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Register a new userDiscovery of a Proto-cluster Associated with a Ly-$alpha$ Blob Pair at z=2.3
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Toma Bu{a}descu
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Bright Ly-$alpha$ blobs (LABs) --- extended nebulae with sizes of $sim$100kpc and Ly-$alpha$ luminosities of $sim$10$^{44}$erg s$^{-1}$ --- often reside in overdensities of compact Ly-$alpha$ emitters (LAEs) that may be galaxy protoclusters. The number density, variance, and internal kinematics of LABs suggest that they themselves trace group-like halos. Here we test this hierarchical picture, presenting deep, wide-field Ly-$alpha$ narrowband imaging of a 1$^circ$ $times$ 0.5$^circ$ region around a LAB pair at $z$ = 2.3 discovered previously by a blind survey. We find 183 Ly-$alpha$ emitters, including the original LAB pair and three new LABs with Ly-$alpha$ luminosities of (0.9--1.3)$times$10$^{43}$erg s$^{-1}$ and isophotal areas of 16--24 arcsec$^2$. Using the LAEs as tracers and a new kernel density estimation method, we discover a large-scale overdensity (Bo{o}tes J1430+3522) with a surface density contrast of $delta_{Sigma}$ = 2.7, a volume density contrast of $delta$ $sim$ 10.4, and a projected diameter of $approx$ 20 comoving Mpc. Comparing with cosmological simulations, we conclude that this LAE overdensity will evolve into a present-day Coma-like cluster with $log{(M/M_odot)}$ $sim$ $15.1pm0.2$. In this and three other wide-field LAE surveys re-analyzed here, the extents and peak amplitudes of the largest LAE overdensities are similar, not increasing with survey size, implying that they were indeed the largest structures then and do evolve into rich clusters today. Intriguingly, LABs favor the outskirts of the densest LAE concentrations, i.e., intermediate LAE overdensities of $delta_Sigma = 1 - 2$. We speculate that these LABs mark infalling proto-groups being accreted by the more massive protocluster.
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We present results of a survey for giant Ly-alpha nebulae (LABs) at z=3 with Subaru/Suprime-Cam. We obtained Ly-alpha imaging at z=3.09+-0.03 around the SSA22 protocluster and in several blank fields. The total survey area is 2.1 square degrees, corresponding to a comoving volume of 1.6 x 10^6 Mpc^3. Using a uniform detection threshold of 1.4 x 10^{-18} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} arcsec^{-2} for the Ly-alpha images, we construct a sample of 14 LAB candidates with major-axis diameters larger than 100 kpc, including five previously known blobs and two known quasars. This survey triples the number of known LABs over 100 kpc. The giant LAB sample shows a possible morphology-density relation: filamentary LABs reside in average density environments as derived from compact Ly-alpha emitters, while circular LABs reside in both average density and overdense environments. Although it is hard to examine the formation mechanisms of LABs only from the Ly-alpha morphologies, more filamentary LABs may relate to cold gas accretion from the surrounding inter-galactic medium (IGM) and more circular LABs may relate to large-scale gas outflows, which are driven by intense starbursts and/or by AGN activities. Our survey highlights the potential usefulness of giant LABs to investigate the interactions between galaxies and the surrounding IGM from the field to overdense environments at high-redshift.
We discovered an over-density of H-alpha-emitting galaxies associated with a Planck compact source in the COSMOS field (PHzG237.0+42.5) through narrow-band imaging observations with Subaru/MOIRCS. This Planck-selected dusty proto-cluster at z=2.16 has 38 H-alpha emitters including six spectroscopically confirmed galaxies in the observed MOIRCS 4x7 field (corresponding to ~2.0x3.5~Mpc^2 in physical scale). We find that massive H-alpha emitters with log(M*/Msun)>10.5 are strongly clustered in the core of the proto-cluster (within ~300-kpc from the density peak of the H-alpha emitters). Most of the H-alpha emitters in this proto-cluster lie along the star-forming main sequence using H-alpha-based SFR estimates, whilst the cluster total SFR derived by integrating the H-alpha-based SFRs is an order of magnitude smaller than those estimated from Planck/Herschel FIR photometry. Our results suggest that H-alpha is a good observable for detecting moderately star-forming galaxies and tracing the large-scale environment in and around high-z dusty proto-clusters, but there is a possibility that a large fraction of star formation could be obscured by dust and undetected in H-alpha observations.
We report the discovery of a mysterious giant $H_{alpha}$ blob that is $sim 8$ kpc away from the main MaNGA target 1-24145, one component of a dry galaxy merger, identified in the first-year SDSS-IV MaNGA data. The size of the $H_{alpha}$ blob is $sim$ 3-4 kpc in radius, and the $H_{alpha}$ distribution is centrally concentrated. However, there is no optical continuum counterpart in deep broadband images reaching $sim$26.9 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ in surface brightness. We estimate that the masses of ionized and cold gases are $3.3 times 10^{5}$ $rm M_{odot}$ and $< 1.3 times 10^{9}$ $rm M_{odot}$, respectively. The emission-line ratios indicate that the $H_{alpha}$ blob is photoionized by a combination of massive young stars and AGN. Furthermore, the ionization line ratio decreases from MaNGA 1-24145 to the $H_{alpha}$ blob, suggesting that the primary ionizing source may come from MaNGA 1-24145, likely a low-activity AGN. Possible explanations of this $H_{alpha}$ blob include AGN outflow, the gas remnant being tidally or ram-pressure stripped from MaNGA 1-24145, or an extremely low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy. However, the stripping scenario is less favoured according to galaxy merger simulations and the morphology of the $H_{alpha}$ blob. With the current data, we can not distinguish whether this $H_{alpha}$ blob is ejected gas due to a past AGN outburst, or a special category of `ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) interacting with MaNGA 1-24145 that further induces the gas inflow to fuel the AGN in MaNGA 1-24145.
Context. Searching for high-redshift galaxies is a field of intense activity in modern observational cosmology that will continue to grow with future ground-based and sky observatories. Over the last few years, a lot has been learned about the high-z Universe. Aims. Despite extensive Ly-alpha Blobs (LAB) surveys from low to high redshifts, giant LABs over 100 kpc have been found mostly at z~2-4. This redshift range is coincident with the transition epoch of galactic gas-circulation processes from inflows to outflows at z~2.5-3. This suggests that the formation of giant LABs may be related to a combination of gas inflows and outflows. Their extreme youth makes them interesting objects in the study of galaxy formation as they provide insight into some of the youngest known highly star forming galaxies, with only modest time investments using ground-based telescopes. Methods. Systematic narrow-band Ly-alpha nebula surveys are ongoing, but they are limited in their covered redshift range and their comoving volume. This poses a significant problem when searching for such rare sources. To address this problem, we developed a systematic searching tool, ATACAMA (A Tool for seArChing for lArge LyMan Alpha nebulae) designed to find large Ly-alpha nebulae at any redshift within deep multi-wavelength broad-band imaging. Results. We identified a Ly-alpha nebula candidate at zphot~3.3 covering an isophotal area of 29.4sq.arcsec. Its morphology shows a bright core and a faint core which coincides with the morphology of previously known Ly-alpha blobs. A first estimation of the Ly-alpha equivalent width and line flux agree with the values from the study led by several groups.
We present first results from Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations at the Very Large Telescope in the MUSE Ultra Deep Field (MUDF), a $approx 1.2times 1.4$ arcmin$^2$ region for which we are collecting $approx$200 hours of integral field spectroscopy. The $approx 40$-hour observation completed to date reveals the presence of a group of three Ly$alpha$ nebulae associated with a bright quasar pair at $zsimeq3.23$ with projected separation of $approx 500rm~kpc$. Two of the nebulae are physically associated with the quasars which are likely powering the Ly$alpha$ emission, and extend for $gtrsim 100~rm kpc$ at a surface brightness level of $approx 6times 10^{-19}~rm erg~s^{-1}~cm^{-2}~arcsec^{-2}$. A third smaller ($approx$35 kpc) nebula lies at a velocity offset of $approx 1550$ km s$^{-1}$. Despite their clustered nature, the two large nebulae have properties similar to those observed in isolated quasars and exhibit no sharp decline in flux at the current depth, suggesting an even more extended distribution of gas around the quasars. We interpret the shape and the alignment of the two brighter nebulae as suggestive of the presence of an extended structure connecting the two quasar host galaxies, as seen for massive galaxies forming within gas-rich filaments in cosmological simulations.
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