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M. D. Lehnert

Publications and source records attributed to M. D. Lehnert.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The detection of FIR emission from high redshift star-forming galaxies in the ECDF-S

ABRIDGED: We have used the LABOCA Survey of the ECDF-S (LESS) to investigate rest-frame FIR emission from typical SF systems (LBGs) at redshift 3, 4, and 5. We initially concentrate on LBGs at z~3 and select three subsamples on stellar mass, extinction corrected SF and rest-frame UV-magnitude. We produce composite 870micron images of the typical source in our subsamples, obtaining ~4sigma detections and suggesting a correlation between FIR luminosity and stellar mass. We apply a similar procedure to our full samples at z~3, 4, 4.5 and 5 and do not obtain detections - consistent with a simple scaling between FIR luminosity and stellar mass. In order to constrain the FIR SED of these systems we explore their emission at multiple wavelengths spanning the peak of dust emission at z~3 using the Herschel SPIRE observations of the field. We obtain detections at multiple wavelengths for both our stellar mass and UV-magnitude selected samples, and find a best-fit SED with T_dust in the ~33-41K range. We calculate L_FIR, obscured SFRs and M_dust, and find that a significant fraction of SF in these systems is obscured. Interestingly, our extinction corrected SFR sample does not display the large FIR fluxes predicted from its red UV-spectral slope. This suggests that the method of assuming an intrinsic UV-slope and correcting for dust attenuation may be invalid for this sample - and that these are not in fact the most actively SF systems. All of our z~3 samples fall on the `main sequence' of SF galaxies at z~3 and our detected subsamples are likely to represent the high obscuration end of LBGs at their epoch. We compare the FIR properties of our subsamples with various other populations, finding that our stellar mass selected sample shows similar FIR characteristics to SMGs at the same epoch and therefore potentially represents the low L_FIR end of the high redshift FIR luminosity function.

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Nebular emission and the Lyman continuum photon escape fraction in CALIFA early-type galaxies

We use deep integral field spectroscopy data from the CALIFA survey to study the warm interstellar medium (WIM) of 32 nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs). We propose a tentative subdivision of our sample ETGs into two groups, according to their Ha equivalent width (EW) and Lyman continuum (LyC) photon escape fraction (PLF). Type i ETGs show nearly constant EWs and a PLF~0, suggesting that photoionization by post-AGB stars is the main driver of their faint extranuclear nebular emission. Type ii ETGs are characterized by very low, outwardly increasing EWs, and a PLF as large as ~0.9 in their centers. Such properties point to a low, and inwardly decreasing WIM density and/or volume filling factor. We argue that, because of extensive LyC photon leakage, emission-line luminosities and EWs are reduced in type ii ETG nuclei by at least one order of magnitude. Consequently, the line weakness of these ETGs is by itself no compelling evidence for their containing merely "weak" (sub-Eddington accreting) active galactic nuclei (AGN). In fact, LyC photon escape, which has heretofore not been considered, may constitute a key element in understanding why many ETGs with prominent signatures of AGN activity in radio continuum and/or X-ray wavelengths show only faint emission lines and weak signatures of AGN activity in their optical spectra. The LyC photon escape, in conjunction with dilution of nuclear EWs by line-of-sight integration through a triaxial stellar host, can systematically impede detection of AGN in gas-poor galaxy spheroids through optical emission-line spectroscopy. We further find that type i and ii ETGs differ little (~0.4 dex) in their mean BPT line ratios, which in both cases are characteristic of LINERs. This potentially hints at a degeneracy of the projected, luminosity-weighted BPT ratios for the specific 3D properties of the WIM in ETGs. (abridged)

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Resolving the optical emission lines of Lya blob 'B1' at z=2.38: another hidden quasar

We have used the SINFONI near-infrared integral field unit on the VLT to resolve the optical emission line structure of one of the brightest (L~1e44 erg/s) and nearest (z=2.38) of all Lya blobs (LABs). The target, known in the literature as object 'B1' (Francis et al. 1996), lies at a redshift where the main optical emission lines are accessible in the observed near-infrared. We detect luminous [OIII]4959,5007A and Ha emission with a spatial extent of at least 32x40 kpc (4"x5"). The dominant optical emission line component shows relatively broad lines (600-800 km/s, FWHM) and line ratios consistent with AGN-photoionization. The new evidence for AGN photoionization, combined with previously detected CIV and luminous, warm infrared emission, suggest that B1 is the site of a hidden quasar. This is confirmed by the fact that [OII] is relatively weak compared to [OIII] (extinction-corrected [OIII]/[OII] of about 3.8), which is indicative of a high, Seyfert-like ionization parameter. From the [OIII] luminosity we infer a bolometric AGN luminosity of ~3e46 erg/s, and further conclude that the obscured AGN may be Compton-thick given existing X-ray limits. The large line widths observed are consistent with clouds moving within the narrow line region of a luminous QSO. The AGN scenario is capable of producing sufficient ionizing photons to power the Lya, even in the presence of dust. By performing a census of similar objects in the literature, we find that virtually all luminous LABs harbor obscured quasars. Based on simple duty-cycle arguments, we conclude that AGN are the main drivers of the Lya in LABs rather than the gravitational heating and subsequent cooling suggested by cold stream models. We also conclude that the empirical relation between LABs and overdense environments at high redshift must be due to a more fundamental correlation between AGN (or massive galaxies) and environment.

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On the self-regulation of intense star-formation in galaxies at z=1-3

(abridged) We have analyzed the properties of the rest-frame optical emission lines of a sample of 53 intensely star forming galaxies at z=1.3 to 2.7 observed with SINFONI on the ESO-VLT. We find large velocity dispersions in the lines, sigma=30-250 km/s. Our data agree well with simulations where we applied beam-smearing and assumed a scaling relation of the form: velocity dispersion is proportional to the square root of the star-formation intensity (star-formation rate per unit area). We conclude that the dispersions are primarily driven by star formation. To explain the high surface brightness and optical line ratios, high thermal pressures in the warm ionized medium, WIM, are required (log P/k (K/cm^3)>~6-7). Such thermal pressures in the WIM are similar to those observed in nearby starburst galaxies, but occur over much larger physical scales. Moreover, the relatively low ionization parameters necessary to fit the high surface brightnesses and optical line ratios suggest that the gas is not only directly associated with regions of star formation, but is wide spread throughout the general ISM. Thus the optical emission line gas is a tracer of the large scale dynamics of the bulk of the ISM. We present a simple model for the energy input from young stars in an accreting galaxy, to argue that the intense star-formation is supporting high turbulent pressure, which roughly balances the gravitational pressure and thus enables distant gas accreting disks to maintain a Toomre disk instability parameter Q~1. For a star formation efficiency of 3%, only 5-15% of the mechanical energy from young stars that is deposited in the ISM is needed to support the level of turbulence required for maintaining this balance. Since this balance is maintained by energy injected into the ISM by the young stars themselves, this suggests that star formation in high redshift galaxies is self-regulating.

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Are z~5 QSOs found in the most massive high redshift over-densities?

Luminous high-redshift QSOs are thought to exist within the most massive dark matter haloes in the young Universe. As a consequence they are likely to be markers for biased, over-dense regions where early galaxies cluster, regions that eventually grow into the groups and clusters seen in the lower redshift universe. In this paper we explore the clustering of galaxies around z ~ 5 QSOs as traced by Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs). We target the fields of three QSOs using the same optical imaging and spectroscopy techniques used in the ESO Remote Galaxy Survey (ERGS, Douglas et al. 2009, 2010), which was successful in identifying individual clustered structures of LBGs. We use the statistics of the redshift clustering in ERGS to show that two of the three fields show significant clustering of LBGs at the QSO redshifts. Neither of these fields is obviously over-dense in LBGs from the imaging alone; a possible reason why previous imaging-only studies of high-redshift QSO environments have given ambiguous results. This result shows that luminous QSOs at z ~ 5 are typically found in over-dense regions. The richest QSO field contains at least nine spectroscopically confirmed objects at the same redshift including the QSO itself, seven LBGs and a second fainter QSO. While this is a very strong observational signal of clustering at z ~ 5, it is of similar strength to that seen in two structures identified in the 'blank sky' ERGS fields. This indicates that, while over-dense, the QSO environments are not more extreme than other structures that can be identified at these redshifts. The three richest structures discovered in this work and in ERGS have properties consistent with that expected for proto-clusters and likely represent the early stages in the build-up of massive current-day groups and clusters.

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CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey. II. First public data release

We present the first public data release of the CALIFA survey. It consists of science-grade optical datacubes for the first 100 of eventually 600 nearby (0.005<z<0.03) galaxies, obtained with the integral-field spectrograph PMAS/PPak mounted on the 3.5m telescope at the Calar Alto observatory. The galaxies in DR1 already cover a wide range of properties in color-magnitude space, morphological type, stellar mass, and gas ionization conditions. This offers the potential to tackle a variety of open questions in galaxy evolution using spatially resolved spectroscopy. Two different spectral setups are available for each galaxy, (i) a low-resolution V500 setup covering the nominal wavelength range 3745-7500A with a spectral resolution of 6.0A (FWHM), and (ii) a medium-resolution V1200 setup covering the nominal wavelength range 3650-4840A with a spectral resolution of 2.3A (FWHM). We present the characteristics and data structure of the CALIFA datasets that should be taken into account for scientific exploitation of the data, in particular the effects of vignetting, bad pixels and spatially correlated noise. The data quality test for all 100 galaxies showed that we reach a median limiting continuum sensitivity of 1.0x10^-18erg/s/cm^2/A/arcsec^2 at 5635A and 2.2x10^-18erg/s/cm^2/A/arcsec^2 at 4500A for the V500 and V1200 setup respectively, which corresponds to limiting r and g band surface brightnesses of 23.6mag/arcsec^2 and 23.4mag/arcsec^2, or an unresolved emission-line flux detection limit of roughly 1x10^-17erg/s/cm^2/arcsec^2 and 0.6x10^-17erg/s/cm^2/arcsec^2, respectively. The median spatial resolution is 3.7", and the absolute spectrophotometric calibration is better than 15% (1sigma). We also describe the available interfaces and tools that allow easy access to this first public CALIFA data.

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Gas-rich mergers and feedback are ubiqitous amongst starbursting radio galaxies, as revealed by JVLA, IRAM PdBI and Herschel

We report new, sensitive observations of two z ~ 3-3.5 FIR-luminous radio galaxies, 6C1909+72 and B3J2330+3927, in 12CO J=1-0 with the Karl Jansky VLA and at 100-500um using Herschel, alongside new and archival 12CO J=4-3 observations from IRAM PdBI. We introduce a new colour-colour diagnostic plot to constrain the redshifts of several distant, dusty galaxies in our target fields. A bright SMG near 6C1909+72 likely shares the same node or filament as the signpost AGN, but it is not detected in CO despite ~20,000 km/s of velocity coverage. Also in the 6C1909+72 field, a large, red dust feature spanning ~500 kpc is aligned with the radio jet. We suggest several processes by which metal-rich material may have been transported, favouring a collimated outflow reminiscent of the jet-oriented metal enrichment seen in local cluster environments. Our interferometric imaging reveals a gas-rich companion to B3J2330+3927; indeed, all bar one of the eight z >~ 2 radio galaxies (or companions) detected in CO provide some evidence that starburst activity in radio-loud AGN at high redshift is driven by the interaction of two or more gas-rich systems in which a significant mass of stars has already formed, rather than via steady accretion of cold gas from the cosmic web. We find that the CO Tb ratios in radio-loud AGN host galaxies are significantly higher than those seen in similarly intense starbursts where AGN activity is less pronounced. Our most extreme example, where L'(CO4-3)/L'(CO1-0) > 2.7, provides evidence that significant energy is being deposited rapidly into the molecular gas via X-rays and/or mechanical (`quasar-mode') feedback from the AGN, leading to a high degree of turbulence globally and a low optical depth in 12CO - feedback that may lead to the cessation of star formation on a timescale commensurate with that of the jet activity, <~10 Myr.

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Limits on dust emission from z~5 LBGs and their local environments

We present 1.2mm MAMBO-2 observations of a field which is over-dense in Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at z~5. The field includes seven spectroscopically-confirmed LBGs contained within a narrow (z=4.95+/-0.08) redshift range and an eighth at z=5.2. We do not detect any individual source to a limit of 1.6 mJy/beam (2*rms). When stacking the flux from the positions of all eight galaxies, we obtain a limit to the average 1.2 mm flux of these sources of 0.6mJy/beam. This limit is consistent with FIR imaging in other fields which are over-dense in UV-bright galaxies at z~5. Independently and combined, these limits constrain the FIR luminosity (8-1000 micron) to a typical z~5 LBG of LFIR<~3x10^11 Lsun, implying a dust mass of Mdust<~10^8 Msun (both assuming a grey body at 30K). This LFIR limit is an order of magnitude fainter than the LFIR of lower redshift sub-mm sources (z~1-3). We see no emission from any other sources within the field at the above level. While this is not unexpected given millimetre source counts, the clustered LBGs trace significantly over-dense large scale structure in the field at z = 4.95. The lack of any such detection in either this or the previous work, implies that massive, obscured star-forming galaxies may not always trace the same structures as over-densities of LBGs, at least on the length scale probed here. We briefly discuss the implications of these results for future observations with ALMA.

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The ionized gas in the CALIFA early-type galaxies I. Mapping two representative cases: NGC 6762 and NGC 5966

As part of the CALIFA survey, we conducted a thorough 2D analysis of the ionized gas in two E/S0 galaxies, NGC6762 and NGC5966, aiming to shed light on the nature of their warm ionized ISM. We present optical IFS obtained with the PMAS/PPAK spectrophotometer. To recover the nebular lines, we subtracted the underlying stellar continuum from the observed spectra using the STARLIGHT code. In NGC6762, the ionized gas and stellar emission display similar morphologies, while the emission line morphology is elongated in NGC5966, spanning ~6 kpc, and is oriented roughly orthogonal to the major axis of the stellar continuum ellipsoid. Whereas gas and stars are kinematically aligned in NGC6762, the gas is kinematically decoupled from the stars in NGC5966. A decoupled rotating disk or an ionization cone are two possible interpretations of the elongated ionized gas structure in NGC5966. The latter would be the first ionization cone of such a dimension detected within a weak emission-line galaxy. Both galaxies have weak emission-lines relative to the continuum [EW(Ha)< 3 A] and have low excitation, log([OIII]5007/Hb) < 0.5. Based on optical diagnostic ratios ([OIII]5007/Hb,[NII]6584/Ha,[SII]6717,6731/Ha,[OI]6300/Ha), both objects contain a LINER nucleus and an extended LINER-like gas emission. The emission line ratios do not vary significantly with radius or aperture, which indicates that the nebular properties are spatially homogeneous. The gas emission in NGC6762 can be best explained by photoionization by pAGB stars without the need of invoking any other excitation mechanism. In the case of NGC5966, the presence of a nuclear ionizing source seems to be required to shape the elongated gas emission feature in the ionization cone scenario, although ionization by pAGB stars cannot be ruled out.(abridged)

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GALEX selected Lyman Break Galaxies at z~2: Comparison with other Populations

We present results of a search for bright Lyman break galaxies at 1.5<=z<=2.5 in the GOODS-S field using a NUV-dropout technique in combination with color-selection. We derived a sample of 73 LBG candidates. We compare our selection efficiencies to BM/BX- and BzK methods (techniques solely based on ground-based data sets), and find the NUV data to provide greater efficiency for selecting star-forming galaxies. We estimate LBG candidate ages, masses, star formation rates, and extinction from fitting PEGASE synthesis evolution models. We find about 20% of our LBG candidates are comparable to infrared luminous LBGs or sub-millimeter galaxies which are thought to be precursors of massive elliptical galaxies today. Overall, we can show that although BM/BX and BzK methods do identify star-forming galaxies at z~2, the sample they provide biases against those star-forming galaxies which are more massive and contain sizeable red stellar populations. A true Lyman break criterion at z~2 is therefore more directly comparable to the populations found at z~3, which does contain a red fraction.

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Minor mergers and their impact on the kinematics of old and young stellar populations in disk galaxies

By means of N-body simulations we investigate the impact of minor mergers on the angular momentum and dynamical properties of the merger remnant. Our simulations cover a range of initial orbital characteristics and gas-to-stellar mass fractions (from 0 to 20%), and include star formation and supernova feedback. We confirm and extend previous results by showing that the specific angular momentum of the stellar component always decreases independently of the orbital parameters or morphology of the satellite, and that the decrease in the rotation velocity of the primary galaxy is accompanied by a change in the anisotropy of the orbits. However, the decrease affects only the old stellar population, and not the new population formed from gas during the merging process. This means that the merging process induces an increasing difference in the rotational support of the old and young stellar components, with the old one lagging with respect to the new. Even if our models are not intended specifically to reproduce the Milky Way and its accretion history, we find that, under certain conditions, the modeled rotational lag found is compatible with that observed in the Milky Way disk, thus indicating that minor mergers can be a viable way to produce it. The lag can increase with the vertical distance from the disk midplane, but only if the satellite is accreted along a direct orbit, and in all cases the main contribution to the lag comes from stars originally in the primary disk rather than from stars in the satellite galaxy. We also discuss the possibility of creating counter-rotating stars in the remnant disk, their fraction as a function of the vertical distance from the galaxy midplane, and the cumulative effect of multiple mergers on their creation.

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The Average Optical Spectra of Intense Starbursts at z~2: Outflows and the Pressurization of the ISM

An important property of star-forming galaxies at z~1-2 is the high local star-formation intensities they maintain over tens of kiloparsecs at levels that are only observed in the nearby Universe in the most powerful nuclear starbursts. To investigate how these high star-formation intensities affect the warm ionized medium, we present an analysis of the average spectra of about 50 such galaxies at z~1.2-2.6 and of subsamples selected according to their local and global star-formation intensity. Stacking allows us to probe relatively weak lines like [SII]λλ6716,6731 and [OI]λ6300, which are tracers of the conditions of the ISM and are undetectable in most individual targets. We find higher gas densities (hence pressures) in intensely star-forming regions compared to fainter diffuse gas and, overall, values that are comparable to starburst regions and the diffuse ISM in nearby galaxies. By modeling the Hα surface brightnesses and [SII]/Hα line ratios with the Cloudy photoionization code, we find that our galaxies continue trends observed in local galaxies, where gas pressures scale with star-formation intensity. We discuss these results in the context of models of self-regulated star formation, where star formation determines the average thermal and turbulent pressure in the ISM, which in turn determines the rate at which stars can form, finding good agreement with our data. We also confirm the detection of broad, faint lines underlying Hα and [NII], which have previously been considered evidence of either outflows or active galactic nuclei. Finding that the broad component is only significantly detected in stacks with the highest average local and global star-formation intensities strongly supports the outflow interpretation, and further emphasizes the importance of star-formation feedback and self-regulation in the early Universe.

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The Na D profiles of nearby low-power radio sources: Jets powering outflows

(abridged) We have analyzed the properties of the Na D doublet lines in a large sample of 691 radio galaxies using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). These radio galaxies are resolved in the FIRST survey, have redshifts less that 0.2 and radio flux densities at 1.4 GHz higher than 40 mJy. Approximately 1/3 of the sources show a significant excess (above that contributed by their stellar populations) of Na D absorption that can be robustly fitted with two Voigt profiles representing the Na D doublet. A further 1/6 of the sources show residual absorption, for which the fits were not well constrained though while ~50% of the sample show no significant residual absorption. The residual absorption is modestly blueshifted, typically by ~50 km/s, but the velocity dispersions are high, generally ~500 km/s. Assuming that the size of the absorbing region is consistent with ~1 kpc for dust lanes in a sample of generally more powerful radio sources and a continuous constant velocity flow (continuity equation), we estimate mass and energy outflow rates of about 10 Msun/yr and few x e42 erg/s. These rates are consistent with those in the literature based on HI absorption line observations of radio galaxies. The energy required to power these outflows is on the order of 1-10% of the jet mechanical power and we conclude that the radio jet alone is sufficient. The mass and energy outflow rates are consistent with what is needed to heat/expel the mass returned by the stellar populations as well as the likely amount of gas from a cooling halo. This suggests that radio-loud AGN play a key role in energizing the outflow/heating phase of the feedback cycle. The deposition of the jet mechanical energy could be important for explaining the ensemble characteristics of massive early type galaxies in the local universe.

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A SINFONI view of flies in the Spiderweb: a galaxy cluster in the making

The environment of the high-z radio galaxy PKS 1138-262 at z~2.2 is a prime example of a forming galaxy cluster. We use deep SINFONI data to perform a detailed study of the kinematics of the galaxies within 60 kpc of the radio core and we link this to the kinematics of the protocluster on the megaparsec scale. Identification of optical emission lines shows that 11 galaxies are at the redshift of the protocluster. The density of line emitters is more than an order of magnitude higher in the core of the protocluster than the larger scale environment. This implies a matter overdensity in the core of delta_m~70 which is similar to the outskirts of local galaxy clusters. The velocity distribution of the confirmed satellite galaxies shows a broad, double-peaked velocity structure with sigma=1360+/-206 km/s. A similar broad, double-peaked distribution was found in a previous study targeting the large scale protocluster structure, indicating that a common process is acting on both small and large scales. Including all spectroscopically confirmed protocluster galaxies, a velocity dispersion of 1013+/-87 km/s is found. We show that the protocluster has likely decoupled from the Hubble flow and is a dynamically evolved structure. Comparison to the Millenium simulation indicates that the protocluster velocity distribution is consistent with that of the most massive haloes at z~2, but we rule out that the protocluster is a fully virialized structure based on dynamical arguments and its X-ray luminosity. Comparison to merging haloes in the Millennium simulation shows that the structure as observed in and around the Spiderweb galaxy is best interpreted as being the result of a merger between two massive haloes. We propose that this merger can result in an increase in star formation and AGN activity in the protocluster core and is possibly an important stage in the evolution of massive cD galaxies.

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The dynamics of the ionized and molecular ISM in powerful obscured quasars at z>=3.5

We present an analysis of the kinematics and excitation of the warm ionized gas in two obscured, powerful quasars at z>=3.5 from the SWIRE survey, SWIRE J022513.90-043419.9 and SWIRE J022550.67-042142, based on imaging spectroscopy on the VLT. Line ratios in both targets are consistent with luminous narrow-line regions of AGN. SWIRE J022550.67-042142 has very broad (FWHM=2000 km/s), spatially compact [OIII] line emission. SWIRE J022513.90-043419.9 is spatially resolved, has complex line profiles of H-beta and [OIII], including broad wings with blueshifts of up to -1500 km/s relative to the narrow [OIII]5007 component, and widths of up to FWHM=5000 km/s. Estimating the systemic redshift from the narrow H-beta line, as is standard for AGN host galaxies, implies that a significant fraction of the molecular gas is blueshifted by up to ~ -1000 km/s relative to the systemic velocity. Thus the molecular gas could be participating in the outflow. Significant fractions of the ionized and molecular gas reach velocities greater than the escape velocity. We compare empirical and modeling constraints for different energy injection mechanisms, such as merging, star formation, and momentum-driven AGN winds. We argue that the radio source is the most likely culprit, in spite of the sources rather modest radio power of 10^25 W/Hz. Such a radio power is not uncommon for intense starburst galaxies at z~2. We discuss these results in light of the co-evolution of AGN and their host galaxy.

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Gas inflows, star formation and metallicity evolution in galaxy pairs

It has been known since many decades that galaxy interactions can induce star formation (hereafter SF) enhancements and that one of the driving mechanisms of this enhancement is related to gas inflows into the central galaxy regions, induced by asymmetries in the stellar component, like bars. In the last years many evidences have been accumulating, showing that interacting pairs have central gas-phase metallicities lower than those of field galaxies, by {\sim} 0.2-0.3 dex on average. These diluted ISM metallicities have been explained as the result of inflows of metal-poor gas from the outer disk to the galaxy central regions. A number of questions arises: What's the timing and the duration of this dilution? How and when does the SF induced by the gas inflow enrich the circumnuclear gas with re-processed material? Is there any correlation between the timing and strength of the dilution and the timing and intensity of the SF? By means of Tree-SPH simulations of galaxy major interactions, we have studied the effect that gas inflows have on the ISM dilution, and the effect that the induced SF has, subsequently, in re-enriching the nuclear gas. In this contribution, we present the main results of this study.

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The formation of a thick disk through the heating of a thin disk: Agreement with orbital eccentricities of stars in the solar neighborhood

We study the distribution of orbital eccentricities of stars in thick disks generated by the heating of a pre-existing thin stellar disk through a minor merger (mass ratio 1:10), using N-body/SPH numerical simulations of interactions that span a range of gas fractions in the primary disk and initial orbital configurations. The resulting eccentricity distributions have an approximately triangular shape, with a peak at 0.2-0.35, and a relatively smooth decline towards higher values. Stars originally in the satellite galaxy tend to have higher eccentricities (on average from e = 0.45 to e = 0.75), which is in general agreement with the models of Sales and collaborators, although in detail we find fewer stars with extreme values and no evidence of their secondary peak around e = 0.8. The absence of this high-eccentricity feature results in a distribution that qualitatively matches the observations. Moreover, the increase in the orbital eccentricities of stars in the solar neighborhood with vertical distance from the Galactic mid-plane recently found by Diericxk and collaborators can be qualitatively reproduced by our models, but only if the satellite is accreted onto a direct orbit. We thus speculate that if minor mergers were the dominant means of formating the Milky Way thick disk, the primary mechanism should be merging with satellite(s) on direct orbits.

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Spectroscopic confirmation of a galaxy at redshift z=8.6

Galaxies had their most significant impact on the Universe when they assembled their first generations of stars. Energetic photons emitted by young, massive stars in primeval galaxies ionized the intergalactic medium surrounding their host galaxies, cleared sight-lines along which the light of the young galaxies could escape, and fundamentally altered the physical state of the intergalactic gas in the Universe continuously until the present day. Observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background, and of galaxies and quasars at the highest redshifts, suggest that the Universe was reionised through a complex process that was completed about a billion years after the Big Bang, by redshift z~6. Detecting ionizing Ly-alpha photons from increasingly distant galaxies places important constraints on the timing, location and nature of the sources responsible for reionisation. Here we report the detection of Ly-a photons emitted less than 600 million years after the Big Bang. UDFy-38135539 is at a redshift z=8.5549+-0.0002, which is greater than those of the previously known most distant objects, at z=8.2 and z=6.97. We find that this single source is unlikely to provide enough photons to ionize the volume necessary for the emission line to escape, requiring a significant contribution from other, probably fainter galaxies nearby.

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