Raffaella Anna Marino, Sebastiano Cantalupo, Simon J. Lilly, Sofia G. Gallego, Lorrie A. Straka, Elena Borisova, Gabriele Pezzulli, Roland Bacon, Jarle Brinchmann, C. Marcella Carollo, Joseph Caruana, Simon Conseil, Thierry Contini, Catrina Diener, Hayley Finley, Hanae Inami, Floriane Leclercq, Sowgat Muzahid, Johan Richard, Joop Schaye, Martin Wendt, Lutz Wisotzki
- Recent theoretical models suggest that the early phase of galaxy formation could involve an epoch when galaxies are gas rich but inefficient at forming stars: a "dark galaxy" phase. Here, we report the results of our Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) survey for dark galaxies fluorescently illuminated by quasars at z > 3. Compared to previous studies which are based on deep narrowband (NB) imaging, our integral field survey provides a nearly uniform sensitivity coverage over a large volume in redshift space around the quasars as well as full spectral information at each location. Thanks to these unique features, we are able to build control samples at large redshift distances from the quasars using the same data taken under the same conditions. By comparing the rest-frame equivalent width (EW0) distributions of the Ly alpha sources detected in proximity to the quasars and in control samples, we detect a clear correlation between the locations of high-EW0 objects and the quasars. This correlation is not seen in other properties,Recent theoretical models suggest that the early phase of galaxy formation could involve an epoch when galaxies are gas rich but inefficient at forming stars: a "dark galaxy" phase. Here, we report the results of our Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) survey for dark galaxies fluorescently illuminated by quasars at z > 3. Compared to previous studies which are based on deep narrowband (NB) imaging, our integral field survey provides a nearly uniform sensitivity coverage over a large volume in redshift space around the quasars as well as full spectral information at each location. Thanks to these unique features, we are able to build control samples at large redshift distances from the quasars using the same data taken under the same conditions. By comparing the rest-frame equivalent width (EW0) distributions of the Ly alpha sources detected in proximity to the quasars and in control samples, we detect a clear correlation between the locations of high-EW0 objects and the quasars. This correlation is not seen in other properties, such as Ly alpha luminosities or volume overdensities, suggesting the possible fluorescent nature of at least some of these objects. Among these, we find six sources without continuum counterparts and EW0 limits larger than 240 angstrom that are the best candidates for dark galaxies in our survey at z > 3.5. The volume densities and properties, including inferred gas masses and star formation efficiencies, of these dark galaxy candidates are similar to those of previously detected candidates at z approximate to 2.4 in NB surveys. Moreover, if the most distant of these are fluorescently illuminated by the quasar, our results also provide a lower limit of t - 60 Myr on the quasar lifetime.…
MetadatenAuthor details: | Raffaella Anna MarinoORCiD, Sebastiano Cantalupo, Simon J. LillyORCiD, Sofia G. GallegoORCiD, Lorrie A. StrakaORCiD, Elena BorisovaORCiD, Gabriele PezzulliORCiD, Roland Bacon, Jarle BrinchmannORCiD, C. Marcella CarolloORCiD, Joseph CaruanaORCiD, Simon ConseilORCiD, Thierry ContiniORCiD, Catrina Diener, Hayley FinleyORCiD, Hanae InamiORCiD, Floriane LeclercqORCiD, Sowgat MuzahidORCiD, Johan RichardORCiD, Joop SchayeORCiD, Martin WendtORCiD, Lutz WisotzkiORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aab6aa |
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ISSN: | 0004-637X |
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ISSN: | 1538-4357 |
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Title of parent work (English): | The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics |
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Publisher: | IOP Publ. Ltd. |
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Place of publishing: | Bristol |
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Publication type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
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Date of first publication: | 2018/05/23 |
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Publication year: | 2018 |
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Release date: | 2021/11/30 |
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Tag: | galaxies: formation; galaxies: high-redshift; galaxies: star formation; intergalactic medium; quasars: emission lines; quasars: general |
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Volume: | 859 |
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Issue: | 1 |
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Number of pages: | 22 |
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Funding institution: | Swiss National Science FoundationSwiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); Swiss National Science FoundationSwiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) [PP00P2_163824]; ERCEuropean Research Council (ERC) [339659-MUSICOS, 336736-CALENDS]; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT)Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/FIS/04434/2013]; Investigador FCT [IF/01654/2014/CP1215/CT0003]; FEDER through COMPETE [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007672]; ANR FOGHARFrench National Research Agency (ANR) [ANR-13-BS05-0010-02]; OCEVU Labex [ANR-11-LABX-0060]; A*MIDEX project - "Investissements davenir" French government programFrench National Research Agency (ANR) [ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02]; European Research Council (ERC)European Research Council (ERC) [278594-GasAroundGalaxies]; Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI grantNetherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) [639.043.409] |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
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DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 53 Physik / 530 Physik |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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Publishing method: | Open Access / Hybrid Open-Access |
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License (English): | Creative Commons - Namensnennung 3.0 Unported |
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