TY  - JOUR
A1  - Paalvast, M.
A1  - Verhamme, A.
A1  - Straka, L. A.
A1  - Brinchmann, J.
A1  - Herenz, Edmund Christian
A1  - Carton, D.
A1  - Gunawardhana, M. L. P.
A1  - Boogaard, L. A.
A1  - Cantalupo, S.
A1  - Contini, T.
A1  - Epinat, Benoit
A1  - Inami, H.
A1  - Marino, R. A.
A1  - Maseda, M. V.
A1  - Michel-Dansac, L.
A1  - Muzahid, S.
A1  - Nanayakkara, T.
A1  - Pezzulli, Gabriele
A1  - Richard, J.
A1  - Schaye, Joop
A1  - Segers, M. C.
A1  - Urrutia, Tanya
A1  - Wendt, Martin
A1  - Wisotzki, Lutz
T1  - Properties and redshift evolution of star-forming galaxies with high [0 III]/[O II] ratios with MUSE at 0.28 < z < 0.85
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - We present a study of the [O III]/[O II] ratios of star-forming galaxies drawn from Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) data spanning a redshift range 0.28 < z < 0.85. Recently discovered Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters have extremely high oxygen line ratios: [O III]lambda 5007/[O II]lambda lambda 3726, 3729 > 4. Here we aim to understand the properties and the occurrences of galaxies with such high line ratios. Combining data from several MUSE Guaranteed Time Observing (GTO) programmes, we select a population of star-forming galaxies with bright emission lines, from which we draw 406 galaxies for our analysis based on their position in the z-dependent star formation rate (SFR) stellar mass (M*) plane. Out of this sample 15 are identified as extreme oxygen emitters based on their [O III]/[O II] ratios (3.7%) and 104 galaxies have [O III]/[O II] > 1 (26%). Our analysis shows no significant correlation between M*, SFR, and the distance from the SFR M, relation with [O III]/[O II]. We find a decrease in the fraction of galaxies with [O III]/[O II] > 1 with increasing M*, however, this is most likely a result of the relationship between [O III]/[O II] and metallicity, rather than between [O III]/[O II] and M. We draw a comparison sample of local analogues with < z > 0.03 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and find similar incidence rates for this sample. In order to investigate the evolution in the fraction of high [O III]/[O II] emitters with redshift, we bin the sample into three redshift subsamples of equal number, but find no evidence for a dependence on redshift. Furthermore, we compare the observed line ratios with those predicted by nebular models with no LyC escape and find that most of the extreme oxygen emitters can be reproduced by low metallicity models. The remaining galaxies are likely LyC emitter candidates.
KW  - galaxies: evolution
KW  - galaxies: ISM
KW  - galaxies: abundances
KW  - ISM: structure
KW  - ISM: kinematics and dynamics
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832866
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 618
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schmidt, Tobias M.
A1  - Hennawi, Joseph F.
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Davies, Frederick B.
A1  - Lukic, Zarija
A1  - Oñorbe, Jose
T1  - Modeling the HeII transverse proximity effect
BT  - constraints on quasar lifetime and obscuration
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - The He II transverse proximity effect-enhanced He II Ly alpha transmission in a background sightline caused by the ionizing radiation of a foreground quasar-offers a unique opportunity to probe the emission properties of quasars, in particular the emission geometry (obscuration, beaming) and the quasar lifetime. Building on the foreground quasar survey published in Schmidt et al., we present a detailed model of the He II transverse proximity effect, specifically designed to include light travel time effects, finite quasar ages, and quasar obscuration. We postprocess outputs from a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation with a fluctuating He II ultraviolet background model, with the added effect of the radiation from a single bright foreground quasar. We vary the age t(age) and obscured sky fractions Omega(obsc) of the foreground quasar, and explore the resulting effect on the He II transverse proximity effect signal. Fluctuations in intergalactic medium density and the ultraviolet background, as well as the unknown orientation of the foreground quasar, result in a large variance of the He II Ly alpha transmission along the background sightline. We develop a fully Bayesian statistical formalism to compare far-ultraviolet He II Ly alpha transmission spectra of the background quasars to our models, and extract joint constraints on t(age) and Omega(obsc) for the six Schmidt et al. foreground quasars with the highest implied He II photoionization rates. Our analysis suggests a bimodal distribution of quasar emission properties, whereby one foreground quasar, associated with a strong He II transmission spike, is relatively old (22 Myr) and unobscured (Omega(obsc) < 35%), whereas three others are either younger than 10 Myr or highly obscured (Omega(obsc) > 70%).
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
KW  - intergalactic medium
KW  - quasars: general
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aac8e4
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 861
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Izotov, Y. I.
A1  - Worseck, Gábor
A1  - Schaerer, Daniel
A1  - Guseva, N. G.
A1  - Thuan, T. X.
A1  - Fricke, K. J.
A1  - Verhamme, Anne
A1  - Orlitova, I.
T1  - Low-redshift Lyman continuum leaking galaxies with high [O III]/[O II] ratios
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We present observations with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope of five star-forming galaxies at redshifts z in the range 0.2993-0.4317 and with high emission-line flux ratios O-32 = [O III]lambda 5007/[O II]lambda 3727 similar to 8-27 aiming to detect the Lyman continuum (LyC) emission. We detect LyC emission in all galaxies with the escape fractions f(esc)(LyC) in a range of 2-72 per cent. A narrow Ly alpha emission line with two peaks in four galaxies and with three peaks in one object is seen in medium-resolution COS spectra with a velocity separation between the peaks V-sep varying from similar to 153 to similar to 345 km s(-1). We find a general increase of the LyC escape fraction with increasing O-32 and decreasing stellar mass M-star, but with a large scatter of f(esc)(LyC). A tight anticorrelation is found between f(esc)(LyC) and V-sep making V-sep a good parameter for the indirect determination of the LyC escape fraction. We argue that one possible source driving the escape of ionizing radiation is stellar winds and radiation from hot massive stars.
KW  - galaxies: abundances
KW  - galaxies: dwarf
KW  - galaxies: fundamental parameters
KW  - galaxies: ISM
KW  - galaxies: starburst
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1378
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 478
IS  - 4
SP  - 4851
EP  - 4865
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schaerer, Daniel
A1  - Izotov, Yuri I.
A1  - Nakajima, K.
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Chisholm, J.
A1  - Verhamme, A.
A1  - Thuan, T. X.
A1  - de Barros, S.
T1  - Intense C III] lambda lambda 1907,1909 emission from a strong Lyman continuum emitting galaxy
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - We have obtained the first complete ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of a strong Lyman continuum (LyC) emitter at low redshift - the compact, low-metallicity, star-forming galaxy J1154+2443 - with a Lyman continuum escape fraction of 46% discovered recently. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectrum shows strong Ly alpha and C III] lambda 1909 emission, as well as O III] lambda 1666. Our observations show that strong LyC emitters can have UV emission lines with a high equivalent width (e.g. EW(C III]) = 11.7 +/- 2.9 angstrom rest-frame), although their equivalent widths should be reduced due to the loss of ionizing photons. The intrinsic ionizing photon production efficiency of J1154+2443 is high, log(xi(0)(ion)) = 25.56 erg(-1) Hz, comparable to that of other recently discovered z similar to 0.3-0.4 LyC emitters. Combining our measurements and earlier determinations from the literature, we find a trend of increasing xi(0)(ion) with increasing C III] lambda 1909 equivalent width, which can be understood by a combination of decreasing stellar population age and metallicity. Simple ionization and density-bounded photoionization models can explain the main observational features including the UV spectrum of J1154+2443.
KW  - galaxies: starburst
KW  - galaxies: high-redshift
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
KW  - ultraviolet: galaxies
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833823
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 616
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  -