Topping, MW;
Shapley, AE;
Stark, DP;
Endsley, R;
Robertson, B;
Greene, JE;
Furlanetto, SR;
(2021)
The Detection of Ionized Carbon Emission at z ∼ 8*.
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
, 917
(2)
, Article L36. 10.3847/2041-8213/ac1a79.
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Abstract
We present deep Keck/MOSFIRE H-band spectroscopic observations covering the [C III],C III]λλ1907, 1909 doublet for three z ∼ 8 galaxy candidates in the AEGIS field. Along with nondetections in two galaxies, we obtain one of the highest-redshift detections to date of [C III]λ1907 for the galaxy AEGIS-33376, finding zspec = 7.945 ± 0.001. We measure a [C III]λ1907 flux of 2.24 ± 0.71 × 10−18erg s−1 cm−2 , corresponding to a rest-frame equivalent width of 20.3 ± 6.5 Å for the single line. Given the not very constraining upper limit for C III] λ1909 based on strong sky-line contamination, we assume a [C III]λ1907/C III]λ1909 doublet ratio of 1.5 and infer a total [C III][C III]λλ1907, 1909 equivalent width of 33.7 ± 10.8 Å. We repeat the same reductions and analysis on multiple subsets of our raw data divided on the basis of time and observing conditions, verifying that the [C III] λ1907 emission is present for AEGIS-33376 throughout our observations. We also confirm that the significance of the [C III]λ1907 detection in different subsets of our data tracks that of brighter emission features detected on the same multi-slit mask. These multiple tests suggest that the observed emission line is real and associated with the z ∼ 8 target. The strong observed [C III],C III]λλ1907, 1909 in AEGIS-33376 likely indicates ISM conditions of low metallicity, high ionization parameter, and a hard ionizing spectrum, although AGN contributions are possible. This single detection represents a sizable increase in the current sample [C III],C III]λλ1907, 1909 detections at z > 7, while JWST will provide the first statistical samples of such measurements at these redshifts.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Detection of Ionized Carbon Emission at z ∼ 8* |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/2041-8213/ac1a79 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac1a79 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10136497 |
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