Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations

Amber N. Straughn; Harald Kuntschner; Martin Kümmel; Jeremy R. Walsh; Seth H. Cohen; Jonathan P. Gardner; Rogier Windhorst; Robert W. O'Connell; Norbert Pirzkal; Gerhardt Meurer; Patrick J. McCarthy; Nimish P. Hathi; Sangeeta Malhotra; James Rhoads; Bruce Balick; Howard E. Bond; Daniela Calzetti; Michael J. Disney; Michael A. Dopita; Jay A. Frogel; Donald N B Hall; Jon A. Holtzman; Randy A. Kimble; Max Mutchler; Francesco Paresce; Abhijit Saha; Joseph I. Silk; John T. Trauger; Alistair R. Walker; Bradley C. Whitmore; Erick T. Young; Chun Xu

doi:10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14

Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations

Amber N. Straughn, Harald Kuntschner, Martin Kümmel, Jeremy R. Walsh, Seth H. Cohen, Jonathan P. Gardner, Rogier Windhorst, Robert W. O'Connell, Norbert Pirzkal, Gerhardt Meurer, Patrick J. McCarthy, Nimish P. Hathi, Sangeeta Malhotra, James Rhoads, Bruce Balick, Howard E. Bond, Daniela Calzetti, Michael J. Disney, Michael A. Dopita, Jay A. FrogelDonald N B Hall, Jon A. Holtzman, Randy A. Kimble, Max Mutchler, Francesco Paresce, Abhijit Saha, Joseph I. Silk, John T. Trauger, Alistair R. Walker, Bradley C. Whitmore, Erick T. Young, Chun Xu

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

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present grism spectra of emission-line galaxies (ELGs) from 0.6 to 1.6μm from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope. These new infrared grism data augment previous optical Advanced Camera for Surveys G800L 0.6-0.95μm grism data in GOODS-South from the PEARS program, extending the wavelength coverage well past the G800L red cutoff. The Early Release Science (ERS) grism field was observed at a depth of two orbits per grism, yielding spectra of hundreds of faint objects, a subset of which is presented here. ELGs are studied via the Hα, [Oiii], and [O ii] emission lines detected in the redshift ranges 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.4, 1.2 ≲ z ≲ 2.2, and 2.0 ≲ z ≲ 3.3, respectively, in the G102 (0.8-1.1μm; R ≃ 210) and G141 (1.1-1.6μm; R ≃ 130) grisms. The higher spectral resolution afforded by the WFC3 grisms also reveals emission lines not detectable with the G800L grism (e.g., [S ii] and [S iii] lines). From these relatively shallow observations, line luminosities, star formation rates, and grism spectroscopic redshifts are determined for a total of 48 ELGs to m_AB(F098M) ≃ 25 mag. Seventeen GOODS-South galaxies that previously only had photometric redshifts now have new grism-spectroscopic redshifts, in some cases with large corrections to the photometric redshifts (Δz ≃ 0.3-0.5). Additionally, one galaxy had no previously measured redshift but now has a secure grism-spectroscopic redshift, for a total of 18 new GOODS-South spectroscopic redshifts. The faintest source in our sample has a magnitude m_AB(F098M)= 26.9 mag. The ERS grism data also reflect the expected trend of lower specific star formation rates for the highest mass galaxies in the sample as a function of redshift, consistent with downsizing and discovered previously from large surveys. These results demonstrate the remarkable efficiency and capability of the WFC3 NIR grisms for measuring galaxy properties to faint magnitudes and redshifts to z ≲ 2.

Original language	English (US)
Journal	Astronomical Journal
Volume	141
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14
State	Published - Jan 2011

Keywords

Catalogs
Galaxies: starburst
Techniques: spectroscopic

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

Access to Document

10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14

Cite this

Straughn, A. N., Kuntschner, H., Kümmel, M., Walsh, J. R., Cohen, S. H., Gardner, J. P., Windhorst, R., O'Connell, R. W., Pirzkal, N., Meurer, G., McCarthy, P. J., Hathi, N. P., Malhotra, S., Rhoads, J., Balick, B., Bond, H. E., Calzetti, D., Disney, M. J., Dopita, M. A., ... Xu, C. (2011). Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations. Astronomical Journal, 141(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14

Straughn, AN, Kuntschner, H, Kümmel, M, Walsh, JR, Cohen, SH, Gardner, JP, Windhorst, R, O'Connell, RW, Pirzkal, N, Meurer, G, McCarthy, PJ, Hathi, NP, Malhotra, S, Rhoads, J, Balick, B, Bond, HE, Calzetti, D, Disney, MJ, Dopita, MA, Frogel, JA, Hall, DNB, Holtzman, JA, Kimble, RA, Mutchler, M, Paresce, F, Saha, A, Silk, JI, Trauger, JT, Walker, AR, Whitmore, BC, Young, ET & Xu, C 2011, 'Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations', Astronomical Journal, vol. 141, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14

@article{9434421bd31c4d7881fd9470f170af21,

title = "Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations",

abstract = "We present grism spectra of emission-line galaxies (ELGs) from 0.6 to 1.6μm from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope. These new infrared grism data augment previous optical Advanced Camera for Surveys G800L 0.6-0.95μm grism data in GOODS-South from the PEARS program, extending the wavelength coverage well past the G800L red cutoff. The Early Release Science (ERS) grism field was observed at a depth of two orbits per grism, yielding spectra of hundreds of faint objects, a subset of which is presented here. ELGs are studied via the Hα, [Oiii], and [O ii] emission lines detected in the redshift ranges 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.4, 1.2 ≲ z ≲ 2.2, and 2.0 ≲ z ≲ 3.3, respectively, in the G102 (0.8-1.1μm; R ≃ 210) and G141 (1.1-1.6μm; R ≃ 130) grisms. The higher spectral resolution afforded by the WFC3 grisms also reveals emission lines not detectable with the G800L grism (e.g., [S ii] and [S iii] lines). From these relatively shallow observations, line luminosities, star formation rates, and grism spectroscopic redshifts are determined for a total of 48 ELGs to mAB(F098M) ≃ 25 mag. Seventeen GOODS-South galaxies that previously only had photometric redshifts now have new grism-spectroscopic redshifts, in some cases with large corrections to the photometric redshifts (Δz ≃ 0.3-0.5). Additionally, one galaxy had no previously measured redshift but now has a secure grism-spectroscopic redshift, for a total of 18 new GOODS-South spectroscopic redshifts. The faintest source in our sample has a magnitude mAB(F098M)= 26.9 mag. The ERS grism data also reflect the expected trend of lower specific star formation rates for the highest mass galaxies in the sample as a function of redshift, consistent with downsizing and discovered previously from large surveys. These results demonstrate the remarkable efficiency and capability of the WFC3 NIR grisms for measuring galaxy properties to faint magnitudes and redshifts to z ≲ 2.",

keywords = "Catalogs, Galaxies: starburst, Techniques: spectroscopic",

author = "Straughn, {Amber N.} and Harald Kuntschner and Martin K{\"u}mmel and Walsh, {Jeremy R.} and Cohen, {Seth H.} and Gardner, {Jonathan P.} and Rogier Windhorst and O'Connell, {Robert W.} and Norbert Pirzkal and Gerhardt Meurer and McCarthy, {Patrick J.} and Hathi, {Nimish P.} and Sangeeta Malhotra and James Rhoads and Bruce Balick and Bond, {Howard E.} and Daniela Calzetti and Disney, {Michael J.} and Dopita, {Michael A.} and Frogel, {Jay A.} and Hall, {Donald N B} and Holtzman, {Jon A.} and Kimble, {Randy A.} and Max Mutchler and Francesco Paresce and Abhijit Saha and Silk, {Joseph I.} and Trauger, {John T.} and Walker, {Alistair R.} and Whitmore, {Bradley C.} and Young, {Erick T.} and Chun Xu",

year = "2011",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "141",

journal = "Astronomical Journal",

issn = "0004-6256",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "1",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science

T2 - Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations

AU - Straughn, Amber N.

AU - Kuntschner, Harald

AU - Kümmel, Martin

AU - Walsh, Jeremy R.

AU - Cohen, Seth H.

AU - Gardner, Jonathan P.

AU - Windhorst, Rogier

AU - O'Connell, Robert W.

AU - Pirzkal, Norbert

AU - Meurer, Gerhardt

AU - McCarthy, Patrick J.

AU - Hathi, Nimish P.

AU - Malhotra, Sangeeta

AU - Rhoads, James

AU - Balick, Bruce

AU - Bond, Howard E.

AU - Calzetti, Daniela

AU - Disney, Michael J.

AU - Dopita, Michael A.

AU - Frogel, Jay A.

AU - Hall, Donald N B

AU - Holtzman, Jon A.

AU - Kimble, Randy A.

AU - Mutchler, Max

AU - Paresce, Francesco

AU - Saha, Abhijit

AU - Silk, Joseph I.

AU - Trauger, John T.

AU - Walker, Alistair R.

AU - Whitmore, Bradley C.

AU - Young, Erick T.

AU - Xu, Chun

PY - 2011/1

Y1 - 2011/1

N2 - We present grism spectra of emission-line galaxies (ELGs) from 0.6 to 1.6μm from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope. These new infrared grism data augment previous optical Advanced Camera for Surveys G800L 0.6-0.95μm grism data in GOODS-South from the PEARS program, extending the wavelength coverage well past the G800L red cutoff. The Early Release Science (ERS) grism field was observed at a depth of two orbits per grism, yielding spectra of hundreds of faint objects, a subset of which is presented here. ELGs are studied via the Hα, [Oiii], and [O ii] emission lines detected in the redshift ranges 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.4, 1.2 ≲ z ≲ 2.2, and 2.0 ≲ z ≲ 3.3, respectively, in the G102 (0.8-1.1μm; R ≃ 210) and G141 (1.1-1.6μm; R ≃ 130) grisms. The higher spectral resolution afforded by the WFC3 grisms also reveals emission lines not detectable with the G800L grism (e.g., [S ii] and [S iii] lines). From these relatively shallow observations, line luminosities, star formation rates, and grism spectroscopic redshifts are determined for a total of 48 ELGs to mAB(F098M) ≃ 25 mag. Seventeen GOODS-South galaxies that previously only had photometric redshifts now have new grism-spectroscopic redshifts, in some cases with large corrections to the photometric redshifts (Δz ≃ 0.3-0.5). Additionally, one galaxy had no previously measured redshift but now has a secure grism-spectroscopic redshift, for a total of 18 new GOODS-South spectroscopic redshifts. The faintest source in our sample has a magnitude mAB(F098M)= 26.9 mag. The ERS grism data also reflect the expected trend of lower specific star formation rates for the highest mass galaxies in the sample as a function of redshift, consistent with downsizing and discovered previously from large surveys. These results demonstrate the remarkable efficiency and capability of the WFC3 NIR grisms for measuring galaxy properties to faint magnitudes and redshifts to z ≲ 2.

AB - We present grism spectra of emission-line galaxies (ELGs) from 0.6 to 1.6μm from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope. These new infrared grism data augment previous optical Advanced Camera for Surveys G800L 0.6-0.95μm grism data in GOODS-South from the PEARS program, extending the wavelength coverage well past the G800L red cutoff. The Early Release Science (ERS) grism field was observed at a depth of two orbits per grism, yielding spectra of hundreds of faint objects, a subset of which is presented here. ELGs are studied via the Hα, [Oiii], and [O ii] emission lines detected in the redshift ranges 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.4, 1.2 ≲ z ≲ 2.2, and 2.0 ≲ z ≲ 3.3, respectively, in the G102 (0.8-1.1μm; R ≃ 210) and G141 (1.1-1.6μm; R ≃ 130) grisms. The higher spectral resolution afforded by the WFC3 grisms also reveals emission lines not detectable with the G800L grism (e.g., [S ii] and [S iii] lines). From these relatively shallow observations, line luminosities, star formation rates, and grism spectroscopic redshifts are determined for a total of 48 ELGs to mAB(F098M) ≃ 25 mag. Seventeen GOODS-South galaxies that previously only had photometric redshifts now have new grism-spectroscopic redshifts, in some cases with large corrections to the photometric redshifts (Δz ≃ 0.3-0.5). Additionally, one galaxy had no previously measured redshift but now has a secure grism-spectroscopic redshift, for a total of 18 new GOODS-South spectroscopic redshifts. The faintest source in our sample has a magnitude mAB(F098M)= 26.9 mag. The ERS grism data also reflect the expected trend of lower specific star formation rates for the highest mass galaxies in the sample as a function of redshift, consistent with downsizing and discovered previously from large surveys. These results demonstrate the remarkable efficiency and capability of the WFC3 NIR grisms for measuring galaxy properties to faint magnitudes and redshifts to z ≲ 2.

KW - Catalogs

KW - Galaxies: starburst

KW - Techniques: spectroscopic

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DO - 10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14

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SN - 0004-6256

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JO - Astronomical Journal

JF - Astronomical Journal

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Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations

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Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line galaxies from infrared grism observations

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ASJC Scopus subject areas

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