We report the discovery of diffuse extended Lyα emission from redshift 3.1 to 4.5, tracing cosmic web filaments on scales of 2.5−4 cMpc. These structures have been observed in overdensities of Lyα emitters in the MUSE Extremely Deep Field, a 140 h deep MUSE observation located in the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. Among the 22 overdense regions identified, five are likely to harbor very extended Lyα emission at high significance with an average surface brightness of 5 × 10−20 erg s−1 cm−2 arcsec−2. Remarkably, 70% of the total Lyα luminosity from these filaments comes from beyond the circumgalactic medium of any identified Lyα emitter. Fluorescent Lyα emission powered by the cosmic UV background can only account for less than 34% of this emission at z ≈ 3 and for not more than 10% at higher redshift. We find that the bulk of this diffuse emission can be reproduced by the unresolved Lyα emission of a large population of ultra low-luminosity Lyα emitters (< 1040 erg s−1), provided that the faint end of the Lyα luminosity function is steep (α ⪅ −1.8), it extends down to luminosities lower than 1038 − 1037 erg s−1, and the clustering of these Lyα emitters is significant (filling factor < 1/6). If these Lyα emitters are powered by star formation, then this implies their luminosity function needs to extend down to star formation rates < 10−4 M⊙ yr−1. These observations provide the first detection of the cosmic web in Lyα emission in typical filamentary environments and the first observational clue indicating the existence of a large population of ultra low-luminosity Lyα emitters at high redshift.

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We present the second data release of the MUSE Hubble Ultra-Deep Field surveys, which includes the deepest spectroscopic survey ever performed. The MUSE data, with their 3D content, amazing depth, wide spectral range, and excellent spatial and medium spectral resolution, are rich in information. Their location in the Hubble ultra-deep field area, which benefits from an exquisite collection of ancillary panchromatic information, is a major asset. This update of the first release incorporates a new 141-hour adaptive-optics-assisted MUSE eXtremely Deep Field (MXDF; 1 arcmin diameter field of view) in addition to the reprocessed 10-hour mosaic (3 × 3 arcmin 2 ) and the single 31-hour deep field (1 × 1 arcmin 2 ). All three data sets were processed and analyzed homogeneously using advanced data reduction and analysis methods. The 3σ point-source flux limit of an unresolved emission line reaches 3.1×10 −19 and 6.3×10 −20 erg s −1 cm −2 at 10-and 141-hour depths, respectively. We have securely identified and measured the redshift of 2221 sources, an increase of 41% compared to the first release. With the exception of eight stars, the collected sample consists of 25 nearby galaxies (z < 0.25), 677 [O ii] emitters (z = 0.25 − 1.5), 201 galaxies in the MUSE redshift desert range (z = 1.5 − 2.8), and 1308 Lyα emitters (z = 2.8 − 6.7). This represents an order of magnitude more redshifts than the collection of all spectroscopic redshifts obtained before MUSE in the Hubble ultra-deep field area (i.e., 2221 versus 292). At high redshift (z > 3), the difference is even more striking, with a factor of 65 increase (1308 versus 20). We compared the measured redshifts against three published photometric redshift catalogs and find the photo-z accuracy to be lower than the constraints provided by photo-z fitting codes. Eighty percent of the galaxies in our final catalog have an HST counterpart. These galaxies are on average faint, with a median AB F775W magnitude of 25.7 and 28.7 for the [O ii] and Lyα emitters, respectively. Fits of their spectral energy distribution show that these galaxies tend to be low-mass star-forming galaxies, with a median stellar mass of 6.2 × 10 8 M and a median star-formation rate of 0.4 M yr −1 . We measured the completeness of our catalog with respect to HST and found that, in the deepest 141-hour area, 50% completeness is achieved for an AB magnitude of 27.6 and 28.7 (F775W) at z = 0.8 − 1.6 and z = 3.2 − 4.5, respectively. Twenty percent of our catalog, or 424 galaxies, have no HST counterpart. The vast majority of these new sources are high equivalent-width z > 2.8 Lyα emitters that are detected by MUSE thanks to their bright and asymmetric broad Lyα line. We release advanced data products, specific software, and a web interface to select and download data sets.

Aims. It has been shown that the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy Eridanus 2 may host a stellar cluster in its centre. If this cluster is shown to exist, it can be used to set constraints on the mass and abundance of massive astrophysical compact halo objects (MACHOs) as a form of dark matter. Previous research has shown promising expectations in the mass range of 10−100 M⊙, but lacked spectroscopic measurements of the cluster. We aim to provide spectroscopic evidence regarding the nature of the putative star cluster in Eridanus 2 and to place constraints on MACHOs as a constituent of dark matter. Methods. We present spectroscopic observations of the central square arcminute of Eridanus 2 from MUSE-Faint, a survey of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer on the Very Large Telescope. We derived line-of-sight velocities for possible member stars of the putative cluster and for stars in the centre of Eridanus 2. We discuss the existence of the cluster and determine new constraints for MACHOs using the Fokker–Planck diffusion approximation. Results. Out of 182 extracted spectra, we identify 26 member stars of Eridanus 2, seven of which are possible cluster members. We find intrinsic mean line-of-sight velocities of 79.7+3.1−3.8 km s−1 and 76.0+3.2−3.7 km s−1 for the cluster and the bulk of Eridanus 2, respectively, as well as intrinsic velocity dispersions of < 7.6 km s−1 (68% upper limit) and 10.3+3.9−3.2 km s−1, respectively. This indicates that the cluster most likely exists as a distinct dynamical population hosted by Eridanus 2 and that it does not have a surplus of dark matter over the background distribution. Among the member stars in the bulk of Eridanus 2, we find possible carbon stars, alluding to the existence of an intermediate-age population. We derived constraints on the fraction of dark matter that can consist of MACHOs with a given mass between 1 and 105 M⊙. For dark matter consisting purely of MACHOs, the mass of the MACHOs must be less than ∼7.6 M⊙ and ∼44 M⊙ at a 68- and 95% confidence level, respectively.

Aims. The lowest-mass galaxies, ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, promise unparalleled constraints on how feedback regulates galaxy formation, and on the small-scale matter power spectrum. Their inner dark-matter densities can also be used to constrain dark-matter models and to determine the most promising targets for potential signals from dark-matter annihilation or decay. However, these goals are limited by the current large uncertainties on the properties of the dark-matter haloes that these galaxies inhabit. In this paper, we present 201 new stellar line-of-sight velocities from the MUSE-Faint survey for the faint and ultra-faint dwarf galaxies Antlia B, Leo T, Hydra II, and Grus 1. Combining these with literature data, we obtain the tightest constraints to date on their dark-matter halo masses and inner dark-matter densities. Methods. We use the Jeans equations implemented in CJAM to model the density profiles and constrain the presence of dark-matter cores and solitons (a prediction of fuzzy dark-matter models). Further modelling is done with GravSphere to test the influence of the choice of modelling tool. We calculate masses, concentrations, and circular velocities from the profiles, include results for Eridanus 2 from our previous work, and compare these properties to theoretical scaling relations, deriving constraints on tidal stripping in the process.Results. We find that dark-matter cores as large as those of more massive dwarf galaxies are ruled out for our galaxies (core radius r c < 66-95 pc at the 68% confidence level). We constrain the soliton radii to r sol < 13-112 pc (68% confidence level). We find that the galaxies are consistent with not having been significantly tidally stripped within their half-light radii. The virial masses and concentrations are sensitive to the choice of dynamical modelling tool: GravSphere produces results consistent with M 200 ∼ 10 9 M , as expected from models in which ultra-faint dwarf galaxies are re-ionization fossils, while CJAM prefers haloes that are less massive.