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Register a new userThe 2012 Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF12): Observational Overview
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We present the 2012 Hubble Ultra Deep Field campaign (UDF12), a large 128-orbit Cycle 19 HST program aimed at extending previous WFC3/IR observations of the UDF by quadrupling the exposure time in the F105W filter, imaging in an additional F140W filter, and extending the F160W exposure time by 50%. The principal scientific goal of this project is to determine whether galaxies reionized the universe; our observations are designed to provide a robust determination of the star formation density at $z$$,gtrsim,$8, improve measurements of the ultraviolet continuum slope at $z$$,sim,7,-,$8, facilitate the construction of new samples of $z$$,sim,9,-,$10 candidates, and enable the detection of sources up to $z$$,sim,$12. For this project we committed to combining these and other WFC3/IR imaging observations of the UDF area into a single homogeneous dataset, to provide the deepest near-infrared observations of the sky currently achievable. In this paper we present the observational overview of the project, motivated by its scientific goals, and describe the procedures used in reducing the data as well as the final products that are produced. We have used the most up up-to-date methods for calibrating and combining the images, in particular paying attention to correcting several instrumental effects. We release the full combined mosaics, comprising a single, unified set of mosaics of the UDF, providing the deepest near-infrared blank-field view of the universe obtained to date, reaching magnitudes as deep as AB$,sim,$30 in the near-infrared, and yielding a legacy dataset on this field of lasting scientific value to the community.
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Understanding cosmic reionization requires the identification and characterization of early sources of hydrogen-ionizing photons. The 2012 Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF12) campaign has acquired the deepest infrared images with the Wide Field Camera 3 aboard Hubble Space Telescope and, for the first time, systematically explored the galaxy population deep into the era when cosmic microwave background (CMB) data indicates reionization was underway. The UDF12 campaign thus provides the best constraints to date on the abundance, luminosity distribution, and spectral properties of early star-forming galaxies. We synthesize the new UDF12 results with the most recent constraints from CMB observations to infer redshift-dependent ultraviolet (UV) luminosity densities, reionization histories, and electron scattering optical depth evolution consistent with the available data. Under reasonable assumptions about the escape fraction of hydrogen ionizing photons and the intergalactic medium clumping factor, we find that to fully reionize the universe by redshift z~6 the population of star-forming galaxies at redshifts z~7-9 likely must extend in luminosity below the UDF12 limits to absolute UV magnitudes of M_UVsim -13 or fainter. Moreover, low levels of star formation extending to redshifts z~15-25, as suggested by the normal UV colors of zsimeq7-8 galaxies and the smooth decline in abundance with redshift observed by UDF12 to zsimeq10, are additionally likely required to reproduce the optical depth to electron scattering inferred from CMB observations.
Tadpole galaxies have a head-tail shape with a large clump of star formation at the head and a diffuse tail or streak of stars off to one side. We measured the head and tail masses, ages, surface brightnesses, and sizes for 66 tadpoles in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF), and we looked at the distribution of neighbor densities and tadpole orientations with respect to neighbors. The heads have masses of 10^7-10^8 Msun and photometric ages of ~0.1 Gyr for z~2. The tails have slightly larger masses than the heads, and comparable or slightly older ages. The most obvious interpretation of tadpoles as young merger remnants is difficult to verify. They have no enhanced proximity to other resolved galaxies as a class, and the heads, typically less than 0.2 kpc in diameter, usually have no obvious double-core structure. Another possibility is ram pressure interaction between a gas-rich galaxy and a diffuse cosmological flow. Ram pressure can trigger star formation on one side of a galaxy disk, giving the tadpole shape when viewed edge-on. Ram pressure can also strip away gas from a galaxy and put it into a tail, which then forms new stars and gravitationally drags along old stars with it. Such an effect might have been observed already in the Virgo cluster. Another possibility is that tadpoles are edge-on disks with large, off-center clumps. Analogous lop-sided star formation in UDF clump clusters are shown.
We analyze the redshift- and luminosity-dependent sizes of dropout galaxy candidates in the redshift range z~7-12 using deep images from the UDF12 campaign, data which offers two distinct advantages over that used in earlier work. Firstly, we utilize the increased S/N ratio offered by the UDF12 imaging to provide improved size measurements for known galaxies at z=6.5-8 in the HUDF. Specifically, we stack the new deep F140W image with the existing F125W data in order to provide improved measurements of the half-light radii of z-dropouts. Similarly we stack this image with the new deep UDF12 F160W image to obtain new size measurements for a sample of Y-dropouts. Secondly, because the UDF12 data have allowed the construction of the first robust galaxy sample in the HUDF at z>8, we have been able to extend the measurement of average galaxy size out to significantly higher redshifts. Restricting our size measurements to sources which are now detected at >15sigma, we confirm earlier indications that the average half-light radii of z~7-12 galaxies are extremely small, 0.3-0.4 kpc, comparable to the sizes of giant molecular associations in local star-forming galaxies. We also confirm that there is a clear trend of decreasing half-light radius with increasing redshift, and provide the first evidence that this trend continues beyond z~8. Modeling the evolution of the average half-light radius as a power-law (1+z)^s, we obtain a best-fit index of s=-1.28+/-0.13 over the redshift range z~4-12, mid-way between the physically expected evolution for baryons embedded in dark halos of constant mass (s=-1) and constant velocity (s=-1.5). A clear size-luminosity relation, such as that found at lower redshift, is also evident in both our z- and Y-dropout sample. This relation can be interpreted in terms of a constant surface density of star formation over a range in luminosity of 0.05-1.0L*_z=3.(abridged)
We present a new determination of the UV galaxy luminosity function (LF) at redshift z ~ 7 and z ~ 8, and a first estimate at z ~ 9. An accurate determination of the form and evolution of the LF at high z is crucial for improving our knowledge of early galaxy evolution and cosmic reionization. Our analysis exploits fully the new, deepest WFC3/IR imaging from our HST UDF12 campaign, and includes a new, consistent analysis of all appropriate, shallower/wider-area HST data. Our new measurement of the evolving LF at z ~ 7-8 is based on a final catalogue of ~600 galaxies, and involves a step-wise maximum likelihood determination based on the redshift probability distribution for each object; this makes full use of the 11-band imaging now available in the HUDF, including the new UDF12 F140W data, and the deep Spitzer IRAC imaging. The final result is a determination of the z ~ 7 LF extending down to M_UV = -16.75, and the z ~ 8 LF down to M_UV = -17.00. Fitting a Schechter function, we find M* = -19.90 (+0.23/-0.28), log phi* = -2.96 (+0.18/-0.23), and a faint-end slope alpha=-1.90 (+0.14/-0.15) at z~7, and M* = -20.12 (+0.37/-0.48), log phi* = -3.35 (+0.28/-0.47), alpha=-2.02 (+0.22/-0.23) at z~8. These results strengthen suggestions that the evolution at z > 7 is more akin to `density evolution than the apparent `luminosity evolution seen at z ~ 5-7. We also provide the first meaningful information on the LF at z ~ 9, explore alternative extrapolations to higher z, and consider the implications for the evolution of UV luminosity density. Finally, we provide catalogues (including z_phot, M_UV and all photometry) for the 100 most robust z~6.5-11.9 galaxies in the HUDF used in this analysis. We discuss our results in the context of earlier work and the results of an independent analysis of the UDF12 data based on colour-colour selection (Schenker et al. 2013).
We use the new ultra-deep, near-infrared imaging of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF) provided by our UDF12 HST WFC3/IR campaign to explore the rest-frame UV properties of galaxies at redshifts z > 6.5. We present the first unbiased measurement of the average UV power-law index, beta, for faint galaxies at z ~ 7, the first meaningful measurements of beta at z ~ 8, and tentative estimates for a new sample of galaxies at z ~ 9. Utilising galaxy selection in the new F140W imaging to minimize colour bias, and applying both colour and power-law estimators of beta, we find beta = -2.1 (+/-0.2) at z ~ 7 for galaxies with M_UV ~ -18. This means that the faintest galaxies uncovered at this epoch have, on average, UV colours no more extreme than those displayed by the bluest star-forming galaxies at low redshift. At z ~ 8 we find a similar value, beta = -1.9 (+/-0.3). At z ~ 9, we find beta = -1.8 (+/-0.6), essentially unchanged from z ~ 6 - 7 (albeit highly uncertain). Finally, we show that there is as yet no evidence for a significant intrinsic scatter in beta within our new, robust z ~ 7 galaxy sample. Our results are most easily explained by a population of steadily star-forming galaxies with either ~ solar metallicity and zero dust, or moderately sub-solar (~ 10-20%) metallicity with modest dust obscuration (A_V ~ 0.1-0.2). This latter interpretation is consistent with the predictions of a state-of-the-art galaxy-formation simulation, which also suggests that a significant population of very-low metallicity, dust-free galaxies with beta ~ -2.5 may not emerge until M_UV > -16, a regime likely to remain inaccessible until the James Webb Space Telescope.
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