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2 Observations have been carried out using the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Paranal
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Illingworth, Garth D. Blakeslee, John P. Franx, Marijn H. |
| Copyright Year | 2008 |
| Abstract | We have detected 506 i-dropouts (z ∼ 6 galaxies) in deep, wide-area HST ACS fields: HUDF, enhanced GOODS, and HUDF-Parallel ACS fields (HUDF-Ps). The contamination levels are . 8% (i.e., & 92% are at z ∼ 6). With these samples, we present the most comprehensive, quantitative analyses of z ∼ 6 galaxies yet and provide optimal measures of the UV luminosity function (LF) and luminosity density at z ∼ 6, and their evolution to z ∼ 3. We redetermine the size and color evolution from z ∼ 6 to z ∼ 3. Field-to-field variations (cosmic variance), completeness, flux, and contamination corrections are modelled systematically and quantitatively. After corrections, we derive a rest-frame continuum UV (∼ 1350Å) LF at z ∼ 6 that extends to M1350,AB ∼ −17.5 (0.04L∗z=3). There is strong evidence for evolution of the LF between z ∼ 6 and z ∼ 3, most likely through a brightening (0.6±0.2 mag) of M (at 99.7% confidence) though the degree depends upon the faint–end slope. As expected from hierarchical models, the most luminous galaxies are deficient at z ∼ 6. Density evolution (φ) is ruled out at >99.99% confidence. Despite large changes in the LF, the luminosity density at z ∼ 6 is similar (0.82 ± 0.21×) to that at z ∼ 3. Changes in the mean UV color of galaxies from z ∼ 6 to z ∼ 3 suggest an evolution in dust content, indicating the true evolution is substantially larger: at z ∼ 6 the star formation rate density is just ∼ 30% of the z ∼ 3 value. Our UV luminosity function is consistent with z ∼ 6 galaxies providing the necessary UV flux to reionize the universe. Subject headings: galaxies: evolution — galaxies: high-redshift |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0509641v6.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0509641v5.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
