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First Results from Faint Infrared Grism Survey (Figs): First Simultaneous Detection of Ly Alpha Emission and Lyman Break From a Galaxy at Z =7.51Galaxies at high redshifts provide a valuable tool to study cosmic dawn, and therefore it is crucial to reliably identify these galaxies. Here, we present an unambiguous and first simultaneous detection of both the Lyman-Alpha emission and the Lyman break from a z = 7.512 +/- 0.004 galaxy, observed in the Faint Infrared Grism Survey (FIGS). These spectra, taken with G102 grism on Hubble SpaceTelescope (HST), show a significant emission line detection (6 Sigma) in two observational position angles (PA), with Lyman-Alpha line flux of 1.06 +/- 0.19 x 10(exp -17) erg s(exp -1) cm(exp -2). The line flux is nearly a factor of four higher than in the archival MOSFIRE spectroscopic observations. This is consistent with other recent observations implying that ground-based near-infrared spectroscopy underestimates total emission line fluxes, and if confirmed, can have strong implications for reionization studies that are based on ground-based Lyman-Alpha measurements. A 4-Alpha detection of the NV line in one PA also suggests a weak Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN), and if confirmed would make this source the highest-redshift AGN yet found.These observations from the Hubble Space Telescope thus clearly demonstrate the sensitivity of the FIGS survey, and the capability of grism spectroscopy to study the epoch of reionization.
Document ID
20170003210
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Tilvi, V.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Pirzkal, N.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Malhotra, S.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Finkelstein, S. L.
(Texas Univ. Austin, TX, United States)
Rhoads, J. E.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Windhorst, R.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Grogin, N. A.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Koekemoer, A.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Zakamska, N. L.
(Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, NJ, United States)
Ryan, R.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Christensen, L.
(Copenhagen Univ. Denmark)
Hathi, N.
(Aix-Marseille Univ. Marseille, France)
Straughn, A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Gardner, Jonathan P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Date Acquired
April 7, 2017
Publication Date
August 5, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Volume: 827
Issue: 1
ISSN: 2041-8205
e-ISSN: 2041-8213
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Astronomy
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN41155
Report Number: GSFC-E-DAA-TN41155
ISSN: 2041-8205
E-ISSN: 2041-8213
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX14AN10G
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Faint Galaxy Z=7.51
Results

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