Mystery of the Lyα Blobs
Abstract
We present Spitzer Space Telescope observations of the extended Lyman α blobs associated with the z=2.38 over-density J2143-4423, the largest known structure (110 Mpc) above z=2. We detect all 4 of the Lyα blobs in all four IRAC channels and we also detect 3 out of 4 of the blobs with MIPS 24μm. Conversion from rest-wavelength 7μm to total far-infrared luminosity using locally derived correlations suggests all the detected sources are in the class of ULIRGs or even Hyper-LIRGs. We find a weak correlation between Lyα and mid-infrared emission for the Lyα blobs (L_(Lyα)/L_(bol) = 0.05-0.2%). Nearly all Lyα blobs show some evidence for interaction, either in HST imaging, or the proximity of multiple MIPS sources within the Lyα cloud. This suggests that interaction or even mergers may be related to the production of Lyα blobs. Optical through infrared SEDs of the Lyα blobs do not show a clear 1.6μm bump, but rather are indicative of a composite of star formation and AGN energy sources.
Additional Information
© 2008 Astronomical Society of the Pacific. This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under NASA contract 1407. We would like to acknowledge financial support from a grant for Spitzer program GO-3699.Attached Files
Published - Colbert2008p8803Second_Annual_Spitzer_Science_Center_Conference_Infrared_Diagnostics_Of_Galaxy_Evolution.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 19423
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20100813-091859940
- GO-3699
- NASA
- 1407
- NASA
- Created
-
2010-08-13Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2019-10-03Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)
- Series Name
- ASP Conference Series
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 381