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James E. Rhoads

Publications and source records attributed to James E. Rhoads.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

The Metal Abundances across Cosmic Time ($\mathcal{MACT}$) Survey. I. Optical Spectroscopy in the Subaru Deep Field

Deep rest-frame optical spectroscopy is critical for characterizing and understanding the physical conditions and properties of the ionized gas in galaxies. Here, we present a new spectroscopic survey called "Metal Abundances across Cosmic Time" or $\mathcal{MACT}$, which will obtain rest-frame optical spectra for $\sim$3000 emission-line galaxies. This paper describes the optical spectroscopy that has been conducted with MMT/Hectospec and Keck/DEIMOS for $\approx$1900 $z=0.1-1$ emission-line galaxies selected from our narrowband and intermediate-band imaging in the Subaru Deep Field. In addition, we present a sample of 164 galaxies for which we have measured the weak [OIII]$λ$4363 line (66 with at least 3$σ$ detections and 98 with significant upper limits). This nebular emission line determines the gas-phase metallicity by measuring the electron temperature of the ionized gas. This paper presents the optical spectra, emission-line measurements, interstellar properties (e.g., metallicity, gas density), and stellar properties (e.g., star formation rates, stellar mass). Paper II of the $\mathcal{MACT}$ survey (Ly et al.) presents the first results on the stellar mass--gas metallicity relation at $z\lesssim1$ using the sample with [OIII]$λ$4363 measurements.

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Lyman-Alpha Emitter Galaxies at z ~ 2.8 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South: I. Tracing the Large-Scale Structure via Lyman-Alpha Imaging

We present a narrowband survey with three adjacent filters for z=2.8--2.9 Lyman Alpha Emitter (LAE) galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), along with spectroscopic followup. With a complete sample of 96 LAEs in the narrowband NB466, we confirm a large-scale structure at z~ 2.8. Compared to the blank field in NB470 and NB475, the LAE density excess in the NB466 field is ~6.0+/-0.8 times the standard deviation expected at z~2.8, assuming a linear bias of 2. The overdense large scale structure in NB466 can be decomposed into 4 protoclusters, whose overdensities are 4.6 - 6.6. These 4 protoclusters are expected to evolve into a Coma-like cluster at z~ 0. In the meanwhile, we investigate the average star-formation rates derived from Lyα, rest-frame UV and X-ray, the Lyα luminosity functions, the Lyα photon densities and their dependence on the environment. We find that the Lyα photon density in the overdense field (NB466) is ~50\% higher than that in the blank field (NB470+NB475). The 3 brightest LAEs, including a quasar at z=2.81, are all detected in X-ray and in NB466. These three LAE-AGNs contribute an extra 20--30\% Lyα photon density. Furthermore, we find that LAEs in overdense regions are younger and less dusty. We conclude that the structure we found is a significant and rare density peak, and narrowband imaging is an efficient method to detect and study such structures in the high-z universe.

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Green Pea Galaxies Reveal Secrets of Ly$α$ Escape

We analyze archival Ly$α$ spectra of 12 "Green Pea" galaxies observed with the Hubble Space Telescope, model their Ly$α$ profiles with radiative transfer models, and explore the dependence of Ly$α$ escape fraction on various properties. Green Pea galaxies are nearby compact starburst galaxies with [OIII]$λ$5007 equivalent widths of hundreds of Å. All 12 Green Pea galaxies in our sample show Ly$α$ lines in emission, with a Ly$α$ equivalent width distribution similar to high redshift Ly$α$ emitters. Combining the optical and UV spectra of Green Pea galaxies, we estimate their Ly$α$ escape fractions and find correlations between Ly$α$ escape fraction and kinematic features of Ly$α$ profiles. The escape fraction of Ly$α$ in these galaxies ranges from 1.4% to 67%. We also find that the Ly$α$ escape fraction depends strongly on metallicity and moderately on dust extinction. We compare their high-quality Ly$α$ profiles with single HI shell radiative transfer models and find that the Ly$α$ escape fraction anti-correlates with the derived HI column densities. Single shell models fit most Ly$α$ profiles well, but not the ones with highest escape fractions of Ly$α$. Our results suggest that low HI column density and low metallicity are essential for Ly$α$ escape, and make a galaxy a Ly$α$ emitter.

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Probing the Physical Properties of z=4.5 Lyman Alpha Emitters with Spitzer

We present the results from a stellar population modeling analysis of a sample of 162 z=4.5, and 14 z=5.7 Lyman alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) in the Bootes field, using deep Spitzer/IRAC data at 3.6 and 4.5 um from the Spitzer Lyman Alpha Survey, along with Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS and WFC3 imaging at 1.1 and 1.6 um for a subset of the LAEs. This represents one of the largest samples of high-redshift LAEs imaged with Spitzer IRAC. We find that 30/162 (19%) of the z=4.5 LAEs and 9/14 (64%) of the z=5.7 LAEs are detected at >3-sigma in at least one IRAC band. Individual z=4.5 IRAC-detected LAEs have a large range of stellar mass, from 5x10^8 to 10^11 Msol. One-third of the IRAC-detected LAEs have older stellar population ages of 100 Myr - 1 Gyr, while the remainder have ages < 100 Myr. A stacking analysis of IRAC-undetected LAEs shows this population to be primarily low mass (8 -- 20 x 10^8 Msol) and young (64 - 570 Myr). We find a correlation between stellar mass and the dust-corrected ultraviolet-based star-formation rate (SFR) similar to that at lower redshifts, in that higher mass galaxies exhibit higher SFRs. However, the z=4.5 LAE correlation is elevated 4-5 times in SFR compared to continuum-selected galaxies at similar redshifts. The exception is the most massive LAEs which have SFRs similar to galaxies at lower redshifts suggesting that they may represent a different population of galaxies than the traditional lower-mass LAEs, perhaps with a different mechanism promoting Lyman alpha photon escape.

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Herschel Extreme Lensing Line Observations: Dynamics of two strongly lensed star forming galaxies near redshift z = 2

We report on two regularly rotating galaxies at redshift z=2, using high resolution spectra of the bright [CII] 158 micron emission line from the HIFI instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory. Both SDSS090122.37+181432.3 ("S0901") and SDSS J120602.09+514229.5 ("the Clone") are strongly lensed and show the double-horned line profile that is typical of rotating gas disks. Using a parametric disk model to fit the emission line profiles, we find that S0901 has a rotation speed v sin(i) = 120 +/- 7 km/s and gas velocity dispersion sigma < 23 km/s. The best fitting model for the Clone is a rotationally supported disk having v sin(i) = 79 +/- 11 km/s and sigma < 4km/s. However the Clone is also consistent with a family of dispersion-dominated models having sigma = 92 +/- 20 km/s. Our results showcase the potential of the [CII] line as a kinematic probe of high redshift galaxy dynamics: [CII] is bright; accessible to heterodyne receivers with exquisite velocity resolution; and traces dense star-forming interstellar gas. Future [CII] line observations with ALMA would offer the further advantage of spatial resolution, allowing a clearer separation between rotation and velocity dispersion.

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Galactic winds and stellar populations in Lyman $α$ emitting galaxies at z ~ 3.1

We present a sample of 33 spectroscopically confirmed z ~ 3.1 Ly$α$-emitting galaxies (LAEs) in the Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. This paper details the narrow-band survey we conducted to detect the LAE sample, the optical spectroscopy we performed to confirm the nature of these LAEs, and a new near-infrared spectroscopic detection of the [O III] 5007 Å line in one of these LAEs. This detection is in addition to two [O III] detections in two z ~ 3.1 LAEs we have reported on previously (McLinden et al 2011). The bulk of the paper then presents detailed constraints on the physical characteristics of the entire LAE sample from spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. These characteristics include mass, age, star-formation history, dust content, and metallicity. We also detail an approach to account for nebular emission lines in the SED fitting process - wherein our models predict the strength of the [O III] line in an LAE spectrum. We are able to study the success of this prediction because we can compare the model predictions to our actual near-infrared observations both in galaxies that have [O III] detections and those that yielded non-detections. We find a median stellar mass of 6.9 $\times$ 10$^8$ M$_{\odot}$ and a median star formation rate weighted stellar population age of 4.5 $\times$ 10$^6$ yr. In addition to SED fitting, we quantify the velocity offset between the [O III] and Ly$α$ lines in the galaxy with the new [O III] detection, finding that the Ly$α$ line is shifted 52 km s$^{-1}$ redwards of the [O III] line, which defines the systemic velocity of the galaxy.

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Lyα Equivalent Width Distribution of Lyα Emitting Galaxies at Redshift z $\sim$ 4.5

Lyα line EWs provide important clues to the physical nature of high redshift LAEs. However, measuring the Lyα EW distribution of high-z narrowband selected LAEs can be hard because many sources do not have broadband photometry. We investigate the possible biases in measuring the intrinsic Lyα EW distribution for a LAE sample at z $\sim$ 4.5 in the Extended CDFS. Only weak Malmquist-type bias in both the intrinsic Lyα luminosity function and the Lyα EW distribution were found. However, the observed EW distribution is severely biased if one only considers LAEs with detections in the continuum. Taking the broadband non-detections into account requires fitting the distribution of the broadband-to-narrowband ratio, which then gives a larger EW distribution scale length. Assuming an exponential form of the intrinsic Lyα EW distribution dN/dEW = N exp(-EW/W$_0$), we obtain W$_0$ = 167+/-44Å (uncorrected for IGM absorption of Lyα). We discuss the likely range of IGM absorption effects in light of recent measurements of Lyα line profiles and velocity offsets. Our data are consistent with Lyα EW being independent of UV luminosity (i.e., we do not see evidence for the "Ando" effect). Our simulations also imply that broad-band images should be 0.5-1 magnitude deeper than narrowband images for an effective and reasonably complete LAE survey. Comparing with consistent measurements at other redshifts, we see a strong evolution in Lyα EW distribution with redshift which goes as a power-law form of W$_0$ $\prop$(1+z)$^$ξ, with ξ = 1.1$\pm$0.1 (0.6$\pm$0.1) if no IGM corrections are applied to the Lyα line; or ξ = 1.7$\pm$0.1 (1.2$\pm$0.1) after applying a maximal IGM-absorption correction to Lyα line) for an exponential (a gaussian) EW distribution from z = 0.3 to 6.5.

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A z ~ 5.7 Lyα Emission Line with an Ultra Broad Red Wing

Using Lyα emission line as a tracer of high redshift star forming galaxies, hundreds of Lyα emission line galaxies (LAEs) at z > 5 have been detected. These LAEs are considered to be low mass young galaxies, critical to the reionization of the universe and the metal enrichment of circumgalactic medium (CGM) and intergalactic medium (IGM). It is assumed that outflows in LAEs can help ionizing photons and Lyα photons escape out of galaxies. However we still know little about the outflows in high redshifts LAEs due to observational difficulties, especially at redshift > 5. Models of Lyα radiative transfer predict asymmetric Lyα line profiles with broad red wing in LAEs with outflows. Here we report a z ~ 5.7 Lyα emission line with a broad red wing extending to > 1000 km/s relative to the peak of Lyα line, which has been detected in only a couple of z > 5 LAEs till now. If the broad red wing is ascribed to gas outflow instead of AGN activity, the outflow velocity could be larger than the escape velocity (~ 500 km/s) of typical halo mass of z ~ 5.7 LAEs, being consistent with the picture that outflows in LAEs disperse metals to CGM and IGM.

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High-Redshift Galaxies with Large Ionization Parameters

Motivated by recent observations of galaxies dominated by emission lines, which show evidence of being metal poor with young stellar populations, we present calculations of multiple model grids with a range of abundances, ionization parameters, and stellar ages, finding that the predicted spectral line diagnostics are heavily dependent on all three parameters. These new model grids extend the ionization parameter to larger values than typically explored. We compare these model predictions with previous observations of such objects, including two new Lyman-$α$ emitting galaxies (LAE) that we have observed. Our models give improved constraints on the metallicity and ionization parameter of these previously studied objects, as we are now able to consider high ionization parameter models. However, similar to previous work, these models have difficulty predicting large line diagnostics for high ionization potential species, requiring future work refining the modelling of FUV photons. Our model grids are also able to constrain the metallicity and ionization parameter of our LAEs, and give constraints on their Ly$α$ escape fractions, all of which are consistent with recent lower redshift studies of LAEs.

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Emission-Line Galaxies from the Hubble Space Telescope Probing Evolution and Reionization Spectroscopically (PEARS) Grism Survey. II: The Complete Sample

We present a full analysis of the Probing Evolution And Reionization Spectroscopically (PEARS) slitess grism spectroscopic data obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on HST. PEARS covers fields within both the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) North and South fields, making it ideal as a random survey of galaxies, as well as the availability of a wide variety of ancillary observations to support the spectroscopic results. Using the PEARS data we are able to identify star forming galaxies within the redshift volume 0< z<1.5. Star forming regions in the PEARS survey are pinpointed independently of the host galaxy. This method allows us to detect the presence of multiple emission line regions (ELRs) within a single galaxy. 1162 Ha, [OIII] and/or [OII] emission lines have been identified in the PEARS sample of ~906 galaxies down to a limiting flux of ~1e-18 erg/s/cm^2. The ELRs have also been compared to the properties of the host galaxy, including morphology, luminosity, and mass. From this analysis we find three key results: 1) The computed line luminosities show evidence of a flattening in the luminosity function with increasing redshift; 2) The star forming systems show evidence of disturbed morphologies, with star formation occurring predominantly within one effective (half-light) radius. However, the morphologies show no correlation with host stellar mass; and 3) The number density of star forming galaxies with M_* > 1e9} M_sun decreases by an order of magnitude at z<0.5 relative to the number at 0.5<z<0.9 in support of the argument for galaxy downsizing.

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A Lyman Break Galaxy in the Epoch of Reionization from HST Grism Spectroscopy

We present observations of a luminous galaxy at redshift z=6.573 --- the end of the reioinization epoch --- which has been spectroscopically confirmed twice. The first spectroscopic confirmation comes from slitless HST ACS grism spectra from the PEARS survey (Probing Evolution And Reionization Spectroscopically), which show a dramatic continuum break in the spectrum at restframe 1216 A wavelength. The second confirmation is done with Keck + DEIMOS. The continuum is not clearly detected with ground-based spectra, but high wavelength resolution enables the Lyman alpha emission line profile to be determined. We compare the line profile to composite line profiles at redshift z=4.5. The Lyman alpha line profile shows no signature of a damping wing attenuation, confirming that the intergalactic gas is ionized at redshift z=6.57. Spectra of Lyman breaks at yet higher redshifts will be possible using comparably deep observations with IR-sensitive grisms, even at redshifts where Lyman alpha is too attenuated by the neutral IGM to be detectable using traditional spectroscopy from the ground.

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Lyman alpha Luminosity Functions at Redshift z = 4.5

We present a spectroscopically confirmed sample of Lyman alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) at z ~ 4.5 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), which we combine with a sample of z ~ 4.5 LAEs from the Large Area Lyman Alpha (LALA) survey to build a unified Lya luminosity function (LF). We spectroscopically observed 64 candidate LAEs in the ECDFS, confirming 46 objects as z~4.5 LAEs. We did not detect significant flux from neither C_iv 1549Å nor the He_ii 1640Å emission in individual LAE spectra, even with a coadded spectrum. With the coadded line ratio of He_ii to Lya constraining the Population III star formation rate (SFR) to be <0.3% of the total SFR, and <1.25% of the observed SFR (both at the 2-$σ$ level). Only one LAE was detected in both the X-ray and radio, while the other objects remained undetected, even when stacked. The Lya LF in our two deepest narrowband filters in the ECDFS differ at >2$σ$ significance, and the product $L^*Φ^*$ differs by a factor of >3. Similar LF differences have been used to infer evolution in the neutral gas fraction in the intergalactic medium at z>6, yet here the difference is likely due to cosmic variance, given that the two samples are from adjoining line-of-sight volumes. Combining our new sample of LAEs with those from previous LALA narrowband surveys at z = 4.5, we obtain one of the best measured Lya LFs to date of L* = 42.83 $\pm$ 0.06 and $Φ^*$ = -3.48 $\pm$ 0.09. We compare our new LF to others from the literature to study the evolution of the Lya luminosity density at 0 < z < 7. We find tentative evidence for evolution in the product $L^* Φ^*$, which approximately tracks the cosmic SFR density, but since field-to-field and survey-to-survey variations are in some cases as large as the possible evolution, some caution is needed in interpreting this trend.

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The Dynamical Masses, Densities, and Star Formation Scaling Relations of Lyman Alpha Galaxies

We present the first dynamical mass measurements for Lyman alpha galaxies at high redshift, based on velocity dispersion measurements from rest-frame optical emission lines and size measurements from HST imaging, for a sample of nine galaxies drawn from four surveys. These measurements enable us to study the nature of Lyman alpha galaxies in the context of galaxy scaling relations. The resulting dynamical masses range from 1e9 to 1e10 solar masses. We also fit stellar population models to our sample, and use them to plot the Lyman alpha sample on a stellar mass vs. line width relation. Overall, the Lyman alpha galaxies follow well the scaling relation established by observing star forming galaxies at lower redshift (and without regard for Lyman alpha emission), though in 1/3 of the Lyman alpha galaxies, lower-mass fits are also acceptable. In all cases, the dynamical masses agree with established stellarmass-linewidth relation. Using the dynamical masses as an upper limit on gas mass, we show that Lyman alpha galaxies resemble starbursts (rather than "normal" galaxies) in the relation between gas mass surface density and star formation activity, in spite of relatively modest star formation rates. Finally, we examine the mass densities of these galaxies, and show that their future evolution likely requires dissipational ("wet") merging. In short, we find that Lyman alpha galaxies are low mass cousins of larger starbursts.

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[OIII] Emission and Gas Kinematics in a Lyman-alpha Blob at z ~ 3.1

We present spectroscopic measurements of the [OIII] emission line from two subregions of strong Lyman-alpha emission in a radio-quiet Lyman-alpha blob (LAB). The blob under study is LAB1 (Steidel et al. 2000) at z ~ 3.1, and the [OIII] detections are from the two Lyman break galaxies embedded in the blob halo. The [OIII] measurements were made with LUCIFER on the 8.4m Large Binocular Telescope and NIRSPEC on 10m Keck Telescope. Comparing the redshift of the [OIII] measurements to Lyman-alpha redshifts from SAURON (Weijmans et al. 2010) allows us to take a step towards understanding the kinematics of the gas in the blob. Using both LUCIFER and NIRSPEC we find velocity offsets between the [OIII] and Lyman-alpha redshifts that are modestly negative or consistent with 0 km/s in both subregions studied (ranging from -72 +/- 42 -- +6 +/- 33 km/s). A negative offset means Lyman-alpha is blueshifted with respect to [OIII], a positive offset then implies Lyman-alpha is redshifted with respect to [OIII]. These results may imply that outflows are not primarily responsible for Lyman alpha escape in this LAB, since outflows are generally expected to produce a positive velocity offset (McLinden et al. 2011). In addition, we present an [OIII] line flux upper limit on a third region of LAB1, a region that is unassociated with any underlying galaxy. We find that the [OIII] upper limit from the galaxy-unassociated region of the blob is at least 1.4 -- 2.5 times fainter than the [OIII] flux from one of the LBG-associated regions and has an [OIII] to Lyman-alpha ratio measured at least 1.9 -- 3.4 times smaller than the same ratio measured from one of the LBGs.

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A Lyman Alpha Galaxy at Redshift z=6.944 in the COSMOS Field

Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies can be used to study cosmological reionization, because a neutral intergalactic medium scatters Lyman-alpha photons into diffuse halos whose surface brightness falls below typical survey detection limits. Here we present the Lyman-alpha emitting galaxy LAE J095950.99+021219.1, identified at redshift z=6.944 in the COSMOS field using narrowband imaging and followup spectroscopy with the IMACS instrument on the Magellan I Baade telescope. With a single object spectroscopically confirmed so far, our survey remains consistent with a wide range of IGM neutral fraction at redshift seven, but further observations are planned and will help clarify the situation. Meantime, the object we present here is only the third Lyman-alpha selected galaxy to be spectroscopically confirmed at redshift seven, and is 2--3 times fainter than the previously confirmed redshift seven Lyman alpha galaxies.

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X-ray Constraints on the Lyman-Alpha Escape Fraction

We have coadded X-ray flux of all known Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) in the 4 Msec Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S) region, to place sensitive upper limits on the average unobscured star-formation rate (SFR_X) in these galaxies. A very small fraction of Lyman-Alpha galaxies in the field are individually detected in the X-rays, implying a low fraction of AGN activity. After excluding the few X-ray detected LAEs, we stack the undetected LAEs located in the 4 Ms CDF-S data and 250 ks Extended CDF-S (ECDFS) data, and compute a 1-σupper limit on SFR_X < 14, 28, 28, 140, 440, 880 M$_{\sun}$ yr$^{-1}$ for LAEs located at z = 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.5, 5.7 and 6.5, respectively. The upper limit of SFR_X in LAEs can be then be compared to SFR$_{Lyα}$ derived from Lyman-Alpha line and thus can constrain on the Lyman-Alpha escape fraction ($f^{Esc}_{Lyα}$). We derive a lower limit on f(Lyman-Alpha Escape) > 14% (84 % confidence level, 1-σlower limit) for LAEs at redshift z ~ 2.1 and z ~ 3.1-3.2. At z > 4, the current LAE samples are not of sufficient size to constrain SFR_X well. By averaging all the LAEs at z> 2, the X-ray non-detection constrains f(Lyman-Alpha Escape) > 17% (84 % confidence level, 1-σlower limit), and rejects f(Lyman-Alpha Escape) < 5.7% at the 99.87% confidence level from 2.1 < z < 6.5.

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Predicting the Merger Fraction of Lyman alpha Emitters from Redshift z~3 to z~7

Rapid mass assembly, likely from mergers or smooth accretion, has been predicted to play a vital role in star-formation in high-redshift Lyman-alpha (Lya) emitters. Here we predict the major merger, minor merger, and smooth accreting Lya emitter fraction from z~3 to z~7 using a large dark matter simulation, and a simple physical model that is successful in reproducing many observations over this large redshift range. The central tenet of this model, different from many of the earlier models, is that the star-formation in Lya emitters is proportional to the mass accretion rate rather than the total halo mass. We find that at z~3, nearly 35% of the Lya emitters accrete their mass through major (3:1) mergers, and this fraction increases to about 50% at z~7. This imply that the star-formation in a large fraction of high-redshift Lya emitters is driven by mergers. While there is discrepancy between the model predictions and observed merger fractions, some of this difference (~15%) can be attributed to the mass-ratio used to define a merger in the simulation. We predict that future, deeper observations which use a 3:1 definition of major mergers will find >30% major merger fraction of Lya emitters at redshifts >3.

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Search for z~6.96 Ly-alpha emitters with Magellan/IMACS in the COSMOS field

We report a search for z~6.96 Ly-alpha emitters (LAEs) using a Narrow-Band filter, centered at 9680 Angstroms, with the IMACS instrument on the Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. We obtain a sample of 6 Ly-alpha emitter candidates of luminosity ~10^42 erg/s in a total area of 465 square arcmin corresponding to a comoving volume of ~ 72000 Mpc^3. From this result, we derive a Ly-alpha luminosity function (LF) at z~6.96 and compare our sample with the only z~6.96 Ly-alpha emitter spectroscopically confirmed to date (Iye et al. 2006). We find no evolution between the z=5.7 and z~7 Ly-alpha luminosity functions, if a majority of our candidates are confirmed. Spectroscopic confirmation for this sample will enable more robust conclusions.

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