A CANDELS WFC3 GRISM STUDY OF EMISSION-LINE GALAXIES AT z similar to 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; Stephanie 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 similar to 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, Stephanie Juneau, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Anton M. Koekemoer, Kirpal Nandra, Jeffrey A. Newman, Steven A. Rodney, Amber N. Straughn, Harry I. Teplitz

School of Physics and Astronomy

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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 similar to 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with > 1 sigma detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 x 10(-18) erg s(-1) cm(-2), means that the galaxies in the sample are typically similar to 7 times less massive (median M-* = 10(9.5) M-circle dot) than previously studied z similar to 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/H beta ratios which are very similar to previously studied z similar to 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 H beta 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]/L0.5-10 (keV) ratio is intermediate between typical z similar to 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
Article number	144
Pages (from-to)	-
Number of pages	8
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	743
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144
Publication status	Published - 20 Dec 2011

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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 similar to 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

@article{9520fe0e4b854869bddb49264f43a5f0,

title = "A CANDELS WFC3 GRISM STUDY OF EMISSION-LINE GALAXIES AT z similar to 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 similar to 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with > 1 sigma detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 x 10(-18) erg s(-1) cm(-2), means that the galaxies in the sample are typically similar to 7 times less massive (median M-* = 10(9.5) M-circle dot) than previously studied z similar to 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/H beta ratios which are very similar to previously studied z similar to 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 H beta 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]/L0.5-10 (keV) ratio is intermediate between typical z similar to 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.",

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 Stephanie 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",

volume = "743",

pages = "--",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "IOP Publishing",

number = "2",

}

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 similar to 2: A MIX OF NUCLEAR ACTIVITY AND LOW-METALLICITY STAR FORMATION', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 743, no. 2, 144, pp. -. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/144

TY - JOUR

T1 - A CANDELS WFC3 GRISM STUDY OF EMISSION-LINE GALAXIES AT z similar to 2: 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, Stephanie

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 similar to 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with > 1 sigma detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 x 10(-18) erg s(-1) cm(-2), means that the galaxies in the sample are typically similar to 7 times less massive (median M-* = 10(9.5) M-circle dot) than previously studied z similar to 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/H beta ratios which are very similar to previously studied z similar to 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 H beta 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]/L0.5-10 (keV) ratio is intermediate between typical z similar to 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 similar to 2, in the GOODS-S region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The high sensitivity of these grism observations, with > 1 sigma detections of emission lines to f > 2.5 x 10(-18) erg s(-1) cm(-2), means that the galaxies in the sample are typically similar to 7 times less massive (median M-* = 10(9.5) M-circle dot) than previously studied z similar to 2 emission-line galaxies. Despite their lower mass, the galaxies have [O III]/H beta ratios which are very similar to previously studied z similar to 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 H beta 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]/L0.5-10 (keV) ratio is intermediate between typical z similar to 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.

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

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

M3 - Article

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 743

SP - -

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 2

M1 - 144

ER -

A CANDELS WFC3 GRISM STUDY OF EMISSION-LINE GALAXIES AT z similar to 2: A MIX OF NUCLEAR ACTIVITY AND LOW-METALLICITY STAR FORMATION

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