A deep, narrow J-band search for protogalactic Ly  emission at redshifts z   9

Willis, Jon; Courbin, F.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08755.x

Cited by 64 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The effects of the filter transmission curve on LAE detection and comoving volumes are detailed in e.g. Willis & Courbin (2005) and Hu et al (2010). Considering our null results, these effects will not affect our conclusions.…”

Section: Comoving Volumementioning

confidence: 93%

Evolution of the observed Lyαluminosity function fromz= 6.5 toz= 7.7: evidence for the epoch of reionization?

Clément¹,

Cuby²,

Courbin³

et al. 2012

A&A

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Aims. Lyα emitters (LAEs) can be detected out to very high redshifts during the epoch of reionization. The evolution of the LAE luminosity function with redshift is a direct probe of the Lyα transmission of the intergalactic medium (IGM), and therefore of the IGM neutral-hydrogen fraction. Measuring the Lyα luminosity function (LF) of Lyα emitters at redshift z = 7.7 therefore allows us to constrain the ionizing state of the Universe at this redshift. Methods. We observed three 7. ′ 5×7. ′ 5 fields with the HAWK-I instrument at the VLT with a narrow band filter centred at 1.06 µm and targeting Lyα emitters at redshift z ∼ 7.7. The fields were chosen for the availability of multiwavelength data. One field is a galaxy cluster, the Bullet Cluster, which allowed us to use gravitational amplification to probe luminosities that are fainter than in the field. The two other fields are subareas of the GOODS Chandra Deep Field South and CFHTLS-D4 deep field. We selected z = 7.7 LAE candidates from a variety of colour criteria, in particular from the absence of detection in the optical bands. Results. We do not find any LAE candidates at z = 7.7 in ∼ 2.4 × 10 4 Mpc 3 down to a narrow band AB magnitude of ∼ 26, which allows us to infer robust constraints on the Lyα LAE luminosity function at this redshift. Conclusions. The predicted mean number of objects at z = 6.5, derived from somewhat different luminosity functions of Hu et al. (2010), Ouchi et al. (2010), and Kashikawa et al. (2011. Depending on which of these luminosity functions we refer to, we exclude a scenario with no evolution from z = 6.5 to z = 7.7 at 85% confidence without requiring a strong change in the IGM Lyα transmission, or at 99% confidence with a significant quenching of the IGM Lyα transmission, possibly from a strong increase in the high neutral-hydrogen fraction between these two redshifts.

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Section: Comoving Volumementioning

confidence: 93%

Evolution of the observed Lyαluminosity function fromz= 6.5 toz= 7.7: evidence for the epoch of reionization?

Clément¹,

Cuby²,

Courbin³

et al. 2012

A&A

Self Cite

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“…The first observational constraint on the abundance of Ly emitters at z > 8 was presented by Willis & Courbin (2005). These authors conducted a narrowband imaging survey in the J band toward the Hubble Deep Field South and found no z = 8.8 sources with Ly luminosity greater than 10 42.5 ergs s À1 over a volume of approximately 990 Mpc À3 .…”

Section: Volume Density Of Z > 8 Ly Emittersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While narrowband surveys have had significant success at detecting Ly emitters at z ' 6 (Hu et al 1998(Hu et al , 2002(Hu et al , 2004Malhotra & Rhoads 2004;Hu et al 2005;Stern et al 2005; Kashikawa et al 2006;Shimasaku et al 2006), only one Ly emitter has been convincingly detected at z ' 7 . At z ' 9, narrowband surveys for relatively luminous Ly emitters (k10 42.5 ergs s À1 ) have yet to find any sources (Willis & Courbin 2005;Cuby et al 2007). While a few candidate Lyman break galaxies beyond z ' 7 have been suggested from photometric data (Bouwens et Henry et al 2007), none has yet been spectroscopically confirmed, largely as a result of the difficulties inherent to observing in the near-infrared.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Keck Survey for Gravitationally Lensed Lyα Emitters in the Redshift Range 8.5 < z < 10.4: New Constraints on the Contribution of Low‐Luminosity Sources to Cosmic Reionization

Stark

Ellis

Richard

et al. 2007

ApJ

159

161

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We discuss new observational constraints on the abundance of faint high-redshift Ly emitters secured from a deep Keck near-infrared spectroscopic survey that utilizes the strong magnification provided by lensing galaxy clusters. In each of nine clusters, we have undertaken a systematic ''blind'' search for line emission with NIRSPEC in the J band within carefully selected regions that offer very high magnifications (k10; Y50;) for background sources with redshifts z ' 10. The high magnification enables the detection of emission at unprecedented flux limits (10 41 Y10 42 ergs s À1 ). As the comoving volumes probed are small, our survey is designed to address the important question of whether low-luminosity galaxies could provide the dominant ionizing flux at z $ 10. Our survey has yielded six promising (>5 ) candidate Ly emitters that lie between z = 8.7 and z = 10.2. We carefully discuss the validity of our detections and the likelihood that the detected line is Ly in light of earlier, apparently false, claims. Lower redshift line interpretations can be excluded, with reasonable assumptions, through the nondetection of secondary emission in further spectroscopy undertaken with LRIS and NIRSPEC. Nonetheless, as a result of our tests, we argue that at least two of our candidates are likely to be at z ' 10. Given the small survey volume, this suggests there is a large abundance of low-luminosity star-forming sources at z ' 8Y10. While the predicted reionization photon budget depends upon a large number of physical assumptions, our first glimpse at the z ' 10 universe suggests that low-luminosity starforming galaxies contribute a significant proportion of the UV photons necessary for cosmic reionization.

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“…Willis & Courbin (2005), Willis et al (2008) and Cuby et al (2007) have performed narrow-band surveys at z = 8.8 that yielded only upper limits of the Lyα LF of LAEs at this redshift. In this paper we present the results of a narrow-band imaging survey at z = 7.7 representing a factor of 10 improvement in area at approximately the same detection limit compared to our previous survey at z = 8.8.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limits on the luminosity function of Lyαemitters atz= 7.7

Hibon

Cuby

Willis

et al. 2010

A&A

101

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Aims. The Lyα luminosity function (LF) of high-redshift Lyα emitters (LAEs) is one of the few observables of the re-ionization epoch accessible with 8-10 m class telescopes. The evolution of the LAE LF with redshift is dependent upon the physical evolution of LAEs and the ionisation state of the Universe towards the end of the Dark Ages. Methods. We performed a narrow-band imaging program at 1.06 μm using CFHT/WIRCam. The observations target Lyα emitters at redshift z ∼ 7.7 in the CFHT-LS D1 field. From these observations we derived a photometric sample of 7 LAE candidates at z ∼ 7.7. Results. We derive luminosity functions for the full sample of seven objects and for subsamples of four objects. Assuming the brightest objects in our sample are real, we find that the resulting luminosity function is not consistent with previous work at lower redshifts. More definitive conclusions will require spectroscopic confirmation.

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A deep, narrow J-band search for protogalactic Ly emission at redshifts z 9

Cited by 64 publications

References 41 publications

Evolution of the observed Lyαluminosity function fromz= 6.5 toz= 7.7: evidence for the epoch of reionization?

Evolution of the observed Lyαluminosity function fromz= 6.5 toz= 7.7: evidence for the epoch of reionization?

A Keck Survey for Gravitationally Lensed Lyα Emitters in the Redshift Range 8.5 < z < 10.4: New Constraints on the Contribution of Low‐Luminosity Sources to Cosmic Reionization

Limits on the luminosity function of Lyαemitters atz= 7.7

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