This Special Issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters is dedicated to presenting initial results from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) that are primarily, but not exclusively, based on multi-band imaging data obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The survey covers roughly 320 square arcminutes in the ACS F435W, F606W, F814W, and F850LP bands, divided into two well-studied fields. Existing deep observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) and groundbased facilities are supplemented with new, deep imaging in the optical and

Aims. We study the expected properties of starburst galaxies in order to provide the point of reference for interpretation of high-z galaxy surveys and of very metal-poor galaxies. We concentrate mainly on the UV characteristics such as the ionizing spectra, the UV continuum, the Lyα and He ii λ1640 line and two-photon continuum emission.Methods. We use evolutionary synthesis models covering metallicities from Pop III to solar and a wide range of IMFs. We also combine the synthetic SEDs with the CLOUDY photoionization code for more accurate predictions of nebular emission, and to study possible departures from case B assumed in the synthesis models.Results. The ionizing fluxes, UV continuum properties, and predicted Lyα and He ii λ1640 line strengths are presented for synthesis models covering a wider range of parameter space than our earlier calculations. Strong departures from case B predictions are obtained for Lyα and 2γ continuum at low metallicities. At low nebular densities both are shown to be enhanced proportionally to the mean energy carried by the Lyman continuum photons emitted by the ionizing source. Larger Lyα equivalent widths are therefore predicted at low metallicity. The He ii λ1640 line can be weaker than case B predicts (in terms of flux as well as the equivalent width) due to its ionization parameter dependence and to the enhanced underlying 2γ continuum. Conclusions. Our results have implications for the interpretation of star-forming metal-poor and/or high redshift galaxies, for galaxies among the Lyα emitters (LAE) and Lyman Break galaxy (LBG) populations, and for searches of Population III stars in the distant Universe.

Aims. We present the full data set of the spectroscopic campaign of the ESO/GOODS program in the GOODS-South field, obtained with the FORS2 spectrograph at the ESO/VLT. Methods. Objects were selected as candidates for VLT/FORS2 observations primarily based on the expectation that the detection and measurement of their spectral features would benefit from the high throughput and spectral resolution of FORS2. The reliability of the redshift estimates is assessed using the redshift-magnitude and color-redshift diagrams, and comparing the results with public data. Results. Including the third part of the spectroscopic campaign (12 masks) to the previous work (26 masks, Vanzella et al. 2005Vanzella et al. , 2006, 1715 spectra of 1225 individual targets have been analyzed. The actual spectroscopic catalog provides 887 redshift determinations. The typical redshift uncertainty is estimated to be σ z 0.001. Galaxies have been selected adopting different color criteria and using photometric redshifts. The resulting redshift distribution typically spans two domains: from z = 0.5 to 2 and z = 3.5 to 6.3. The reduced spectra and the derived redshifts are released to the community through the ESO web page http://www.eso.org/science/goods/.

We report on observations of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) selected from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) at mean redshifts z ∼ 4, 5 and 6 (B 435 -, V 606 -and i 775 -band dropouts, respectively), obtained with the red-sensitive FORS2 spectrograph at the ESO VLT. This program has yielded spectroscopic identifications for 114 galaxies (∼ 60% of the targeted sample), of which 51 are at z ∼ 4, 31 at z ∼ 5, and 32 at z ∼ 6. We demonstrate that 1 Based on observations made at the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope, Paranal, Chile (ESO programme 170.A-0788 The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey: ESO Public Observations of the SST Legacy / HST Treasury / Chandra Deep Field South). Also based on observations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.the adopted selection criteria are effective, identifying galaxies at the expected redshift with minimal foreground contamination. Of the 10% interlopers, 83% turn out to be Galactic stars. Once selection effects are properly accounted for, the rest-frame UV spectra of the higher-redshift LBGs appear to be similar to their counterparts at z ∼ 3. As at z ∼ 3, LBGs at z ∼ 4 and z ∼ 5 are observed with Lyα both in emission and in absorption; when in absorption, strong interstellar lines are also observed in the spectra. The stacked spectra of Lyα absorbers and emitters also show that the former have redder UV spectra and stronger but narrower interstellar lines, a fact also observed at z ∼ 2 and 3. At z ∼ 6, sensitivity issues bias our sample towards galaxies with Lyα in emission; nevertheless, these spectra appear to be similar to their lower-redshift counterparts. As in other studies at similar redshifts, we find clear evidence that brighter LBGs tend to have weaker Lyα emission lines. At fixed restframe UV luminosity, the equivalent width of the Lyα emission line is larger at higher redshifts. At all redshifts where the measurements can be reliably made, the redshift of the Lyα emission line turns out to be larger than that of the interstellar absorption lines, with a median velocity difference ∆V ∼ 400 km s −1 at z ∼ 4 and 5, consistent with results at lower redshifts. This shows that powerful, large-scale winds are common at high redshift. In general, there is no strong correlation between the morphology of the UV light and the spectroscopic properties. However, galaxies with deep interstellar absorption lines and strong Lyα absorption appear to be more diffuse than galaxies with Lyα in emission.

Context. We present the full data set of the VIsible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) spectroscopic campaign of the ESO/GOODS program in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS), which complements the FORS2 ESO/GOODS spectroscopic campaign. Aims. The ESO/GOODS spectroscopic programs are aimed at reaching signal-to-noise ratios adequate to measure redshifts for galaxies with AB magnitudes in the range ∼24−25 in the B and R band using VIMOS, and in the z band using FORS2. Methods. The GOODS/VIMOS spectroscopic campaign is structured in two separate surveys using two different VIMOS grisms. The VIMOS Low Resolution Blue (LR-Blue) and Medium Resolution (MR) orange grisms have been used to cover different redshift ranges. The LR-Blue campaign is aimed at observing galaxies mainly at 1.8 < z < 3.5, while the MR campaign mainly aims at galaxies at z < 1 and Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at z > 3.5. Results. The full GOODS/VIMOS spectroscopic campaign consists of 20 VIMOS masks. This release adds 8 new masks to the previous release (12 masks, Popesso et al. 2009, A&A, 494, 443). In total we obtained 5052 spectra, 3634 from the 10 LR-Blue masks and 1418 from the 10 MR masks. A significant fraction of the extracted spectra comes from serendipitously observed sources: ∼21% in the LR-Blue and ∼16% in the MR masks. We obtained 2242 redshifts in the LR-Blue campaign and 976 in the MR campaign for a total success rate of 62% and 69% respectively, which increases to 66% and 73% if only primary targets are considered. The typical redshift uncertainty is estimated to be σ z 0.00084 (∼255 km s −1 ) for the LR-Blue grism and σ z 0.00040 (∼120 km s −1 ) for the MR grism. By complementing our VIMOS spectroscopic catalog with all existing spectroscopic redshifts publicly available in the CDFS, we compiled a redshift master catalog with 7332 entries, which we used to investigate large scale structures out to z 3.7. We produced stacked spectra of LBGs in a few bins of equivalent width (EW) of the Ly-α and found evidence for a lack of bright LBGs with high EW of the Ly-α. Finally, we obtained new redshifts for 12 X-ray sources of the CDFS and extended-CDFS. Conclusions. After the completion of the two complementary ESO/GOODS spectroscopic campaigns with VIMOS and FORS2 at VLT, the number of spectroscopic redshifts in CDFS/GOODS field increased dramatically, in particular at z > ∼ 2. These data provide the redshift information indispensable to achieve the scientific goals of GOODS, such as tracing the evolution of galaxy masses, morphologies, clustering, and star formation.

We present the results of a comprehensive Spitzer survey of 69 radio galaxies across 1 < z < 5.2. Using IRAC (3.6 − 8.0 µm), IRS (16 µm) and MIPS (24 − 160 µm) imaging, we decompose the rest-frame optical to infrared spectral energy distributions into stellar, AGN, and dust components and determine the contribution of host galaxy stellar emission at rest-frame H− band. Stellar masses derived from rest-frame near-IR data, where AGN and young star contributions are minimized, are significantly more reliable than those derived from rest-frame optical and UV data. We find that the fraction of emitted light at rest-frame H− band from stars is > 60% for ∼ 75% the high redshift radio

Abstract. In classifying the ensemble of powerful extragalactic radio sources, considerable evidence has accumulated that radio galaxies and quasars are orientation-dependent manifestations of the same parent population: massive spheroidal galaxies containing correspondingly massive black holes. One of the key factors in establishing this unification has been the signature of a hidden quasar detected in some radio galaxies in polarized light. The obscuration of our direct view of the active nucleus usually, but not necessarily exclusively, by a thick nuclear disk or torus can act conveniently as a "natural coronograph" that allows a much clearer view of the host of a radio galaxy than of a quasar. In this study, we exploit the opportunity to eliminate the quasar glare by performing sensitive spectropolarimetry with the Keck II telescope of a sample of radio galaxies with redshifts around 2.5. This represents the epoch when quasars were many times more common that they are now and is likely to be the period during which their host galaxies were being assembled into what become the most massive galaxies in the Universe today. We show that dust-reflected quasar light generally dominates the restframe ultraviolet continuum of these sources and that a highly clumped scattering medium results in almost grey scattering of the active galactic nucleus photons. The observations, however, do not exclude a substantial star formation rate averaged over a Gyr of evolution. The sub-mm reradiation from the scattering dust is likely to represent only a small fraction (∼10%) of the total far infrared luminosity. An analysis of the emission lines excited in the interstellar medium of the host galaxy by the hard quasar radiation field reveals evidence of a dramatic chemical evolution within the spheroid during this epoch. Secondary nitrogen production in intermediate mass stars produces a characteristic signature in the Nv/Civ and Nv/Heii line ratios which has been seen previously in the broad line region of quasars at similar redshifts. We find intriguing correlations between the strengths of the Lyα and Nv emission lines and the degree of ultraviolet continuum polarization which may represent the dispersal of dust associated with the chemical enrichment of the spheroid.

Aims. We present the first results from the VIsible Multiobject Spectrograph (VIMOS) ESO/GOODS program of spectroscopy for faint galaxies in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S). This program complements the FORS2 ESO/GOODS campaign. Methods. All 3312 spectra were obtained in service mode with VIMOS at the ESO/VLT UT3. The VIMOS LR-Blue and MR grisms were used to cover different redshift ranges. Galaxies at 1.8 < z < 3.5 were observed in the GOODS VIMOS-LR-Blue campaign. Galaxies at z < 1 and Lyman Break Galaxies at z > 3.5 were observed in the VIMOS MR survey. Results. Here we report results for the first 12 masks (out of 20 total). We extracted 2344 from 6 LR-Blue masks and 968 from 6 MR masks. A large percentage, 33% of the LR-Blue and 18% of the MR spectra, are serendipitous observations. We obtained 1481 and 656 redshifts in the LR-Blue and MR campaign, respectively, for a total success rate of 70% and 75%, respectively, which decrease to 63% and 68% when also the serendipitous targets are considered. The typical redshift accuracy is σ z = 0.001. The reliability of the redshift estimate varies with the quality flag. The LR-Blue quality flag A redshifts are reliable at ∼95% confidence level, flag B redshifs at ∼70% and quality C et ∼40%. The MR redshift reliability is somewhat higher: 100% for quality flag A, ∼90% for quality flag B and ∼70% for flag C. By complementing our VIMOS spectroscopic catalog with all existing spectroscopic redshifts publicly available in the CDF-S, we created a redshift master catalog. By comparing this redshift compilation with different photometric redshift catalogs we estimate the completeness level of the CDF-S spectroscopic coverage in several redshift bins. Conclusions. The completeness level is very high, >60%, at z < 3.5, and it is very uncertain at higher redshift. The master catalog was used also to estimate completeness and contamination levels of different galaxy photometric selection techniques. The BzK selection method leads to a ∼86% complete sample of z > 1.4 galaxies at i AB < 25 mag and with a contamination ∼23% of lower redshift objects. The so-called "sub"-U-dropout and the U-dropout methods lead to an 80% complete galaxy sample at z > 1.4 and i AB < 25 mag, with ∼24% low redshift contaminants.