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Zhen-Ya Zheng

Publications and source records attributed to Zhen-Ya Zheng.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

An Updated Characterization of Luminous Lyα emitters at the End of Reionization

We present a multi-wavelength physical characterization of 14 luminous Ly$α$ emitters (LAEs) at $z\approx6$, integrating deep ground-based Magellan/M2FS spectroscopy with heterogeneous JWST/NIRCam broad- and medium-band imaging. Identified via strong Ly$α$ lines with extreme Ly$α$ luminosities of ${>}10^{42.6}$ erg s$^{-1}$, the sample exhibits very large rest-frame equivalent widths (${\gtrsim}100$ Å) and steeply blue UV continua ($β_{\rm median}\simeq-2.2$, $-18.2>M_{\rm 1500}>-20.2$ mag). Crucially, the integration of NIRCam medium-band photometry (F410M) breaks the degeneracy between strong rest-optical nebular emission and Balmer breaks, resolving prior mass overestimations. The tightly constrained spectral energy distribution modeling demonstrates that these luminous LAEs tend to be unequivocally low-mass, ultra-young dwarf starbursts; half the sample is characterized by stellar masses of $M_* < 10^8 M_{\odot}$, ages $\lesssim10$ Myr, and negligible dust attenuation. We also map the production efficiency of ionizing photons and Ly$α$ escape fractions ($f_{\rm esc}^{\rm Lyα}$). The $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm Lyα}$ values are exceptionally high, with a median of ${\gtrsim}40$%, increasing for the bluer UV continua. Finally, analyzing spatial offsets between the Ly$α$ centroid and the stellar counterpart, we demonstrate empirically that internal dust content, rather than neutral hydrogen gas, dominate the suppression of Ly$α$ radiative transfer. Our study reveals that strong Ly$α$ emission of the luminous LAEs are generally attributed to both the vigorous starburst activities and the high $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm Lyα}$. Resembling Lyman continuum leakers, these extreme dwarf systems function as highly efficient ionizing engines at the conclusion of the Epoch of Reionization.

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Ly$α$ Escape in JWST/NIRCam F430M-Selected H$α$ Emitters at $z\simeq5.5$

We study the Ly$α$ escape fraction ($f_{\rm esc}$) in an H$α$-selected sample of star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq5.5$, identified via JWST/NIRCam F430M excess and covered by archival VLT/MUSE data. By anchoring the intrinsic Ly$α$ production to H$α$ emission, our approach provides a direct and Ly$α$-unbiased probe of the escape of Ly$α$ photons in galaxies with SFR $\gtrsim 0.1\,M_\odot\,{\rm yr^{-1}}$ at this epoch. Ly$α$ emission is detected in 3 out of 12 galaxies covered by VLT/MUSE. Combining detections and upper limits, we place a conservative upper bound of $\langle f_{\rm esc}^{\rm Lyα} \rangle < 0.32$ on the population-averaged Ly$α$ escape fraction. We find that Ly$α$ detections are preferentially associated with nearly dust-free systems, while no clear correlation between SFR and $f_{\rm esc}$, suggesting a stochastic picture of Ly$α$ escape. Interestingly, three of the four Ly$α$-detected galaxies reside within a known overdense structure, suggesting that local environment may further facilitate Ly$α$ photons escape. Our H$α$-selected approach establishes a general and scalable framework for probing Ly$α$ escape by combining JWST medium- or narrow-band imaging with ground-based spectroscopic data, enabling systematic and less biased studies of Ly$α$ visibility in typical star-forming galaxies during the post-reionization era.

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Gamma-ray bursts reveal the history and faint contributors of cosmic reionization

Star-forming galaxies are generally believed to be the main drivers of cosmic reionization. However, the relative contributions of bright and faint galaxies to this process remain unclear. As the most luminous transient phenomena in the universe, long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) provide a unique opportunity to probe star formation occurring in both detectable and undetectable galaxies. In this Letter, we present new estimates of the cosmic star formation rate density (SFRD) at $4<z<10$ using Swift LGRBs detected over the past two decades, by considering LGRBs as unbiased tracers of total star formation at high redshifts. Crucially, we find that the new LGRB-inferred SFRD can naturally explain current measurements of hydrogen reionization without invoking extreme ionizing photon production efficiencies or escape fractions from galaxies. Using these LGRB-inferred SFRD values, we further investigate the faintest magnitude limits of high-redshift galaxies, finding a redshift evolution of the limiting magnitudes from $M_{\mathrm{lim}}\sim-14$ to $-15$ at $z\sim6$ to $M_{\mathrm{lim}}\sim-10$ to $-11$ at $z\sim10$. This result provides one independent piece of evidence for the presence of a large population of faint galaxies at redshifts $z\gtrsim6$, as an important complement to our understanding of the ionizing photon budget in the early universe.

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Diversity in Lyman Continuum Escape at $z\sim0.3$ Revealed by WISE Infrared Observations

The escape of Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation from star-forming galaxies plays a key role in cosmic reionization. While strong LyC leakers are commonly identified through ultraviolet (UV) and optical diagnostics, their infrared (IR) emission remains poorly explored. We use data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to investigate a sample of local star-forming galaxies, which contains 20 strong LyC leakers ($S/N_\mathrm{LyC} > 3$ and $f_{\rm esc}>5\%$) and 69 non-leakers. Among the strong leakers, 8 are classified with mid-IR detections. Comparing the IR-detected and IR-undetected subsamples, we find that the IR-undetected strong leakers exhibit higher [\ion{O}{3}]5007/[\ion{O}{2}]3726,3729 (O32) ratios, bluer UV slopes, and lower metallicities than the other subsamples. In contrast, the IR-detected strong leakers show O32 ratios, UV slopes, and metallicities comparable to those of non-leakers, while maintaining a median escape fraction of $f_{\rm esc}\sim12\%$. These results indicate that significant LyC escape is not limited to galaxies with the most extreme UV and optical properties and can coexist with substantial IR emission. The Ly$α$ profiles and the morphology of the IR-detected and IR-undetected strong leakers imply that LyC photon escape in these two classes may be driven by different mechanisms. Our results highlight the diversity of LyC leakers and suggest that dusty star-forming galaxies may contribute a considerable amount to the ionizing photon budget during cosmic reionization.

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Local Analogs of Little Red Dots: Optical Variability and Evidence for an Active Galatic Nucleus Origin

Little red dots (LRDs) draw extensive attention because of their unique observational characteristics and apparent overabundance in the early Universe, raising new insights into early black hole formation and growth. Early studies show that LRDs exhibit weak variability in broad-band photometry and emission-line fluxes, suggesting a preference for super-Eddington accretion or disfavouring an AGN origin. However, the cadence of the current data, and therefore, the resulting light curves for LRDs, is limited, preventing us from placing strong constraints on their variability. Based on Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) light curves with a baseline of $\sim6$ years, we here study the optical variability of seven previously reported local analogs of LRDs at $z \sim 0.3$, offering an insight into LRDs from a low-redshift sample. Three out of seven local analogs show excess variances on all three bands of their light curves, and two of them can be fitted with the damping random walk model, supporting their AGN origins for the variability. The remaining sources show weak variance in at least one band, but no detectable variability at the current sensitivity level, exhibiting $\rm SF_\infty$ upper limits consistent with estimates from high-redshift (high-$z$) LRDs. Their non-detection of variability is likely due to the large photometric uncertainty. As an implication, by simulating long baseline light curves with the variability amplitude of local analogs and adopting JWST observation cadence, we investigate the limitation of the variability amplitude estimate for LRDs. Our mock observations imply that the current constraints on LRDs' variability are probably underestimated. This underestimation might be induced by the short temporal baseline of observations, as well as the intrinsic scatter of the empirical $M_{\rm BH}-τ$ relation.

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LCEz4-M1: A Lyman Continuum Emitter Candidate at z = 4.444 in the MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field

High-redshift Lyman continuum emitters (LCEs) are crucial for understanding how galaxies ionize the neutral hydrogen in the epoch of reionization. However, detected LCEs at $z>4$ are quite rare. Here we report an LCE candidate at $z = 4.444$, dubbed LCEz4-M1, which is one of the highest-redshift LCE candidates currently known. The redshift is determined from the Ly$α$ emission line detected in the VLT/MUSE spectrum. The Lyman continuum (LyC) signal is detected independently in the \emph{Hubble Space Telescope} (HST) F435W image and the VLT/MUSE spectrum at significances of $\simeq3.7~σ$ and $\simeq2.8-3.0~σ$, respectively. The LyC centroid is spatially consistent with the JWST/NIRCam continuum within the astrometric uncertainty. Adopting the maximum IGM transmission, we infer conservative lower-limit escape fractions of $f_{\rm esc}({\rm F435W}) = 0.82^{+0.13}_{-0.17}$ and $f_{\rm esc}({\rm MUSE}) = 0.75^{+0.18}_{-0.28}$. Using the combined JWST and MUSE data set, we characterize the physical properties and morphology of LCEz4-M1. In our fiducial JWST-only SED fit, the galaxy is compact but has a moderate current galaxy-integrated star formation surface density, $Σ_{\rm SFR}=0.38~M_{\odot}\,{\rm yr^{-1}\,kpc^{-2}}$, suggesting that it is not an extreme compact starburst under this fiducial interpretation. While we find no clear evidence for an ongoing major merger for LCEz4-M1, the presence of a faint companion ($\sim 0''5$) detected in the F277W band suggests a potential minor interaction. We also find that LCEz4-M1 may lie in a locally overdense region, although the environmental interpretation remains tentative. Finally, the low ${\rm SFR}_{10\,{\rm Myr}}/{\rm SFR}_{100\,{\rm Myr}}$ ratio, low Ly$α$ EW, and relatively weak rest-frame optical emission lines of LCEz4-M1 may indicate a post-burst LyC-leaking phase.

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MCI: Multi-Channel Imager on the Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope

The Multi-Channel Imager (MCI) is a powerful near-ultraviolet (NUV) and visible imager onboard the Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope (CSST). The MCI provides three imaging channels, which are the NUV channel, the Blue channel and the Red channel, with the wavelength range of 255-430 nm, 430-700 nm, and 700-1000 nm, respectively. MCI's three channels can target the same field simultaneously, which is unique compared to other imagers onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) or the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Each channel employs a CCD focal plane of 9216 x 9232 pixels and $\sim$7\arcmin.5 x 7\arcmin.5 field of view (FOV), which are about $\gtrsim 4$ times greater than the FOVs of HST imagers. The MCI's three channels feature unprecedented sensitivities and field of views complement the NUV and visible capabilities of the CSST for high-precision photometry and weak-signal detection, which would help build a new standard-star system and the deepest UV-Optical exposures for CSST. Rich filter sets of MCI would help explore other sciences such as local emission line mapping, high-z Ly$α$ emitters searching, etc. Here we present key design features, results of current ground tests, and suggested observing strategies of the MCI.

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Mock Observations for the CSST Mission: Multi-Channel Imager--Instrument Simulation

The Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope (CSST), a two-meter aperture astronomical space telescope under China's manned space program, is equipped with multiple back-end scientific instruments. As an astronomical precision measurement module of the CSST, the Multi-Channel Imager (MCI) can cover a wide wavelength range from ultraviolet to near-infrared with three-color simultaneous high-precision photometry and imaging, which meets the scientific requirements for various fields. The diverse scientific objectives of MCI require not only a robust airborne platform, advanced optical systems, and observing facilities but also comprehensive software support for scientific operations and research. To this end, it is essential to develop realistic observational simulation software to thoroughly evaluate the MCI data stream and provide calibration tools for future scientific investigations. The MCI instrument simulation software will serve as a foundation for the development of the MCI data processing pipeline and will facilitate improvements in both hardware and software, as well as in the observational operation strategy, in alignment with the mission's scientific goals. In conclusion, we present a comprehensive overview of the MCI instrument simulation and some corresponding performances of the MCI data processing pipeline.

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Optimizing Long-term Variability of AGN Light Curves. I. A Case Study with ZTF Observations in the EGS Field

Optical variability is a key observational probe for studying the accretion dynamics and central engine physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). The quality and completeness of light curves have a direct impact on variability studies, particularly for faint AGNs and high-redshift AGNs. To improve the quality of long-term light curves for AGNs, we bin and stack multi-epoch images balancing the image depths and temporal resolution. As a case study, we apply this method to Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) observations in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) field, where the overlapping region covers an area of about 370 arcmin$^2$ and includes $g$-band and $r$-band data taken from March 2018 to December 2024. The co-added images are approximately 2.0 to 2.5 magnitudes deeper than the ZTF single-epoch images. With co-added images, we construct light curves for 73 AGNs in the EGS field. Compared to the traditional ZTF light curves, our light curves maintain consistent long-term variability trends but with higher photometric precision. Furthermore, this method can help detect AGNs with weak variability which are missed from the traditional ZTF data due to the noisy light curves or below the detection limit in ZTF's single-epoch exposure. Among the 73 AGNs, the majority exhibit a bluer-when-brighter (BWB) trend on long-term timescales, which is consistent with previous studies. This work offers insights for optimizing AGN light curves in both current and upcoming all-sky time-domain surveys.

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Discovery of Local Analogs to JWST's Little Red Dots

Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed a new class of high redshift (high-$z$, $z>4$) compact galaxies which are red in the rest-frame optical and blue in the rest-frame UV as V-shaped spectral energy distributions (SEDs), referred to as "Little Red Dots" (LRDs). It is very likely that LRDs host obscured broad-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs). In the meanwhile, Green pea galaxies (GPs), which are compact dwarf galaxies at low redshift, share various similar properties with high redshift star-forming galaxies. Here we aim to find the connection between the LRDs and GPs hosting broad-line AGNs (BLGPs). With a sample of 19 BLGPs obtained from our previous work, we further identify 7 GPs with V-shaped rest-frame UV-to-optical SEDs that are likely local analogs to LRDs. These V-shaped BLGPs exhibit faint UV absolute magnitudes and sub-Eddington rates similar to those of LRDs. Three of them occupy a similar region as LRDs in the BPT diagram, suggesting they have similar ionization conditions and gas-phase metallicities to LRDs. These similarities suggest that V-shaped BLGPs can be taken as local analogs of high-redshift LRDs. In addition, most (16/19) BLGPs, including 6 V-shaped BLGPs, host over-massive black holes above the local $M_{\rm BH}$-$M_{*}$ relation, making it the first sample of galaxies hosting over-massive black holes at $z<0.4$. These findings will help us learn more about the formation and co-evolution of early galaxies and black holes.

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Searching for dual/lensed quasar candidates with spectroscopic surveys

Dual and lensed quasars are valuable astrophysical targets in many aspects. Dual quasars, considered as the precursors of supermassive black hole binaries, can provide crucial insights into how black hole mergers drive the growth of supermassive black holes and influence the evolution of galaxies. Lensed quasars, formed by the gravitational deflection of a background quasar's light by a massive foreground object, can address key cosmological questions, particularly in refining measurements of the Hubble constant. Despite their significance, the number of confirmed dual and lensed quasars remains limited. Here in this work, we propose a systematic search for dual/lensed quasars using broad emission line profile diagnostics. Our parent sample consists of spectroscopic quasars from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Early Data Release (DESI EDR) and the SDSS DR17 catalog. We identify 30 lensed quasar candidates with similar broad emission line profiles, as well as 36 dual quasar candidates with different profiles. Cross-matching these 66 targets with the HST archival database, we find four overlapping targets, including three previously reported lensed quasars and one newly identified dual quasar candidate. We estimate the black hole masses for the two cores in the same system. The mass ratios are similar in the lensed quasar scenario but vary widely for dual quasars, consistent with the physical nature of these two types. In particular, we identified a dual quasar candidate with the mass ratio exceeding 100 times. We aim to discover more dual/lensed quasar candidates using our method with the upcoming future spectroscopic surveys.

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Lyman Continuum Leakers at $z>3$ in the GOODS-S Field: Starburst or Not?

We investigate the star-forming properties of 23 Lyman Continuum (LyC) leakers at z > 3 in the Great Observatories' Deep Survey-South (GOODS-S) field based on a systematic review of LyC observations from the literature. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we construct the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for these LyC leakers, covering the spectrum from rest-frame ultraviolet to near-infrared. Through the application of a unified modeling approach, we measure the ultraviolet slope, star formation rate, and stellar mass for these LyC leakers in a consistent manner. These high-redshift LyC leakers demonstrate statistically blue UV-continuum slopes, which is consistent with their high escape fraction of LyC photons. We find that these high-redshift LyC leakers span a wide range of specific star formation rate (log(sSFR/yr) from -8.6 to -6.7). Ten of these LyC leakers are located on the star formation main sequence, instead of all being in the starburst mode. The results indicate that intense bursts of star formation are not necessarily required for the leakage of LyC photons for galaxies at z > 3.

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Merging Signatures in an Offset Lyman Continuum Emitter at Redshift 3.8

Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters at $z>3$ provide critical samples for studying the contribution of galaxies to the ionizing background in the Epoch of Reionization. We collect a sample of $z>3$ LyC emitters, a dominant fraction ($\sim$60%-70%) of which shows spatial offsets between LyC emission and the non-ionizing continuum. From this sample, especially, we find a case of an offset LyC emitter, CDFS-6664 ($z=3.797$), which shows two components in the high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images. The exceptionally rich data set of CDFS-6664 enables us to extract the two components across multiple wavelengths and estimate their physical properties. We show that CDFS-6664 is consistent with a major merger system with boosted star formation in both components and the offset LyC emission is most likely associated with the bluer and younger component in this merging system. Our result offers an example in which the offset can be caused by a merger. Future observations of more offset LyC emitters would elucidate the role that mergers play in the escape of LyC photons.

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Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Green Pea Galaxies (IMBH-GP) I: a Candidate Sample from LAMOST and SDSS

The scaling relation of central massive black holes (MBHs) and their host galaxies is well-studied for supermassive BHs (SMBHs, $M_{\rm BH}\ \ge 10^6\, M_{\rm \odot}$). However, this relation has large uncertainties in the mass range of the intermediate-mass BHs (IMBHs, $M_{\rm BH}\ \sim10^3-10^{6}\, M_{\rm \odot}$). Since Green Pea (GP) galaxies are luminous compact dwarf galaxies, which may be likely to host less massive SMBHs or even IMBHs, we systematically search for MBHs in a large sample of 2190 GP galaxies at $z < 0.4$, selected from LAMOST and SDSS spectroscopic surveys. Here, we report a newly discovered sample of 59 MBH candidates with broad H$α$ lines. This sample has a median stellar mass of $10^{8.83\pm0.11}\, M_{\rm \odot}$ and hosts MBHs with single-epoch virial masses ranging from $M_{\rm BH}\ \sim 10^{4.7}$ to $10^{8.5}\, M_{\rm \odot}$ (median $10^{5.85\pm0.64}\, M_{\rm \odot}$). Among the 59 MBH candidates, 36 have black hole masses $M_{\rm BH} \le 10^{6}\, M_{\rm \odot}$ (IMBH candidates), one of which even has $M_{\rm BH} \ \lesssim 10^{5}\, M_{\rm \odot}$. We find that the $M_{\rm BH}-M_{\rm *}$ relation of our MBH sample is consistent with the $M_{\rm BH}-M_{\rm bulge}$ relation for SMBHs, while is above the $M_{\rm BH}-M_{\rm *}$ relation for MBHs in dwarf galaxies in the same mass range. Furthermore, we show that 25 MBH candidates, including 4 IMBH candidates, have additional evidence of black hole activities, assessed through various methods such as the broad-line width, BPT diagram, mid-infrared color, X-ray luminosity, and radio emission. Our studies show that it is very promising to find IMBHs in GP galaxies, and the BH sample so obtained enables us to probe the connection between the MBHs and compact dwarf galaxies in the low-redshift Universe.

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MAMMOTH-Subaru. II. Diverse Populations of Circumgalactic Ly$α$ Nebulae at Cosmic Noon

Circumgalactic Lyman-alpha (Ly$α$) nebulae are gaseous halos around galaxies exhibiting luminous extended Ly$α$ emission. This work investigates Ly$α$ nebulae from deep imaging of $\sim12~\mathrm{deg}^2$ sky, targeted by the MAMMOTH-Subaru survey. Utilizing the wide-field capability of Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), we present one of the largest blind Ly$α$ nebula selections, including QSO nebulae, Ly$α$ blobs, and radio galaxy nebulae down to typical $2σ$ Ly$α$ surface brightness of $(5-10)\times10^{-18}\mathrm{~erg~s^{-1}~cm^{-2}~arcsec^{-2}}$. The sample contains 117 nebulae with Ly$α$ sizes of 40 - 400 kpc, and the most gigantic one spans about 365 kpc, referred to as the Ivory Nebula. Combining multiwavelength data, we investigate diverse nebula populations and associated galaxies. We find a small fraction of Ly$α$ nebulae have QSOs ($\sim7\%$), luminous infrared galaxies ($\sim1\%$), and radio galaxies ($\sim 2\%$). Remarkably, among the 28 enormous Ly$α$ nebulae (ELANe) exceeding 100 kpc, about 80\% are associated with UV-faint galaxies ($M_\mathrm{UV} > -22$), categorized as Type II ELANe. We underscore that Type II ELANe constitute the majority but remain largely hidden in current galaxy and QSO surveys. Dusty starburst and obscured AGN activity are proposed to explain the nature of Type II ELANe. The SED of stacking all Ly$α$ nebulae also reveals signs of massive dusty star-forming galaxies with obscured AGNs. We propose a model to explain the dusty nature where the diverse populations of Ly$α$ nebulae capture massive galaxies at different evolutionary stages undergoing violent assembling. Ly$α$ nebulae provide critical insights into the formation and evolution of today's massive cluster galaxies at cosmic noon.

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Chandra detects low-luminosity AGN with $M_\mathrm{BH}=10^{4}-10^{6}~M_\mathrm{\odot}$ in nearby ($z<0.5$), dwarf and star-forming galaxies

We searched the Chandra and XMM archives for observations of 900 green pea galaxies to find AGN signatures. Green peas are low-mass galaxies with prominent emission lines, similar in size and star formation rate to high-redshift dwarf galaxies. Of the 29 observations found, 9 show X-ray detections with $S/N>3$. The 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity for these 9 sources exceeds $10^{40}~\mathrm{erg~s}^{-1}$, with 2 sources exceeding $10^{41}~\mathrm{erg~s}^{-1}$, suggesting the presence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBH) or low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN) with BH masses between $100-10^6M_\mathrm{\odot}$. All X-ray detected sources (plus 6 additional sources) show He~II$\lambda4686$ emission and a broad component of the H$α$ emission line, indicating winds. The line widths of the broad H$α$ and He II$\lambda4686$ emitting gas clouds are weakly correlated ($R^{2}=0.15$), suggesting He II$\lambda4686$ emission is inconsistent with winds from super-Eddington accretors. However, the ratio of X-ray luminosity to star formation rate shows an anti-correlation with metallicity in 5 out of 9 X-ray detected sources, implying ultraluminous X-ray sources are key contributors to the observed X-ray luminosity. This could be due to super-Eddington accretors or IMBH. The X-ray emission is much higher than that produced by Wolf-Rayet stars and supernovae-driven winds. Thus, the X-ray luminosity in these 9 sources can only be explained by black holes with masses over $100~M_\mathrm{\odot}$. Our findings suggest the presence of LLAGN in these galaxies, with broad H$α$ line widths implying BH masses of $10^4-10^6M_\mathrm{\odot}$. Given Green Peas' role as significant Lyman Continuum leakers, LLAGN in these galaxies could have contributed significantly to cosmic reionization.

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Unveiling Luminous Ly$α$ Emitters at $z\approx6$ through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field

We study a sample of 14 spectroscopically confirmed Ly$α$ Emitters (LAEs) in the late era of reionization (at redshift $z\approx6$) based on the JWST/NIRCam imaging dataset. These LAEs with high Ly$α$ luminosity of $L$(Ly$α$) $\sim10^{42.4-43.4}$ erg s$^{-1}$ have been covered by the (ongoing) COSMOS-Web survey (Kartaltepe et al. 2021; Casey et al. 2022) over $0.28$ deg$^2$ in four NIRCam bands (F115W, F150W, F277W, and F444W). With JWST imaging, we determine the UV continua with $M_{\rm UV}$ ranging from ${-}20.5$ to ${-}18.5$ mag. The UV slopes have a median value of $β\approx-2.35$, and the steepest slope can reach $β<-3$. Under an excellent spatial resolution of JWST, we identify three out of the sample as potential merging/interacting systems. The 14 LAEs (and their components) are compact in morphology residing substantially below the mass-size relation of high-$z$ galaxies. We further investigate the stellar mass ($M_*$) and star-formation rates (SFRs). Most of the LAEs lie on the SFR-$M_*$ main-sequence relation while two of them featured as "little red dots" likely host active galactic nuclei (AGN), implying a ${\sim}10\%$ AGN fraction. Moreover, we reveal that a new correlation may exist between Ly$α$ equivalent width and the offset between Ly$α$ and UV emission ($Δd_{\rm Lyα}$) with a median $Δd_{\rm Lyα} \sim 1$ kpc. This could be explained by Ly$α$ radiative transfer process in both ISM and CGM. The results usher a new era of detailed analysis on high-$z$ LAEs with the JWST capability.

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The Hubble Deep Hydrogen Alpha (HDH$α$) Project: I. Catalog of Emission-line Galaxies

We present the first results of the Hubble Deep Hydrogen Alpha (HDH$α$) project, which analyzes the space-borne deep H$α$ narrowband imaging data in the GOODS-S region. The HDH$α$ data comprises 72 orbits' images taken with the HST ACS/WFC F658N filter. The exposure time varies across a total area of $\sim$76.1 $\rm{arcmin}^2$, adding up to a total exposure time of 195.7 ks, among which 68.8 ks are spent in the deepest region. These images are aligned, reprojected, and combined to have the same pixel grid as the Hubble Legacy Fields (HLF). The scientific goals of the HDH$α$ include establishing a sample of emission-line galaxies (ELGs) including [O III] emitters at $z\sim$ 0.3, [O II] emitters at $z\sim$ 0.8, and Lyman-$α$ emitters (LAEs) at $z \sim 4.4$, studying the line morphology of ELGs with high resolution imaging data, and statistically analyzing the line luminosity functions and line equivalent-width distributions of ELGs selected with HST. Furthermore, the HDH$α$ project enhances the legacy value of the GOODS-S field by contributing the first HST-based narrowband image to the existing data sets, which includes the HST broadband data and other ancillary data from X-ray to radio taken by other facilities. In this paper, we describe the data reduction process of the HDH$α$, select ELGs based on HST's F658N and broadband data, validate the redshifts of the selected candidates by cross matching with the public spectroscopic catalogs in the GOODS-S, and present a final catalog of the confirmed [O III] emitters at $z\sim$ 0.3, [O II] emitters at $z\sim$ 0.8, and LAEs at $z \sim 4.4$.

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