In late 2014, four images of supernova (SN) “Refsdal,” the first known example of a strongly lensed SN with multiple resolved images, were detected in the MACS J1149 galaxy-cluster field. Following the images’ discovery, the SN was predicted to reappear within hundreds of days at a new position ∼8″ away in the field. The observed reappearance in late 2015 makes it possible to carry out Refsdal’s original proposal to use a multiply imaged SN to measure the Hubble constant H 0, since the time delay between appearances should vary inversely with H 0. Moreover, the position, brightness, and timing of the reappearance enable a novel test of the blind predictions of galaxy-cluster models, which are typically constrained only by the positions of multiply imaged galaxies. We have developed a new photometry pipeline that uses DOLPHOT to measure the fluxes of the five images of SN Refsdal from difference images. We apply four separate techniques to perform a blind measurement of the relative time delays and magnification ratios between the last image SX and the earlier images S1–S4. We measure the relative time delay of SX–S1 to be 376.0−5.5+5.6 days and the relative magnification to be 0.30−0.3+0.5 . This corresponds to a 1.5% precision on the time delay and 17% precision for the magnification ratios and includes uncertainties due to millilensing and microlensing. In an accompanying paper, we place initial and blind constraints on the value of the Hubble constant.
The gravitationally lensed Supernova Refsdal appeared in multiple images, produced through gravitational lensing by a massive foreground galaxy cluster. After the supernova appeared in 2014, lens models of the galaxy cluster predicted an additional image of the supernova would appear in 2015, which was subsequently observed. We use the time delays between the images to perform a blinded measurement of the expansion rate of the Universe, quantified by the Hubble constant (H0). Using eight cluster lens models, we infer H0 = 64.8 +4.4-4.3 km / s / Mpc, where Mpc is the megaparsec. Using the two models most consistent with the observations, we find H0 = 66.6 +4.1-3.3 km / s / Mpc. The observations are best reproduced by models that assign dark-matter halos to individual galaxies and the overall cluster.
Context. The hydrogen Lyman α line is often the only measurable feature in optical spectra of high-redshift galaxies. Its shape and strength are influenced by radiative transfer processes and the properties of the underlying stellar population. High equivalent widths of several hundred Å are especially hard to explain by models and could point towards unusual stellar populations, for example with low metallicities, young stellar ages, and a top-heavy initial mass function. Other aspects influencing equivalent widths are the morphology of the galaxy and its gas properties. Aims. The aim of this study is to better understand the connection between the Lyman α rest-frame equivalent width (EW0) and spectral properties as well as ultraviolet (UV) continuum morphology by obtaining reliable EW0 histograms for a statistical sample of galaxies and by assessing the fraction of objects with large equivalent widths. Methods. We used integral field spectroscopy from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) combined with broad-band data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to measure EW0. We analysed the emission lines of 1920 Lyman α emitters (LAEs) detected in the full MUSE-Wide (one hour exposure time) and MUSE-Deep (ten hour exposure time) surveys and found UV continuum counterparts in archival HST data. We fitted the UV continuum photometric images using the Galfit software to gain morphological information on the rest-UV emission and fitted the spectra obtained from MUSE to determine the double peak fraction, asymmetry, full-width at half maximum, and flux of the Lyman α line. Results. The two surveys show different histograms of Lyman α EW0. In MUSE-Wide, 20% of objects have EW0 > 240 Å, while this fraction is only 11% in MUSE-Deep and ≈16% for the full sample. This includes objects without HST continuum counterparts (one-third of our sample), for which we give lower limits for EW0. The object with the highest securely measured EW0 has EW0 = 589 ± 193 Å (the highest lower limit being EW0 = 4464 Å). We investigate the connection between EW0 and Lyman α spectral or UV continuum morphological properties. Conclusions. The survey depth has to be taken into account when studying EW0 distributions. We find that in general, high EW0 objects can have a wide range of spectral and UV morphological properties, which might reflect that the underlying causes for high EW0 values are equally varied.
ABSTRACT We study the projected spatial offset between the ultraviolet continuum and Ly α emission for 65 lensed and unlensed galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization (5 ≤ z ≤ 7), the first such study at these redshifts, in order to understand the potential for these offsets to confuse estimates of the Ly α properties of galaxies observed in slit spectroscopy. While we find that ∼40 per cent of galaxies in our sample show significant projected spatial offsets ($|\Delta _{\rm {Ly}\alpha -\rm {UV}}|$), we find a relatively modest average projected offset of $|\widetilde{\Delta }_{\rm {Ly}\alpha -\rm {UV}}|$ = 0.61 ± 0.08 proper kpc for the entire sample. A small fraction of our sample, ∼10 per cent, exhibit offsets in excess of 2 proper kpc, with offsets seen up to ∼4 proper kpc, sizes that are considerably larger than the effective radii of typical galaxies at these redshifts. An internal comparison and a comparison to studies at lower redshift yielded no significant evidence of evolution of $|\Delta _{\rm {Ly}\alpha -\rm {UV}}|$ with redshift. In our sample, ultraviolet (UV)-bright galaxies ($\widetilde{L_{\mathrm{ UV}}}/L^{\ast }_{\mathrm{ UV}}=0.67$) showed offsets a factor of three greater than their fainter counterparts ($\widetilde{L_{\mathrm{ UV}}}/L^{\ast }_{\mathrm{ UV}}=0.10$), 0.89 ± 0.18 versus 0.27 ± 0.05 proper kpc, respectively. The presence of companion galaxies and early stage merging activity appeared to be unlikely causes of these offsets. Rather, these offsets appear consistent with a scenario in which internal anisotropic processes resulting from stellar feedback, which is stronger in UV-brighter galaxies, facilitate Ly α fluorescence and/or backscattering from nearby or outflowing gas. The reduction in the Ly α flux due to offsets was quantified. It was found that the differential loss of Ly α photons for galaxies with average offsets is not, if corrected for, a limiting factor for all but the narrowest slit widths (<0.4 arcsec). However, for the largest offsets, if they are mostly perpendicular to the slit major axis, slit losses were found to be extremely severe in cases where slit widths of ≤1 arcsec were employed, such as those planned for James Webb Space Telescope/NIRSpec observations.
We report the discovery of diffuse extended Lyαemission from redshift 3.1 to 4.5, tracing cosmic web filaments on scales of 2.5−4 cMpc. These structures have been observed in overdensities of Lyαemitters in the MUSE Extremely Deep Field, a 140 h deep MUSE observation located in theHubbleUltra-Deep Field. Among the 22 overdense regions identified, five are likely to harbor very extended Lyαemission at high significance with an average surface brightness of 5 × 10−20erg s−1cm−2arcsec−2. Remarkably, 70% of the total Lyαluminosity from these filaments comes from beyond the circumgalactic medium of any identified Lyαemitter. Fluorescent Lyαemission powered by the cosmic UV background can only account for less than 34% of this emission atz ≈ 3 and for not more than 10% at higher redshift. We find that the bulk of this diffuse emission can be reproduced by the unresolved Lyαemission of a large population of ultra low-luminosity Lyαemitters (< 1040erg s−1), provided that the faint end of the Lyαluminosity function is steep (α ⪅ −1.8), it extends down to luminosities lower than 1038 − 1037erg s−1, and the clustering of these Lyαemitters is significant (filling factor < 1/6). If these Lyαemitters are powered by star formation, then this implies their luminosity function needs to extend down to star formation rates < 10−4 M⊙yr−1. These observations provide the first detection of the cosmic web in Lyαemission in typical filamentary environments and the first observational clue indicating the existence of a large population of ultra low-luminosity Lyαemitters at high redshift.
Extreme emission-line galaxies (EELGs) at redshift z = 1−2 provide a unique view of metal-poor, starburst sources that are the likely drivers of the cosmic reionization at z ≥ 6. However, the molecular gas reservoirs of EELGs—the fuel for their intense star formation—remain beyond the reach of current facilities. We present ALMA [C ii] and PdBI CO(2–1) observations of the z = 1.8, strongly lensed EELG SL2S 0217, a bright Lyα emitter with a metallicity 0.05 Z ⊙. We obtain a tentative (∼3σ–4σ) detection of the [C ii] line and set an upper limit on the [C ii]/SFR (star-forming rate) ratio of ≤1 × 106 L ⊙/(M ⊙ yr−1), based on the synthesized images and visibility-plane analysis. The CO(2–1) emission is not detected. Photoionization modeling indicates that up to 80% of the [C ii] emission originates from neutral or molecular gas, although we cannot rule out that the gas is fully ionized. The very faint [C ii] emission is in line with both nearby metal-poor dwarfs and high-redshift Lyα emitters, and predictions from hydrodynamical simulations. However, the [C ii] line is 30× fainter than predicted by the De Looze et al. [C ii]–SFR relation for local dwarfs, illustrating the danger of extrapolating locally calibrated relations to high-redshift, metal-poor galaxies.
We present spatially resolved Hubble Space Telescope grism spectroscopy of 15 galaxies at $z\sim0.8$ drawn from the DEEP2 survey. We analyze H$\alpha$+[N II], [S II] and [S III] emission on kpc scales to explore which mechanisms are powering emission lines at high redshifts, testing which processes may be responsible for the well-known offset of high redshift galaxies from the $z\sim0$ locus in the [O III]/H$\beta$ versus [N II]/H$\alpha$ BPT (Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich) excitation diagram. We study spatially resolved emission line maps to examine evidence for active galactic nuclei (AGN), shocks, diffuse ionized gas (DIG), or escaping ionizing radiation, all of which may contribute to the BPT offsets observed in our sample. We do not find significant evidence of AGN in our sample and quantify that, on average, AGN would need to contribute $\sim$25% of the H$\alpha$ flux in the central resolution element in order to cause the observed BPT offsets. We find weak ($2\sigma$) evidence of DIG emission at low surface brightnesses, yielding an implied total DIG emission fraction of $\sim$20%, which is not significant enough to be the dominant emission line driver in our sample. In general we find that the observed emission is dominated by star forming H II regions. We discuss trends with demographic properties and the possible role of $\alpha$-enhanced abundance patterns in the emission spectra of high redshift galaxies. Our results indicate that photo-ionization modeling with stellar population synthesis inputs is a valid tool to explore the specific star formation properties which may cause BPT offsets, to be explored in future work.
The past decade has seen impressive progress in the detection of z > 7 galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope; however, little is known about their properties. The James Webb Space Telescope will revolutionize the high-z field by providing near-IR (i.e., rest-frame optical) data of unprecedented depth and spatial resolution. Measuring galaxy quantities such as resolved stellar ages or gas metallicity gradients traditionally requires spectroscopy, as broadband imaging filters are generally too coarse to fully isolate diagnostics such as the 4000 Å (rest-frame) break, continuum emission from aged stars, and key emission lines (e.g., [O ii], [O iii], Hβ). However, in this paper, we show that adding NIRCam images through a strategically chosen medium-band filter to common wide-band filter sets adopted by ERS and GTO programs delivers tighter constraints on these galactic properties. To constrain the choice of filter, we perform a systematic investigation of which combinations of wide-band filters from ERS and GTO programs and single medium-band filters offer the tightest constraints on several galaxy properties at redshifts z ∼ 7–11. We employ the JAGUAR extragalactic catalogs to construct statistical samples of physically motivated mock photometry and conduct SED-fitting procedures to evaluate the accuracy of galaxy property (and photo-z) recovery with a simple star formation history model. We find that adding >4.1 μm medium filters at comparable depth to the broadband filters can significantly improve photo-zs and yield close to order-of-magnitude improvements in the determination of quantities such as stellar ages, metallicities, SF-related quantities, and emission-line fluxes at z ∼ 8. For resolved sources, the proposed approach enables the spatially resolved determination of these quantities that would be prohibitive with slit spectroscopy.
We present an analysis of the spatial clustering of 695 Ly$\alpha$-emitting galaxies (LAE) in the MUSE-Wide survey. All objects have spectroscopically confirmed redshifts in the range $3.3
Context. Spectroscopic surveys of massive galaxy clusters reveal the properties of faint background galaxies thanks to the magnification provided by strong gravitational lensing.Aims. We present a systematic analysis of integral-field-spectroscopy observations of 12 massive clusters, conducted with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). All data were taken under very good seeing conditions (similar to 0 ''.6) in effective exposure times between two and 15 h per pointing, for a total of 125 h. Our observations cover a total solid angle of similar to 23 arcmin(2) in the direction of clusters, many of which were previously studied by the MAssive Clusters Survey, Frontier Fields (FFs), Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space and Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble programmes. The achieved emission line detection limit at 5 sigma for a point source varies between (0.77-1.5) x 10(-18) erg s(-1) cm(-2) at 7000 angstrom.Methods. We present our developed strategy to reduce these observational data, detect continuum sources and line emitters in the datacubes, and determine their redshifts. We constructed robust mass models for each cluster to further confirm our redshift measurements using strong-lensing constraints, and identified a total of 312 strongly lensed sources producing 939 multiple images.Results. The final redshift catalogues contain more than 3300 robust redshifts, of which 40% are for cluster members and similar to 30% are for lensed Lyman-alpha emitters. Fourteen percent of all sources are line emitters that are not seen in the available HST images, even at the depth of the FFs (similar to 29 AB). We find that the magnification distribution of the lensed sources in the high-magnification regime (mu=2-25) follows the theoretical expectation of N(z) proportional to mu(-2). The quality of this dataset, number of lensed sources, and number of strong-lensing constraints enables detailed studies of the physical properties of both the lensing cluster and the background galaxies. The full data products from this work, including the datacubes, catalogues, extracted spectra, ancillary images, and mass models, are made available to the community.
Using the MEGAFLOW survey, which consists of a combination of MUSE and UVES observations of 22 quasar fields selected to contain strong MgII absorbers, we measure the covering fractions of CIV and MgII as a function of impact parameter b using a novel Bayesian logistic regression method on unbinned data, appropriate for small samples. We also analyse how the CIV and MgII covering fractions evolve with redshift. In the MUSE data, we found 215 [OII] emitters with fluxes ergs(-1)cm(-2) and within 250kpc of quasar sight-lines. Over this redshift path , we have 19 (32) CIV (MgII) absorption systems with rest-frame equivalent width (REW) 0.05 angstrom associated with at least one [OII] emitter. The covering fractions of CIV (MgII) absorbers with mean 0.7 angstrom (1.0 angstrom), exceeds 50 per cent within 23 (46) kpc. Together with published studies, our results suggest that the covering fraction of CIV (MgII) becomes larger (smaller) with time, respectively. For absorption systems that have Civ but not MgII, we find in 73 per cent of the cases no [OII] counterpart. This may indicate that Civ comes from the intergalactic medium (IGM), i.e. beyond 250kpc, or that it is associated with lower mass or quiescent galaxies.
ABSTRACT Using the MEGAFLOW survey, which consists of a combination of MUSE and UVES observations of 22 quasar fields selected to contain strong Mg ii absorbers, we measure the covering fractions of C iv and Mg ii as a function of impact parameter b using a novel Bayesian logistic regression method on unbinned data, appropriate for small samples. We also analyse how the C iv and Mg ii covering fractions evolve with redshift. In the MUSE data, we found 215 $z = 1{-}1.5$ [O ii] emitters with fluxes ${\gt}10^{-17}$ erg s−1 cm−2 and within 250 kpc of quasar sight-lines. Over this redshift path $z = 1{-}1.5$, we have 19 (32) C iv (Mg ii) absorption systems with rest-frame equivalent width (REW) $W_r\gt $ 0.05 Å associated with at least one [O ii] emitter. The covering fractions of $z\approx 1.2$ C iv (Mg ii) absorbers with mean $W_r\approx$ 0.7 Å (1.0 Å), exceeds 50 per cent within 23$^{+62}_{-16}$ (46$^{+{18}}_{-13}$) kpc. Together with published studies, our results suggest that the covering fraction of C iv (Mg ii) becomes larger (smaller) with time, respectively. For absorption systems that have C iv but not Mg ii, we find in 73 per cent of the cases no [O ii] counterpart. This may indicate that C iv comes from the intergalactic medium (IGM), i.e. beyond 250 kpc, or that it is associated with lower mass or quiescent galaxies.
[Abbreviated] Rest-frame UV emission lines probe physical parameters of the emitting star-forming galaxies and their environments. The strongest main UV line, Ly$\alpha$, has been instrumental in advancing the general knowledge of galaxy formation in the early universe. However, observing Ly$\alpha$ emission becomes increasingly challenging at $z \gtrsim 6$ when the neutral hydrogen fraction of the CGM and IGM increases. Secondary weaker UV emission lines provide important alternative methods for studying galaxy properties at high redshift. We present a large sample of rest-frame UV emission line sources at intermediate redshift for calibrating and exploring the connection between secondary UV lines and the emitting galaxies' physical properties and their Ly$\alpha$ emission. The sample of 2052 emission line sources with $1.5 < z < 6.4$ was selected through untargeted source detection in three-dimensional MUSE data cubes. We searched optimally extracted 1D spectra of the full sample for UV emission features via emission line template matching, resulting in a sample of more than 100 rest-frame UV emission line detections. We show that the detection efficiency of (non-Ly$\alpha$) UV emission lines increases with survey depth, and that the UV emission line strength often correlate with the strength of Ciii]. We measured the velocity offsets of resonant emission lines with respect to systemic tracers as well as the electron density and the gas-phase abundance. Lastly, using "PhotoIonization Model Probability Density Functions" we find that the UV line emitters generally have ionization parameter log10(U) $\approx$ -2.5 and metal mass fractions that scatter around Z $\approx$ 10$^{-2}$, that is Z $\approx$ 0.66Z$\odot$. Value-added catalogs of the full sample of MUSE objects studied in this work and a collection of UV line emitters from the literature are provided with this paper.
While low-luminosity galaxies dominate number counts at all redshifts, their contribution to cosmic Reionization is poorly understood due to a lack of knowledge of their physical properties. We isolate a sample of 35 z~4-5 continuum-faint Lyman-alpha emitters from deep VLT/MUSE spectroscopy and directly measure their Halpha emission using stacked Spitzer/IRAC Ch. 1 photometry. Based on Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we determine that the average UV continuum magnitude is fainter than -16 (~0.01 L_star), implying a median Lyman-alpha equivalent width of 249 Angstroms. By combining the Halpha measurement with the UV magnitude we determine the ionizing photon production efficiency, xi_ion, a first for such faint galaxies. The measurement of log (xi_ion [Hz/erg]) = 26.28 (+0.28; -0.40) is in excess of literature measurements of both continuum- and emission line-selected samples, implying a more efficient production of ionizing photons in these lower-luminosity, Lyman-alpha-selected systems. We conclude that this elevated efficiency can be explained by stellar populations with metallicities between 4e-4 and 0.008, with light-weighted ages less than 3 Myr.
We present spatially resolved maps of six individually-detected Lyman α haloes (LAHs) as well as a first statistical analysis of the Lyman α (Lyα) spectral signature in the circum-galactic medium of high-redshift star-forming galaxies (−17.5 > MUV > −21.5) using the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer. Our resolved spectroscopic analysis of the LAHs reveals significant intrahalo variations of the Lyα line profile. Using a three-dimensional two-component model for the Lyα emission, we measured the full width at half maximum (FWHM), the peak velocity shift, and the asymmetry of the Lyα line in the core and in the halo of 19 galaxies. We find that the Lyα line shape is statistically different in the halo compared to the core (in terms of width, peak wavelength, and asymmetry) for ≈40% of our galaxies. Similarly to object-by-object based studies and a recent resolved study using lensing, we find a correlation between the peak velocity shift and the width of the Lyα line both at the interstellar and circum-galactic scales. This trend has been predicted by radiative transfer simulations of galactic winds as a result of resonant scattering in outflows. While there is a lack of correlation between the spectral properties and the spatial scale lengths of our LAHs, we find a correlation between the width of the line in the LAH and the halo flux fraction. Interestingly, UV bright galaxies (MUV < −20) show broader, more redshifted, and less asymmetric Lyα lines in their haloes. The most significant correlation found is for the FWHM of the line and the UV continuum slope of the galaxy, suggesting that the redder galaxies have broader Lyα lines. The generally broad and red line shapes found in the halo component suggest that the Lyα haloes are powered either by scattering processes through an outflowing medium, fluorescent emission from outflowing cold clumps of gas, or a mix of both. Considering the large diversity of the Lyα line profiles observed in our sample and the lack of strong correlation, the interpretation of our results is still broadly open and underlines the need for realistic spatially resolved models of the LAHs.
We present the hitherto largest sample of gas-phase metallicity radial gradients measured at sub-kpc resolution in star-forming galaxies in the redshift range of z is an element of [1.2, 2.3]. These measurements are enabled by the synergy of slitless spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared channels and the lensing magnification from foreground galaxy clusters. Our sample consists of 76 galaxies with stellar mass ranging from 10(7)to 10(10) M-circle dot, an instantaneous star formation rate in the range of [1, 100] M-circle dot yr(-1), and global metallicity [1/12, 2] of splar.At a 2 sigma confidence level, 15/76 galaxies in our sample show negative radial gradients, whereas 7/76 show inverted gradients. Combining ours and all other metallicity gradients obtained at a similar resolution currently available in the literature, we measure a negative mass dependence of Delta log(O/H)/Delta r [dex kpc(-1)] = (-0.020 +/- 0.007) + (-0.016 +/- 0.008) log(M-*/10(9.4) M-circle dot), with the intrinsic scatter being sigma = 0.060 +/- 0.006 over 4 orders of magnitude in stellar mass. Our result is consistent with strong feedback, not secular processes, being the primary governor of the chemostructural evolution of star-forming galaxies during the disk mass assembly at cosmic noon. We also find that the intrinsic scatter of metallicity gradients increases with decreasing stellar mass and increasing specific star formation rate. This increase in the intrinsic scatter is likely caused by the combined effect of cold-mode gas accretion and merger-induced starbursts, with the latter more predominant in the dwarf mass regime of M-* less than or similar to 10(9) M-circle dot.