We present the results of our search for the faint galaxies near the end of the Reionisation Epoch. This has been done using very deep OSIRIS images obtained at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). Our observations focus around two close, massive Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) at redshift 6.5, discovered in the SXDS field within a large-scale overdense region (Ouchi et al. 2010). The total GTC observing time in three medium band filters (F883w35, F913w25 and F941w33) is over 34 hours covering 7.0 × 8.5 arcmin 2 (or ∼ 30, 000 Mpc 3 at z = 6.5). In addition to the two spectroscopically confirmed LAEs in the field, we have identified 45 other LAE candidates. The preliminary luminosity function derived from our observations, assuming a spectroscopic confirmation success rate of 2 3 as in previous surveys, suggests this area is about 2 times denser than the general field galaxy population at z = 6.5. If confirmed spectroscopically, our results will imply the discovery of one of the earliest protoclusters in the universe, which will evolve to resemble the most massive galaxy clusters today.
We present evidence for the discovery of a protocluster of starburst galaxies (Lyα emitters, or LAEs) near the end of the epoch of reionization. The recent trend in the search for high-redshift protoclusters focuses on utilizing bias tracers, such as luminous starburst galaxies, as signposts of overdensities. Thus, we conducted a photometric selection of LAE candidates around a pair of spatially close, luminous LAEs at z=6.5 in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey field, using OSIRIS in its imaging mode at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias in La Palma, Spain. The spectroscopic follow-up was done with OSIRIS in its multiobject spectroscopy capability. We have spectroscopically confirmed 10 LAEs via their recognizable Lyα emission feature. The redshifts of these LAEs shed light on their 3D distributions within the observing window defined by the photometric selection. We have derived the galaxy number density contrast of 3.18 , comparable to the Coma cluster. Thus, our careful analysis has pointed to evidence that this protocluster would evolve into a Coma-analog cluster in the present-day universe.
The epoch corresponding to a redshift of z ∼ 6.5 is close to full re-ionisation of the Universe, and early enough to provide an intriguing environment to observe the early stage of large-scale structure formation. It is also en epoch that can be used to verify the abundance of a large population of low luminosity star-forming galaxies, that are deemed responsible for cosmic re-ionisation. Here, we present the results of follow-up multi-object spectroscopy using OSIRIS at Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) of 16 Lyα emitter (LAE) candidates discovered in the Subaru/XMM Newton Deep Survey. We have securely confirmed 10 LAEs with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio of the Lyα emission line. The inferred star formation rates of the confirmed LAEs are on the low side, within the range 0.9-4.7 M yr −1 . However, they show relatively high Lyα rest frame equivalent widths. Finally we have shown that the mechanical energy released by the star formation episodes in these galaxies is enough to create holes in the neutral hydrogen medium such that Lyman continuum photons can escape to the intergalactic medium, thus contributing to the re-ionisation of the Universe.
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