosity does not change significantly over the redshift range, we predict the Ha number counts at z~2 - the upper end of the redshift range of interest for the future surveys. For the redshift range 0.7<z<2, we expect ~3000 galaxies/deg^2 for a flux limit of 3x10^{-16} ergs/s/cm^2 (the proposed depth of Euclid galaxy redshift survey) and ~20,000 galaxies/deg^2 for a flux limit of ~10^{-16} ergs/s/cm^2 (the baseline depth of WFIRST galaxy redshift survey).

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arXiv2015

Ly$α$ emission from Green Peas: the role of circumgalactic gas density, covering, and kinematics

We report Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observations of the Ly$α$ emission and interstellar absorption lines in a sample of ten star-forming galaxies at $z\sim0.2$. Selected on the basis of high equivalent width optical emission lines, the sample, dubbed "Green Peas," make some of the best analogs for young galaxies in an early Universe. We detect Ly$α$ emission in all ten galaxies, and 9/10 show double-peaked line profiles suggestive of low HI column density. We measure Ly$α$/H$α$ flux ratios of 0.5-5.6, implying that 5% to 60% of Ly$α$ photons escape the galaxies. These data confirm previous findings that low-ionization metal absorption (LIS) lines are weaker when Ly$α$ escape fraction and equivalent width are higher. However, contrary to previously favored interpretations of this trend, increased Ly$α$ output cannot be the result of varying HI covering: the Lyman absorption lines (Ly$β$ and higher) show a covering fraction near unity for gas with $N_{HI} \gtrsim 10^{16}$ cm$^{-2}$. Moreover, we detect no correlation between Ly$α$ escape and the outflow velocity of the LIS lines, suggesting that kinematic effects do not explain the range of Ly$α$/H$α$ flux ratios in these galaxies. In contrast, we detect a strong anti-correlation between the Ly$α$ escape fraction and the velocity separation of the Ly$α$ emission peaks, driven primarily by the velocity of the blue peak. As this velocity separation is sensitive to HI column density, we conclude that Ly$α$ escape in these Green Peas is likely regulated by the HI column density rather than outflow velocity or HI covering fraction.

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arXiv2015

UVUDF: Ultraviolet Through Near-infrared Catalog and Photometric Redshifts of Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

We present photometry and derived redshifts from up to eleven bandpasses for 9927 galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep field (UDF), covering an observed wavelength range from the near-ultraviolet (NUV) to the near-infrared (NIR) with Hubble Space Telescope observations. Our Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)/UV F225W, F275W, and F336W image mosaics from the ultra-violet UDF (UVUDF) imaging campaign are newly calibrated to correct for charge transfer inefficiency, and use new dark calibrations to minimize background gradients and pattern noise. Our NIR WFC3/IR image mosaics combine the imaging from the UDF09 and UDF12 campaigns with CANDELS data to provide NIR coverage for the entire UDF field of view. We use aperture-matched point-spread function corrected photometry to measure photometric redshifts in the UDF, sampling both the Lyman break and Balmer break of galaxies at z~0.8-3.4, and one of the breaks over the rest of the redshift range. Our comparison of these results with a compilation of robust spectroscopic redshifts shows an improvement in the galaxy photometric redshifts by a factor of two in scatter and a factor three in outlier fraction over previous UDF catalogs. The inclusion of the new NUV data is responsible for a factor of two decrease in the outlier fraction compared to redshifts determined from only the optical and NIR data, and improves the scatter at z<0.5 and at z>2. The panchromatic coverage of the UDF from the NUV through the NIR yields robust photometric redshifts of the UDF, with the lowest outlier fraction available.

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arXiv2015

Star-forming blue ETGs in two newly discovered galaxy overdensities in the HUDF at z=1.84 and 1.9: unveiling the progenitors of passive ETGs in cluster cores

We present the discovery of two galaxy overdensities in the Hubble Space Telescope UDF: a proto-cluster, HUDFJ0332.4-2746.6 at $z = 1.84 \pm 0.01$, and a group, HUDFJ0332.5-2747.3 at $z =1.90 \pm 0.01$. Assuming viralization, the velocity dispersion of HUDFJ0332.4-2746.6 implies a mass of $M_{200}= (2.2 \pm 1.8) \times 10^{14} M_{\odot}$, consistent with the lack of extended X-ray emission. Neither overdensity shows evidence of a red sequence. About $50\%$ of their members show interactions and/or disturbed morphologies, which are signatures of merger remnants or disk instability. Most of their ETGs have blue colors and show recent star-formation. These observations reveal for the first time large fractions of spectroscopically confirmed star-forming blue ETGs in proto-clusters at $z\approx 2$. These star-forming ETGs are most likely among the progenitors of the quiescent population in clusters at more recent epochs. Their mass-size relation is consistent with that of passive ETGs in clusters at $z\sim0.7-1.5$. If these galaxies are the progenitors of cluster ETGs at these lower redshifts, their size would evolve according to a similar mass-size relation. It is noteworthy that quiescent ETGs in clusters at $z=1.8-2$ also do not show any significant size evolution over this redshift range, contrary to field ETGs. The ETG fraction is $\lesssim 50\%$, compared to the typical quiescent ETG fraction of $\approx 80\%$ in cluster cores at $z< 1$. The fraction, masses, and colors of the newly discovered ETGs imply that other cluster ETGs will be formed/accreted at a later time.

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arXiv2014

The UV Continuum of z > 1 Star-forming Galaxies in the Hubble Ultraviolet UltraDeep Field

We estimate the UV continuum slope, beta, for 923 galaxies in the range 1 < z < 8 in the Hubble Ultradeep Field (HUDF). These data include 460 galaxies at 1 < z < 2 down to an absolute magnitude M_{UV} = -14 (~0.006 L*_{z=1}; 0.02 L*_{z=0}), comparable to dwarf galaxies in the local universe. We combine deep HST/UVIS photometry in F225W, F275W, F336W wavebands (UVUDF) with recent data from HST/WFC3/IR (HUDF12). Galaxies in the range 1 < z < 2 are significantly bluer than local dwarf galaxies. We find their mean (median) values = -1.382 (-1.830) +/- 0.002 (random) +/- 0.1 (systematic). We find comparable scatter in beta (standard deviation = 0.43) to local dwarf galaxies and 30% larger scatter than z > 2 galaxies. We study the trends of beta with redshift and absolute magnitude for binned sub-samples and find a modest color-magnitude relation, dbeta/dM = -0.11 +/- 0.01 and no evolution in dbeta/dM with redshift. A modest increase in dust reddening with redshift and luminosity, Delta E(B-V) ~ 0.1, and a comparable increase in the dispersion of dust reddening at z < 2, appears likely to explain the observed trends. At z > 2, we find trends that are consistent with previous works; combining our data with the literature in the range 1 < z < 8, we find a color evolution with redshift, dbeta/dz = -0.09 +/-0.01 for low luminosity (0.05 L*_{z=3}), and dbeta/dz = -0.06 +/-0.01 for medium luminosity (0.25 L*_{z=3}) galaxies.

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arXiv2014

The Wavelength Dependence of High-Redshift Galaxy Structure in the Rest-Frame Ultraviolet

We present the rest-frame UV wavelength dependence of the Petrosian-like half-light radius ($r_{50}$), and the concentration parameter for a sample of 198 star-forming galaxies at 0.5 < z < 1.5. We find a ~5% decrease in $r_{50}$ from 1500 Å to 3000 Å, with half-light radii at 3000 Å ranging from 0.6 kpc to 6 kpc. We also find a decrease in concentration of ~0.07 (1.9 < $C_{3000}$ < 3.9). The lack of a strong relationship between $r_{50}$ and wavelength is consistent with a model in which clumpy star formation is distributed over length scales comparable to the galaxy's rest-frame optical light. While the wavelength dependence of $r_{50}$ is independent of size at all redshifts, concentration decreases more sharply in the far-UV (~1500 Å) for large galaxies at z ~ 1. This decrease in concentration is caused by a flattening of the inner ~20% of the light profile in disk-like galaxies, indicating that the central regions have different UV colors than the rest of the galaxy. We interpret this as a bulge component with older stellar populations and/or more dust. The size-dependent decrease in concentration is less dramatic at z ~ 2, suggesting that bulges are less dusty, younger, and/or less massive than the rest of the galaxy at higher redshifts.

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arXiv2014

Physical Properties of Emission-Line Galaxies at z ~ 2 from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy with Magellan FIRE

We present results from near-infrared spectroscopy of 26 emission-line galaxies at z ~ 2 obtained with the FIRE spectrometer on the Magellan Baade telescope. The sample was selected from the WISP survey, which uses the near-infrared grism of the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 to detect emission-line galaxies over 0.3 < z < 2.3. Our FIRE follow-up spectroscopy (R~5000) over 1.0-2.5 micron permits detailed measurements of physical properties of the z~2 emission-line galaxies. Dust-corrected star formation rates for the sample range from ~5-100 M_sun yr-1. We derive a median metallicity for the sample of ~0.45 Z_sun, and the estimated stellar masses range from ~10^8.5 - 10^9.5 M_sun. The average ionization parameters measured for the sample are typically much higher than what is found for local star-forming galaxies. We derive composite spectra from the FIRE sample, from which we infer typical nebular electron densities of ~100-400 cm^-3. Based on the location of the galaxies and composite spectra on BPT diagrams, we do not find evidence for significant AGN activity in the sample. Most of the galaxies as well as the composites are offset in the BPT diagram toward higher [O III]/H-beta at a given [N II]/H-alpha, in agreement with other observations of z > 1 star-forming galaxies, but composite spectra derived from the sample do not show an appreciable offset from the local star-forming sequence on the [O III]/H-beta versus [S II]/H-alpha diagram. We infer a high nitrogen-to-oxygen abundance ratio from the composite spectrum, which may contribute to the offset of the high-redshift galaxies from the local star-forming sequence in the [O III]/H-beta versus [N II]/H-alpha diagram. We speculate that the elevated nitrogen abundance could result from substantial numbers of Wolf-Rayet stars in starbursting galaxies at z~2. (Abridged)

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arXiv2013

Ultra-faint Ultraviolet Galaxies at z~2 Behind the Lensing Cluster Abell 1689: the Luminosity Function, Dust Extinction and Star Formation Rate Density

We identified the z~2 Lyman break galaxies using deep HST ultraviolet (F275W/F336W) imaging of Abell 1689. Because of the imaging depth and the large magnification provided by the cluster, we detect galaxies 100x fainter (-19.5< M_1500 <-13) than previous surveys at this redshift. We are able to calculate the intrinsic sensitivity of the observations as a function of source plane position, allowing determinations of effective volume as a function of luminosity. We fit the faint-end slope of the luminosity function to be alpha = -1.74 +/-0.08, consistent with the values obtained for 2.5 < z < 6. There is no turnover in the luminosity function down to MUV = -13. The trend of increasingly redder UV spectral slopes with luminosity at higher redshifts is observed in our sample, but with redder slopes at all luminosities and average reddening of < E(B - V) >= 0.15. We assume the stars in these galaxies are metal poor (0.2Z_sun) compared to their brighter counterparts (Z_sun), resulting in bluer assumed intrinsic UV slopes and larger derived dust extinction. The total UV luminosity density at z ~ 2 is 4.31x10^26 erg/s/Hz/Mpc^3, more than 70% of which is emitted by galaxies in the luminosity range of our sample. We determine the star formation rate density at z ~ 2 (assuming constant dust extinction correction of 4.2 over all luminosities and a Kroupa IMF) of 0.148 M/yr/Mpc^3, significantly higher than previous determinations because of the additional population of fainter galaxies and the larger dust correction factors.[abridged]

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arXiv2013

Predicting Future Space Near-IR Grism Surveys using the WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallels Survey

We present near-infrared emission line counts and luminosity functions from the HST WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallels (WISP) program for 29 fields (0.037 deg^2) observed using both the G102 and G141 grisms. Altogether we identify 1048 emission line galaxies with observed equivalent widths greater than 40 Angstroms, 467 of which have multiple detected emission lines. The WISP survey is sensitive to fainter flux levels (3-5x10^-17 ergs/s/cm^2) than the future space near-infrared grism missions aimed at baryonic acoustic oscillation cosmology (1-4x10^-16 ergs/s/cm^2), allowing us to probe the fainter emission line galaxies that the shallower future surveys may miss. Cumulative number counts of 0.7<z<1.5 galaxies reach 10,000 deg^-2 above an H-alpha flux of 2x10^-16 ergs/s/cm^2. H-alpha-emitting galaxies with comparable [OIII] flux are roughly 5 times less common than galaxies with just H-alpha emission at those flux levels. Galaxies with low H-alpha/[OIII] ratios are very rare at the brighter fluxes that future near-infrared grism surveys will probe; our survey finds no galaxies with H-alpha/[OIII] < 0.95 that have H-alpha flux greater than 3x10^-16 ergs/s/cm^2. Our H-alpha luminosity function contains a comparable number density of faint line emitters to that found by the NICMOS near-infrared grism surveys, but significantly fewer (factors of 3-4 less) high luminosity emitters. We also find that our high redshift (z=0.9-1.5) counts are in agreement with the high redshift (z=1.47) narrow band H-alpha survey of HiZELS (Sobral et al. 2013), while our lower redshift luminosity function (z=0.3-0.9) falls slightly below their z=0.84 result. The evolution in both the H-alpha luminosity function from z=0.3--1.5 and the [OIII] luminosity function from z=0.7-2.3 is almost entirely in the L* parameter, which steadily increases with redshift over those ranges.

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arXiv2013

UVUDF: Ultraviolet Imaging of the Hubble Ultradeep Field with Wide-field Camera 3

We present an overview of a 90-orbit Hubble Space Telescope treasury program to obtain near ultraviolet imaging of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field using the Wide Field Camera 3 UVIS detector with the F225W, F275W, and F336W filters. This survey is designed to: (i) Investigate the episode of peak star formation activity in galaxies at 1<z<2.5; (ii) Probe the evolution of massive galaxies by resolving sub-galactic units (clumps); (iii) Examine the escape fraction of ionizing radiation from galaxies at z~2-3; (iv) Greatly improve the reliability of photometric redshift estimates; and (v) Measure the star formation rate efficiency of neutral atomic-dominated hydrogen gas at z~1-3. In this overview paper, we describe the survey details and data reduction challenges, including both the necessity of specialized calibrations and the effects of charge transfer inefficiency. We provide a stark demonstration of the effects of charge transfer inefficiency on resultant data products, which when uncorrected, result in uncertain photometry, elongation of morphology in the readout direction, and loss of faint sources far from the readout. We agree with the STScI recommendation that future UVIS observations that require very sensitive measurements use the instrument's capability to add background light through a "post-flash". Preliminary results on number counts of UV-selected galaxies and morphology of galaxies at z~1 are presented. We find that the number density of UV dropouts at redshifts 1.7, 2.1, and 2.7 is largely consistent with the number predicted by published luminosity functions. We also confirm that the image mosaics have sufficient sensitivity and resolution to support the analysis of the evolution of star-forming clumps, reaching 28-29th magnitude depth at 5 sigma in a 0.2 arcsecond radius aperture depending on filter and observing epoch.

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arXiv2013

WFC3 grism confirmation of the distant cluster Cl J1449+0856 at z=2.00: Quiescent and star-forming galaxy populations

We present deep Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 slitless spectroscopic observations of the distant cluster Cl J1449+0856. These cover a single pointing with 18 orbits of G141 spectroscopy and F140W imaging, allowing us to derive secure redshifts down to m_140~25.5 AB and 3sigma line fluxes of 5*10^(-18) erg/s/cm^2. In particular, we were able to spectroscopically confirm 12 early-type galaxies in the field up to z~3, 6 of which in the cluster core, which represents the first direct spectroscopic confirmation of passive galaxies in a z=2 cluster environment. With 140 redshifts in a ~6 arcmin^2 field, we can trace the spatial and redshift galaxy distribution in the cluster core and background field. We find two strong peaks at z=2.00 and z=2.07, where only one was seen in our previously published ground-based data. Thanks to the spectroscopic confirmation of the cluster ETGs, we can now re-evaluate the redshift of Cl J1449+0856 at z=2.00, rather than z=2.07, with the background overdensity being revealed to be sparse and "sheet"-like. This presents an interesting case of chance alignment of two close yet unrelated structures, each one preferentially selected by different observing strategies. With 6 quiescent or early-type spectroscopic members and 20 star-forming ones, Cl J1449+0856 is now reliably confirmed to be at z=2.00. The identified members can now allow for a detailed study of galaxy properties in the densest environment at z=2.

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arXiv2013

Low Masses and High Redshifts: The Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation

We present the first robust measurement of the high redshift mass-metallicity (MZ) relation at 10^{8}< M/M_{\sun} < 10^{10}, obtained by stacking spectra of 83 emission-line galaxies with secure redshifts between 1.3 < z < 2.3. For these redshifts, infrared grism spectroscopy with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 is sensitive to the R23 metallicity diagnostic: ([OII]3726,3729 + [OIII] 4959,5007)/Hβ. Using spectra stacked in four mass quartiles, we find a MZ relation that declines significantly with decreasing mass, extending from 12+log(O/H) = 8.8 at M=10^{9.8} M_{\sun} to 12+log(O/H)= 8.2 at M=10^{8.2} M_{\sun}. After correcting for systematic offsets between metallicity indicators, we compare our MZ relation to measurements from the stacked spectra of galaxies with M>10^{9.5} M_{\sun} and z~2.3. Within the statistical uncertainties, our MZ relation agrees with the z~2.3 result, particularly since our somewhat higher metallicities (by around 0.1 dex) are qualitatively consistent with the lower mean redshift z=1.76 of our sample. For the masses probed by our data, the MZ relation shows a steep slope which is suggestive of feedback from energy-driven winds, and a cosmological downsizing evolution where high mass galaxies reach the local MZ relation at earlier times. In addition, we show that our sample falls on an extrapolation of the star-forming main sequence (the SFR-M_{*} relation) at this redshift. This result indicates that grism emission-line selected samples do not have preferentially high SFRs. Finally, we report no evidence for evolution of the mass-metallicity-SFR plane; our stack-averaged measurements show excellent agreement with the local relation.

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arXiv2012

Hot Gas, Cold Gas and Sub-Halos in a Lyman-alpha Blob at Redshift 2.38

We present integral field spectroscopy of a Lyman-alpha blob at redshift 2.38, with a spectral resolution three times better than previous published work. As with previous observations, the blob has a chaotic velocity structure, much of which breaks up into multiple components. Our spectroscopy shows, however, that some of these multiple components are extremely narrow: they have velocity widths of less than 100 km/s. Combining these new data with previous observations, we argue that this Lyman-alpha blob resides in a dark-matter halo of around 10^13 solar masses. At the centre of this halo are two compact red massive galaxies. They are surrounded by hot gas, probably a super-wind from merger-induced nuclear starbursts. This hot gas has shut down star formation in the non-nuclear region of these galaxies, leading to their red-and-dead colours. A filament or lump of infalling cold gas is colliding with the hot gas phase and being shocked to high temperatures, while still around 30kpc from the red galaxies. The shock region is self-absorbed in Lyman-alpha but produces C IV emission. Further out still, the cold gas in a number of sub-halos is being lit up, most likely by a combination of tidally triggered star formation, bow-shocks as they plough through the hot halo medium, resonant scattering of Lyman-alpha from the filament collision, and tidal stripping of gas which enhances the Lyman-alpha escape fraction. The observed Lyman-alpha emission from the Blob is dominated by the sum of the emission from these sub-halos. On statistical grounds, we argue that Lyman-alpha blobs are not greatly elongated in shape, and that most are not powered by ionisation or scattering from a central active galactic nucleus or starburst.

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arXiv2012

Lyα Emission from High Redshift Sources in COSMOS

We investigate spectroscopically measured Lyα equivalent widths and escape fractions of 244 sources of which 95 are Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) and 106 Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) at z~4.2, z~4.8, and z~5.6 selected from intermediate and narrow band observations. The sources were selected from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), and observed with the DEIMOS spectrograph. We find that the distribution of equivalent widths shows no evolution with redshift for both the LBG selected sources and the intermediate/narrowband LAEs. We also find that the Lyα escape fraction of intermediate and narrow band LAEs is on average higher and has a larger variation than the escape fraction of LBG selected sources. The escape fraction does not show a dependence with redshift. Similar to what has been found for LAEs at low redshifts, the sources with the highest extinctions show the lowest escape fractions. The range of escape fractions increases with decreasing extinction. This is evidence that the dust extinction is the most important factor affecting the escape of Lyα photons, but at low extinctions other factors such as HI covering fraction and gas kinematics can be just as effective at inhibiting the escape of Lyα photons.

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