Search

We search for galaxies with a strong Balmer break (Balmer break galaxies; BBGs) at z ∼ 6 over a 0.41 deg2 effective area in the COSMOS field. Based on rich imaging data, including data obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), three candidates are identified by their extremely red K–[3.6] colors, as well as by nondetection in the X-ray, optical, far-infrared, and radio bands. The nondetection in the deep ALMA observations suggests that they are not dusty galaxies but BBGs at z ∼ 6, although contamination from active galactic nuclei at z ∼ 0 cannot be completely ruled out for the moment. Our spectral energy distribution analyses reveal that the BBG candidates at z ∼ 6 have stellar masses of ≈5 × 1010M⊙ dominated by old stellar populations with ages of ≳ 700 Myr. Assuming that all three candidates are real BBGs at z ∼ 6, we estimate the stellar mass density to be Mpc−3. This is consistent with an extrapolation from the lower-redshift measurements. The onset of star formation in the three BBG candidates is expected to be several hundred million yr before the observed epoch of z ∼ 6. We estimate the star formation rate density (SFRD) contributed by progenitors of the BBGs to be 2.4–12 × 10−5M⊙ yr−1 Mpc−3 at z > 14 (99.7% confidence range). Our result suggests a smooth evolution of the SFRD beyond z = 8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detection of the [O iii] 88 μm line and rest-frame 90 μm dust continuum emission in a Y-dropout Lyman break galaxy (LBG), MACS0416_Y1 lying behind the Frontier Field cluster MACS J0416.1−2403. This [O iii] detection confirms the LBG with a spectroscopic redshift of z = 8.3118 ± 0.0003, making this object one of the farthest galaxies ever identified spectroscopically. The observed 850 μm flux density of 137 ± 26 μJy corresponds to a de-lensed total infrared (IR) luminosity of if assuming a dust temperature of Tdust = 50 K and an emissivity index of β = 1.5, yielding a large dust mass of . The ultraviolet-to-far-IR spectral energy distribution modeling where the [O iii] emissivity model is incorporated suggests the presence of a young (τage ≈ 4 Myr), star-forming ( yr−1), moderately metal-polluted (Z ≈ 0.2Z⊙) stellar component with a mass of Mstar = 3 × 108M⊙. An analytic dust mass evolution model with a single episode of star formation does not reproduce the metallicity and dust mass in τage ≈ 4 Myr, suggesting a pre-existing evolved stellar component with Mstar ∼ 3 × 109M☉ and τage ∼ 0.3 Gyr as the origin of the dust mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the Lyα luminosity function (LF) derived from 34 Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z = 7.0 on an area of sky of 3.1 deg2, the largest sample of those in the literature to date obtained at a redshift z ≳ 7. The LAE sample is compiled from deep large-area narrowband observations with Subaru conducted by the Cosmic HydrOgen Reionization Unveiled with Subaru (CHORUS) project. The z = 7.0 Lyα LF of our project is consistent with those of the previous Dark Energy Camera and Subaru studies at the bright and faint ends, respectively, while having uncertainties that are significantly smaller than those of the previous study results. Exploiting the small errors of our measurements, we investigate the shape of the Lyα LF from the faint end to the bright end. We find that the shape of the z = 7.0 Lyα LF can be explained by the steep slope of α ≃ −2.5 suggested at z = 6.6, and that there is no clear signature of a bright-end excess at z ≃ 7 claimed by the previous work, which was thought to be created by the ionized bubbles around bright LAEs, whose Lyα photons could easily escape from the partly neutral intergalactic medium (IGM) at z ≃ 7. We estimate the Lyα luminosity densities (LDs) with Lyα LFs at z ≃ 6–8 given by our studies and the previous ones, and compare the evolution of the UV-continuum LD estimated with dropouts. The Lyα LD monotonically decreases from z ∼ 6 to 8, and evolves more strongly than the UV-continuum LD, which is indicative of the Lyα damping wing absorption of the IGM toward the heart of the reionization epoch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical properties and elemental abundances of the interstellar medium in galaxies during cosmic reionization are important for understanding the role of galaxies in this process. We report the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detection of an oxygen emission line at a wavelength of 88 micrometers from a galaxy at an epoch about 700 million years after the Big Bang. The oxygen abundance of this galaxy is estimated at about one-tenth that of the Sun. The nondetection of far-infrared continuum emission indicates a deficiency of interstellar dust in the galaxy. A carbon emission line at a wavelength of 158 micrometers is also not detected, implying an unusually small amount of neutral gas. These properties might allow ionizing photons to escape into the intergalactic medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]