Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published 1988 | public
Book Section - Chapter

Lyman-Alpha Galaxies at Large Redshifts

Abstract

Strong Lyα emission has been detected from several different types of distant galaxies, radio galaxies and their companions at z ≃ 1.8, and galaxy companions of quasars at z > 3. This line emission is a good way of detecting galaxies at very large redshifts, and a powerful probe of the physical conditions and processes in them. A subset of the Lyα radio galaxies have photometric, spectroscopic, and morphological properties unlike those of any previously known class of objects, and may be interpreted as galaxies in the process of formation. These and other observations agree very well with some modern theoretical ideas, which predict that galaxy formation is an extended process which may begin at large redshifts, but culminate at z ~ 1–2. If this is the case, we may have already detected primeval galaxies. Searches can be (re)designed to test this notion.

Additional Information

© 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers. This paper is based almost entirely on the data, work, and ideas shared with my collaborators, in particular Hy Spinrad, Patrick McCarthy, Mark Dickinson, Michael Strauss, and others. They get the credit for the data and whatever turns out well and true from all this, but I get all the blame for the wild speculations, generalizations, and flakey conclusions. We are grateful to the staffs of Kitt Peak, Lick, MMT, VLA, CFHT, and Cerro Tololo observatories for their able and professional help during numerous observing runs. I was inspired by papers by, and discussions with, Joe Silk, Richard Larson, and many others. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the pleasant and productive atmosphere of the Erice Workshop, due largely to our Italian hosts, and to thank to the A.A.S. for a travel grant.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
January 14, 2024