Line Emitting Galaxies Beyond a Redshift of 7: An Improved Method for Estimating the Evolving Neutrality of the Intergalactic Medium
Abstract
The redshift-dependent fraction of color-selected galaxies revealing Lyman alpha emission has become the most valuable constraint on the evolving neutrality of the early intergalactic medium. However, in addition to resonant scattering by neutral gas, the visibility of Lyman alpha is also dependent on the intrinsic properties of the host galaxy, including its stellar population, dust content and the nature of outflowing gas. Taking advantage of significant progress we have made in determining the line emitting properties of zā4ā6 galaxies, we propose an improved method, based on using the measured slopes of the rest-frame ultraviolet continua of galaxies, to interpret the growing body of near-infrared spectra of z>7 galaxies in order to take into account these host galaxy dependencies. In a first application of our new method, we demonstrate its potential via a new spectroscopic survey of 7
Additional Information
We thank Chuck Steidel and Ian McLain for their sterling efforts in developing the highly successful MOSFIRE instrument. We also wish to recognize and acknowledge the very signicant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Mauna Kea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain.Attached Files
Submitted - 1404.4632v1.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 45495
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140505-111931471
- Created
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2014-05-05Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2023-06-02Created from EPrint's last_modified field