A candels WFC3 grism study of emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 2: A mix of nuclear activity and low-metallicity star formation

Jonathan R. Trump; Benjamin J. Weiner; Claudia Scarlata; Dale D. Kocevski; Eric F. Bell; Elizabeth J. McGrath; David C. Koo; S. M. Faber; Elise S. Laird; Mark Mozena; Cyprian Rangel; Renbin Yan; Hassen Yesuf; Hakim Atek; Mark Dickinson; Jennifer L. Donley; James S. Dunlop; Henry C. Ferguson; Steven L. Finkelstein; Norman A. Grogin; Nimish P. Hathi; Stéphanie Juneau; Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe; Anton M. Koekemoer; Kirpal Nandra; Jeffrey A. Newman; Steven A. Rodney; Amber N. Straughn; Harry I. Teplitz

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144

A candels WFC3 grism study of emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 2: A mix of nuclear activity and low-metallicity star formation

Jonathan R. Trump, Benjamin J. Weiner, Claudia Scarlata, Dale D. Kocevski, Eric F. Bell, Elizabeth J. McGrath, David C. Koo, S. M. Faber, Elise S. Laird, Mark Mozena, Cyprian Rangel, Renbin Yan, Hassen Yesuf, Hakim Atek, Mark Dickinson, Jennifer L. Donley, James S. Dunlop, Henry C. Ferguson, Steven L. Finkelstein, Norman A. GroginNimish P. Hathi, Stéphanie Juneau, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Anton M. Koekemoer, Kirpal Nandra, Jeffrey A. Newman, Steven A. Rodney, Amber N. Straughn, Harry I. Teplitz

Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) slitless grism spectroscopy of 28 emission-line galaxies at z 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with >1σ detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 × 10^-18ergs^-1cm ^-2, means that the galaxies in the sample are typically 7 times less massive (median M _* = 10^9.5 M than previously studied z 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/Hβ ratios which are very similar to previously studied z 2 galaxies and much higher than the typical emission-line ratios of local galaxies. The WFC3 grism allows for unique studies of spatial gradients in emission lines, and we stack the two-dimensional spectra of the galaxies for this purpose. In the stacked data the [O III] emission line is more spatially concentrated than the Hβ emission line with 98.1% confidence. We additionally stack the X-ray data (all sources are individually undetected), and find that the average L _{[O III]}/L _{0.5-10 keV} ratio is intermediate between typical z 0 obscured active galaxies and star-forming galaxies. Together the compactness of the stacked [O III] spatial profile and the stacked X-ray data suggest that at least some of these low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies harbor weak active galactic nuclei.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	144
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	743
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144
State	Published - Dec 20 2011

Keywords

galaxies: abundances
galaxies: active
galaxies: evolution
quasars: emission lines

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144

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Trump, J. R., Weiner, B. J., Scarlata, C., Kocevski, D. D., Bell, E. F., McGrath, E. J., Koo, D. C., Faber, S. M., Laird, E. S., Mozena, M., Rangel, C., Yan, R., Yesuf, H., Atek, H., Dickinson, M., Donley, J. L., Dunlop, J. S., Ferguson, H. C., Finkelstein, S. L., ... Teplitz, H. I. (2011). A candels WFC3 grism study of emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 2: A mix of nuclear activity and low-metallicity star formation. Astrophysical Journal, 743(2), Article 144. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144

Trump, JR, Weiner, BJ, Scarlata, C, Kocevski, DD, Bell, EF, McGrath, EJ, Koo, DC, Faber, SM, Laird, ES, Mozena, M, Rangel, C, Yan, R, Yesuf, H, Atek, H, Dickinson, M, Donley, JL, Dunlop, JS, Ferguson, HC, Finkelstein, SL, Grogin, NA, Hathi, NP, Juneau, S, Kartaltepe, JS, Koekemoer, AM, Nandra, K, Newman, JA, Rodney, SA, Straughn, AN & Teplitz, HI 2011, 'A candels WFC3 grism study of emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 2: A mix of nuclear activity and low-metallicity star formation', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 743, no. 2, 144. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144

@article{b52ce003a2af47bcbbbe83f0c7bbc153,

title = "A candels WFC3 grism study of emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 2: A mix of nuclear activity and low-metallicity star formation",

abstract = "We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) slitless grism spectroscopy of 28 emission-line galaxies at z 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with >1σ detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 × 10-18ergs-1cm -2, means that the galaxies in the sample are typically 7 times less massive (median M * = 109.5 M than previously studied z 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/Hβ ratios which are very similar to previously studied z 2 galaxies and much higher than the typical emission-line ratios of local galaxies. The WFC3 grism allows for unique studies of spatial gradients in emission lines, and we stack the two-dimensional spectra of the galaxies for this purpose. In the stacked data the [O III] emission line is more spatially concentrated than the Hβ emission line with 98.1% confidence. We additionally stack the X-ray data (all sources are individually undetected), and find that the average L [O III]/L 0.5-10 keV ratio is intermediate between typical z 0 obscured active galaxies and star-forming galaxies. Together the compactness of the stacked [O III] spatial profile and the stacked X-ray data suggest that at least some of these low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies harbor weak active galactic nuclei.",

keywords = "galaxies: abundances, galaxies: active, galaxies: evolution, quasars: emission lines",

author = "Trump, {Jonathan R.} and Weiner, {Benjamin J.} and Claudia Scarlata and Kocevski, {Dale D.} and Bell, {Eric F.} and McGrath, {Elizabeth J.} and Koo, {David C.} and Faber, {S. M.} and Laird, {Elise S.} and Mark Mozena and Cyprian Rangel and Renbin Yan and Hassen Yesuf and Hakim Atek and Mark Dickinson and Donley, {Jennifer L.} and Dunlop, {James S.} and Ferguson, {Henry C.} and Finkelstein, {Steven L.} and Grogin, {Norman A.} and Hathi, {Nimish P.} and St{\'e}phanie Juneau and Kartaltepe, {Jeyhan S.} and Koekemoer, {Anton M.} and Kirpal Nandra and Newman, {Jeffrey A.} and Rodney, {Steven A.} and Straughn, {Amber N.} and Teplitz, {Harry I.}",

year = "2011",

month = dec,

day = "20",

doi = "10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "743",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "2",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - A candels WFC3 grism study of emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 2

T2 - A mix of nuclear activity and low-metallicity star formation

AU - Trump, Jonathan R.

AU - Weiner, Benjamin J.

AU - Scarlata, Claudia

AU - Kocevski, Dale D.

AU - Bell, Eric F.

AU - McGrath, Elizabeth J.

AU - Koo, David C.

AU - Faber, S. M.

AU - Laird, Elise S.

AU - Mozena, Mark

AU - Rangel, Cyprian

AU - Yan, Renbin

AU - Yesuf, Hassen

AU - Atek, Hakim

AU - Dickinson, Mark

AU - Donley, Jennifer L.

AU - Dunlop, James S.

AU - Ferguson, Henry C.

AU - Finkelstein, Steven L.

AU - Grogin, Norman A.

AU - Hathi, Nimish P.

AU - Juneau, Stéphanie

AU - Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S.

AU - Koekemoer, Anton M.

AU - Nandra, Kirpal

AU - Newman, Jeffrey A.

AU - Rodney, Steven A.

AU - Straughn, Amber N.

AU - Teplitz, Harry I.

PY - 2011/12/20

Y1 - 2011/12/20

N2 - We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) slitless grism spectroscopy of 28 emission-line galaxies at z 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with >1σ detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 × 10-18ergs-1cm -2, means that the galaxies in the sample are typically 7 times less massive (median M * = 109.5 M than previously studied z 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/Hβ ratios which are very similar to previously studied z 2 galaxies and much higher than the typical emission-line ratios of local galaxies. The WFC3 grism allows for unique studies of spatial gradients in emission lines, and we stack the two-dimensional spectra of the galaxies for this purpose. In the stacked data the [O III] emission line is more spatially concentrated than the Hβ emission line with 98.1% confidence. We additionally stack the X-ray data (all sources are individually undetected), and find that the average L [O III]/L 0.5-10 keV ratio is intermediate between typical z 0 obscured active galaxies and star-forming galaxies. Together the compactness of the stacked [O III] spatial profile and the stacked X-ray data suggest that at least some of these low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies harbor weak active galactic nuclei.

AB - We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) slitless grism spectroscopy of 28 emission-line galaxies at z 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with >1σ detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 × 10-18ergs-1cm -2, means that the galaxies in the sample are typically 7 times less massive (median M * = 109.5 M than previously studied z 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/Hβ ratios which are very similar to previously studied z 2 galaxies and much higher than the typical emission-line ratios of local galaxies. The WFC3 grism allows for unique studies of spatial gradients in emission lines, and we stack the two-dimensional spectra of the galaxies for this purpose. In the stacked data the [O III] emission line is more spatially concentrated than the Hβ emission line with 98.1% confidence. We additionally stack the X-ray data (all sources are individually undetected), and find that the average L [O III]/L 0.5-10 keV ratio is intermediate between typical z 0 obscured active galaxies and star-forming galaxies. Together the compactness of the stacked [O III] spatial profile and the stacked X-ray data suggest that at least some of these low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies harbor weak active galactic nuclei.

KW - galaxies: abundances

KW - galaxies: active

KW - galaxies: evolution

KW - quasars: emission lines

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U2 - 10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144

DO - 10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144

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AN - SCOPUS:83455220820

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 743

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

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M1 - 144

ER -

A candels WFC3 grism study of emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 2: A mix of nuclear activity and low-metallicity star formation

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