The rest-frame UV luminosity function at z ≃ 4: a significant contribution of AGNs to the bright end of the galaxy population

N. J. Adams*, R. A. A. Bowler, M. J. Jarvis, B. Häußler, R. J. McLure, A. Bunker, J. S. Dunlop, A. Verma

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

We measure the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) luminosity function (LF) at z ∼ 4 self-consistently over a wide range in absolute magnitude (−27 ≲ MUV ≲ −20). The LF is measured with 46 904 sources selected using a photometric redshift approach over ∼6 deg2 of the combined Cosmological Evolution Survey and XMM–Newton Large-Scale Structure fields. We simultaneously fit for both active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and galaxy LFs using a combination of Schechter or double power law (DPL) functions alongside a single power law for the faint-end slope of the AGN LF. We find a lack of evolution in the shape of the bright end of the Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) component when compared to other studies at z ≃ 5 and evolutionary recipes for the UV LF. Regardless of whether the LBG LF is fit with a Schechter function or DPL, AGNs are found to dominate at MUV < −23.5. We measure a steep faint-end slope of the AGN LF with αAGN=−2.09+0.35−0.38 (⁠−1.66+0.29−0.58⁠) when fit alongside a Schechter function (DPL) for the galaxies. Our results suggest that if AGNs are morphologically selected it results in a bias to lower number densities. Only by considering the full galaxy population over the transition region from AGN to LBG domination can an accurate measurement of the total LFs be attained.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1771-1783
Number of pages13
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume494
Issue number2
Early online date13 Mar 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2020

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • astro-ph.GA

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