Abstract / Description of output
Numerous theoretical models have long proposed that a strong He II
λ1640 emission line is the most prominent and unique feature of
massive Population III (Pop III) stars in high-redshift galaxies. The He
II λ1640 line strength can constrain the mass and initial mass
function (IMF) of Pop III stars. We use F132N narrowband filter on the
Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 to look for strong He
II λ1640 emission in the galaxy BDF-521 at z = 7.01, one of the
most distant spectroscopically confirmed galaxies to date. Using deep
F132N narrowband imaging, together with our broadband imaging with F125W
and F160W filters, we do not detect He II emission from this galaxy, but
place a 2σ upper limit on the flux of 5.3× 10-19
{erg} {s}-1 {cm}-2. This measurement corresponds
to a 2σ upper limit on the Pop III star formation rate
(SFRPopIII) of ~0.2 M ⊙
yr-1, assuming a Salpeter IMF with 50
Original language | English |
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Journal | Astrophysical Journal Letters |
Volume | 799 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 27 Jan 2015 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- dark ages
- reionization
- first stars
- galaxies: high-redshift
- stars: Population III