Issue |
A&A
Volume 506, Number 2, November I 2009
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | L1 - L4 | |
Section | Letters | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200912787 | |
Published online | 15 September 2009 |
A&A 506, L1-L4 (2009)
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Empirical estimate of Ly
escape fraction in a statistical sample of Ly
emitters
H. Atek1 - D. Kunth1 - D. Schaerer2,3 - M. Hayes2 - J. M. Deharveng4 - G. Östlin5 - J. M. Mas-Hesse6
1 - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), 98bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
2 - Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 Ch. des Maillettes, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland
3 -
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Toulouse-Tarbes, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 14 Avenue E. Belin,
31400 Toulouse, France
4 - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, UMR 6110
CNRS/Université de Provence, 38 rue Joliot-Curie, 13388 Marseille Cedex
13, France
5 - Oskar Klein Center for Cosmoparticle physics, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
6 -
Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), POB 78, E28691 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
Received 29 June 2009 / Accepted 8 September 2009
Abstract
Context. The Lyman-alpha (Ly)
recombination line is a fundamental tool for galaxy evolution studies
and modern observational cosmology. However, subsequent interpretations
are still prone to a number of uncertainties. Besides numerical
efforts, empirical data are urgently needed for a better understanding
of the Ly
escape process.
Aims. We empirically estimate the Ly
escape fraction in a statistically significant sample of galaxies in a redshift range
.
This estimate will constrain interpretations of current high-redshift Ly
observations.
Methods. An optical spectroscopic follow-up of a sub-sample of 24 Ly
emitters detected by GALEX at
,
combined with a UV-optical sample of local starbursts, both with
matched apertures, allow us to quantify the dust extinction through
Balmer lines, and to estimate the Ly
escape fraction from the H
flux corrected for extinction in the framework of the recombination theory.
Results. The global escape fraction of Ly
radiation spans a wide range of values and
(Ly
)
clearly decreases with increasing nebular dust extinction E(B-V). Several objects show
(Ly
)
greater than
(continuum),
which may be taken as observational evidence for a clumpy ISM geometry
or for an aspherical ISM. Selection biases and aperture size effects
may still prevail between
Lyman-alpha emitters (LAEs) and local starbursts and may explain the difference observed for
(Ly
).
Key words: galaxies: starburst - galaxies: ISM - ultraviolet: galaxies - ISM: dust, extinction
1 Introduction
Considerable progress has been made in the last years in the detection
and characterization of distant galaxy populations thanks, in
particular, to 8-10 m class telescopes with large field of view
instruments. In this context, the Ly emission line is of particular interest, since it remains the brightest spectral signature of remote young galaxies (Partridge & Peebles 1967; Schaerer 2003).
As a result, high redshift galaxies are now being routinely detected
thanks to the Lyman Break selection and/or emission line surveys (e.g. Nilsson et al. 2009; Gronwall et al. 2007; Ouchi et al. 2008,
and references therein); this situation is likely to improve with
upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) and the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST). A comparable survey is now available for the first
time at low redshift (
,
Deharveng et al. 2008) thanks to the GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer) UV capabilities.
The Ly
line proves an invaluable tool in a cosmological context and is used in a wide variety of applications.
Ly
has
been used in recent studies to probe early stages of galaxy formation,
estimate the star formation rate, trace large scale structures,
identify potential hosts of population III stars and place constraints
on cosmic reionization at
.
However, in order to ensure a proper interpretation of these very promising Ly
-oriented
studies, one first must establish a robust calibration of the many
parameters that control the complex transport of this line. The
determination of the amount of Ly
radiation that escapes from the host galaxy is certainly the most
important step toward understanding how various galaxy properties may
distort the interpretation of Ly
observations.
Although the order of importance of these parameters has been extensively discussed (e.g. Atek et al. 2009; Schaerer & Verhamme 2008; Verhamme et al. 2008),
empirical evidence based upon a large sample of galaxies is still missing.
From the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) to the Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) era, spectroscopic and imaging observations of nearby
star forming galaxies have played a key role in identifying the main
parameters responsible for the Ly
escape in a given galaxy. Recent high resolution Ly
imaging results clearly demonstrate the importance of resonant scattering, evidenced locally by very high Ly
/H
ratios and an outstanding large Ly
scattering halo (e.g. Hayes et al. 2007; Atek et al. 2008; Östlin et al. 2009).
However, most results so far have no statistical bearing and are still
difficult to generalize, because the sample is not only small but
consists of specific ``hand-picked'' objects. We propose here to
improve this situation by using a larger sample of 24 Ly
emitting galaxies at
found by GALEX. We have carried out a spectroscopic follow-up of a
southern sub-sample with EFOSC2 on the ESO New Technology Telescope
(NTT). This enables us to analyze how the Ly
emission
is related to many physical properties of galaxies. We also re-analyzed
UV-optical spectra of 11 local starbursts. For the first time, these
large aperture observations allow us to determine empirically the Ly
escape fraction in a large sample of galaxies and to examine its dependence on dust extinction, if any.
2 Observations
2.1 The GALEX sample
96 Ly







2.2 Spectroscopic follow-up
Spectroscopic observations of 24 of the 31 galaxies in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS) and ELAIS-S1 fields were performed
with EFOSC2 on the NTT at ESO La Silla. Observational conditions were very good with photometric sky and sub-arcsec seeing (
).
Two instrumental setups were used in long slit mode: (1) a spectrophotometric mode with a 5
slit, allowing observations to encompass the whole galaxy (20 out of 24 objects);
and (2) a spectroscopic mode with a 1
slit, giving a better spectral resolution enabling us to correct H
data for N II contamination. Both settings were used in combination with Grism #13, covering a large wavelength range in the optical domain (
).
A binning of
is used and corresponds to a plate-scale of 0.24
px-1 and a spectral resolution of
Å (for 1
slit spectra). To avoid second order contamination that affects the
longer wavelength range, an order sorting filter has been mounted to
cut off light blue-ward of 4200 Å. Observational settings and the
mean exposure time per object are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: NTT EFOSC2 observations.
The EFOSC2 spectra were reduced and calibrated using standard IRAF routines. The aperture extraction of 1D spectra was performed through the DOSLIT task. Spectra were flux calibrated using a mean sensitivity function determined by observations of standard stars (Feige110, HILT600, LTT1020, EG21) from the Oke (1990) catalog.
2.3 IUE starburst sample
We have re-analyzed UV-optical spectra of 11 local starburst galaxies, presented in McQuade et al. (1995) and Storchi-Bergmann et al. (1995) (see also Giavalisco et al. 1996) that are distant enough to separate the Ly









2.4 Emission line measurements
All spectra were analyzed using the SPLOT package in IRAF.
The redshift was measured using the wavelength position of several
lines and line measurements were performed interactively on rest-frame
spectra. We confirm with a better accuracy the redshift determinations
based on the blind search for Ly
features in the GALEX survey.
Fluxes and equivalent widths (EWs) were measured for H,
H
and [N II] 6548, 6584 Å. For most spectra, the H
line (6563 Å) is blended with [N II] lines, even for the 1
slit observations. In this case, a deblending routine is used within SPLOT to measure individual fluxes in each line. Then, the N II/H
line ratio is used to correct the spectrophotometric observations for [N II] contamination. It appears that the dust extinction (cf. Sect. 2.5) is sensitive to the aperture size, since our 1
slit observations, targeting the center of the galaxies, led in general to a higher extinction. But this does not affect the N II
correction, which is relatively insensitive to dust extinction.
To correct for underlying stellar absorption in the Balmer lines, we
assumed a constant equivalent width of 2 Å, typical for
starburst galaxies (González Delgado et al. 1999; Tresse et al. 1996) .
To determine uncertainties in the line fluxes, we ran 1000 Monte Carlo simulations in which random Gaussian noise, based on the data noise, is added to a noise-free spectrum. Then, emission lines were fitted. The computed MC errors depend essentially on the S/N quality of spectra. Error propagation is applied through the calculation of all the quantities described above and the line ratios, extinction etc, computed hereafter.
Using BPT diagrams (Baldwin et al. 1981; Veilleux & Osterbrock 1987), and Chandra
X-ray observations, we have identified at most three galaxies possibly
excited by an active galactic nucleus (AGN), which represents up
to 12.5% of our sample. Studying similar
samples, Scarlata et al. (2009, submitted) find a comparable value (17%), while Finkelstein et al. (2009a)
claim a much higher fraction (around 43%). We therefore removed
these objects from our analysis. This diagnostic will be thoroughly
addressed in Atek et al. (in prep.).
2.5 Extinction
Reddening along the galaxy line of sight is caused by interstellar dust extinction. The reddening contribution of our Galaxy is negligible for our objects. Then, the extinction coefficient,


where f(H





3 Ly
escape fraction
In Fig. 1, the Ly
flux is plotted against the H
one for the GALEX objects . While some objects show a Ly
/H
ratio consistent with the case B value, most of them lie well below this line. On the other hand, few objects show a Ly
/H
> 8.7 at a significant level. The heavily attenuated values can
be explained by the high extinction in the UV compared to the optical
and to resonant scattering of Ly
that increases the absorption optical depth. However, the observed
dispersion and the points above the case B line could be the
result of other parameters that will be discussed below. A convenient
way to constrain the dust extinction parameter is to determine the
escape fraction of Ly
as a function of E(B-V).
![]() |
Figure 1:
Ly |
Open with DEXTER |
![]() |
Figure 2:
Ly |
Open with DEXTER |
To determine the Ly
escape fraction we follow Atek et al. (2008).
The method relies on the fact that H
emission
is not prone to complex radiation transport effects but is only
affected by dust attenuation. Therefore, correcting the observed H
flux for extinction while assuming a case B recombination theory (Osterbrock 1989), one can estimate the intrinsic Ly
flux. The Ly
escape fraction is then given by:
![]() |
(2) |
where f(Ly




Figure 2 shows our empirical
values as a function of the nebular extinction for the GALEX
and IUE samples described above.
values for 4 nearby galaxies from Atek et al. (2008), with
> 0 Å, are also shown.
This figure summarizes much information with several implications for Ly
physics.
First, we find that
is not constant. It spans a wide range of values, typically from
0.5 to 100%
in the GALEX sample.
Second, the Ly
escape fraction is clearly sensitive to the dust extinction and an
anti-correlation is observed. We performed a linear least-squares fit
to this anti-correlation. The red dashed curve is the best solution
found corresponding to
![]() ![]() |
(3) |
The extinction coefficient at Ly

















Third, several objects show
(Ly
)
greater than the escape fraction expected for the continuum near Ly
(blue dotted line) as given by
(cont) =
,
where the most favourable value
is adopted from the Cardelli et al. law.
Although Ly
/H
ratios exceeding the theoretical value have already been found in local starbursts (Atek et al. 2008),
they only occur locally, in spatially resolved objects, where this easily can be explained by a local Ly
``excess''
due to scattering. Here, in some objects, it is the ``global'' Ly
escape fraction determined from the integrated spectra that is found to
be higher than expected from the most favourable (i.e. flattest) attenuation law.
These objects may be observational evidence for a multi-phase configuration of the ISM (Finkelstein et al. 2009b; Neufeld 1991; Hansen & Peng Oh 2006),
where dust is primarily distributed in cold neutral clouds with an
ionized inter-cloud medium. By reflecting on the cloud surface, Ly
photons will be easily transmitted through the ionized medium.
Alternatively, Scarlata et al. (2009, submitted) have advocated
for a clumpy dust distribution scenario able to reproduce the observed
Ly
,
H
and H
intensities without the need for a two-phase model responsible for different paths for Ly
and H
.
Approximately 2/6 of these objects also show a relatively high Ly
equivalent width (
100-150 Å), as may
be expected for a clumpy ISM. Furthermore,
(Ly
)
higher than the UV continuum
could also be due to orientation effects in objects with an aspherical
ISM, e.g. in conical outflows, into which Ly
would
be ``channeled'' more effectively than continuum radiation.
The Ly
escape fractions of objects below the attenuation curve of the
continuum can be quantitatively reproduced by models using a
homogeneous ISM. However, this does not exclude that clumping may also
play a role in these objects.
We performed an extensive grid of 3D Lyradiation
transfer simulations in homogeneous, spherically expanding shells
(Hayes et al. in prep.), around a central emitting source of UV
continuum plus the Ly
line, using an updated version of the MCLya code (Verhamme et al. 2006). We overplot in Fig. 2 the predictions of
as a function of E(B-V) by using all possible values of the remaining parameters affecting
:
the expansion velocity of the neutral gas, H I column density, Doppler parameter b and FWHM (Ly
)
of the input emission line (for details, see Atek et al. 2009). The model E(B-V)
is computed from the predicted UV continuum attenuation, assuming the
same extinction law as above. The model grid covers the bulk of the
observed variations in
and E(B-V).
The homogeneous, spherical shell models may in principle be able to
explain the majority of the objects, although tailored models including
all observational constraints are needed to confirm this. However, the
values above the continuum attenuation curve (blue dotted line in Fig. 2) observed in 6 objects cannot be explained with these models, since Ly
photons cannot be less attenuated than the continuum in a homogeneous ISM.
New radiation transfer computations in clumpy media are underway to examine this interesting behavior.
4 Discussion
We have presented here an estimation of the mean Ly
escape fraction as a function of the extinction and how different
parameters can alter this simple relation. We have carefully chosen our
aperture (5
slit) in optical spectroscopy in order to obtain Balmer fluxes comparable to Ly
ones obtained by the GALEX grism. This allows us to estimate the extinction and the escape fraction for the whole galaxy.
To keep the same consistency between the different samples, we
decided to minimize selection effects by retaining only the net Ly
emitters in both the IUE and the imaging samples. We recall that the retained IUE large aperture (20
10
)
UV observations and ground-based optical spectroscopy of local starbursts are all aperture matched. Furthermore, for Ly
imaging objects, the HST aperture is large enough to encompass the entire Ly
emission region. However, while the slitless mode of GALEX enables us to recover the diffuse Ly
emission,
this is not necessarily the case for IUE observations. The size of the
large aperture may remain insufficient for some nearby objects in order
to encompass the scattered photons across a large area of the galaxy,
as usually indicated by the large extent of the H I gas. Therefore,
(Ly
)
could be slightly underestimated. On the contrary, as mentioned earlier, the
objects are selected on the grounds of their Ly
strength. This will likely favor the high Ly
escape fractions. One should then keep in mind that these opposite
effects contribute to stretch the deviation from our best fit of this
compilation of data points. Similar Ly
equivalent width criteria are commonly applied to select high-z LAEs, implying most likely relatively high escape fractions and a less severe discrepancy between Ly
and non-resonant radiation for this class of objects.
A blind search of Ly
emitters would then find lower
(Ly
)
than the GALEX objects. This is already found in our current double
blind survey in Ly
and H
at
,
where an average escape fraction of
4.5% is measured (Hayes et al. in prep.).
In contrast with other emission lines, the dust extinction is only one of several parameters governing
(Ly
), and the extent of the dispersion around the fit is a good illustration. Given the importance of an accurate estimation of
(Ly
),
one needs to quantify the kinematical effects by measuring the cold ISM
velocity in these objects; an additional step toward a precise
calibration of
(Ly
).
A more detailed investigation of the physical properties and SED
modeling of our sample will be carried out in subsequent publications
(Atek et al., in prep.).
We thank Daniela Calzetti, who kindly put her UV-optical spectra of the IUE sample at our disposal. The work of D.S. and M.H. is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. H.A. and D.K. are supported by the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES). G.Ö. is Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Research Fellow supported by a grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. G.Ö. acknowledges support from the Swedish research council. J.M.M.H. is partially funded by Spanish MICINN grant AYA2007-67965. This work is based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at La Silla Observatories under programme ID 082.B-0392.
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All Tables
Table 1: NTT EFOSC2 observations.
All Figures
![]() |
Figure 1:
Ly |
Open with DEXTER | |
In the text |
![]() |
Figure 2:
Ly |
Open with DEXTER | |
In the text |
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