A Lyα nebula at z ∼ 3.3

¹ ESO, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile
e-mail: phibon@eso.org
² Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Received: 21 August 2019
Accepted: 27 April 2020

Abstract

Context. Searching for high-redshift galaxies is a field of intense activity in modern observational cosmology that will continue to grow with future ground-based and sky observatories. Over the last few years, a lot has been learned about the high-z Universe.

Aims. Despite extensive Lyα blobs (LAB) surveys from low to high redshifts, giant LABs over 100 kpc have been found mostly at z ∼ 2–4. This redshift range is coincident with the transition epoch of galactic gas-circulation processes from inflows to outflows at z ∼ 2.5–3. This suggests that the formation of giant LABs may be related to a combination of gas inflows and outflows. Their extreme youth makes them interesting objects in the study of galaxy formation as they provide insight into some of the youngest known highly star forming galaxies, with only modest time investments using ground-based telescopes.

Methods. Systematic narrow-band Lyα nebula surveys are ongoing, but they are limited in their covered redshift range and their comoving volume. This poses a significant problem when searching for such rare sources. To address this problem, we developed a systematic searching tool, ATACAMA (A Tool for seArChing for lArge LyMan Alpha nebulae) designed to find large Lyα nebulae at any redshift within deep multi-wavelength broad-band imaging.

Results. We identified a Lyα nebula candidate at z_phot ∼ 3.3 covering an isophotal area of 29.4arcsec². Its morphology shows a bright core and a faint core which coincides with the morphology of previously known Lyα blobs. A first estimation of the Lyα equivalent width and line flux agree with the values from the study led by several groups.