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Title:
z ~ 7 Galaxies in the HUDF: First Epoch WFC3/IR Results
Authors:
Oesch, P. A.; Bouwens, R. J.; Illingworth, G. D.; Carollo, C. M.; Franx, M.; Labbé, I.; Magee, D.; Stiavelli, M.; Trenti, M.; van Dokkum, P. G.
Affiliation:
AA(Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland ), AB(UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA ; Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands ), AC(UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA ), AD(Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland ), AE(Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands ), AF(Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA ; Hubble Fellow.), AG(UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA ), AH(Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ), AI(University of Colorado, Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, 389-UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA ), AJ(Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA )
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 709, Issue 1, pp. L16-L20 (2010). (ApJL Homepage)
Publication Date:
01/2010
Origin:
IOP
ApJ Keywords:
galaxies: evolution, galaxies: high-redshift, galaxies: luminosity function, mass function
DOI:
10.1088/2041-8205/709/1/L16
Bibliographic Code:
2010ApJ...709L..16O

Abstract

We present a sample of 16 robust z ~ 7 z 850-drop galaxies detected by the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)/IR on the Hubble Space Telescope. Our analysis is based on the first epoch data of the HUDF09 program covering the Hubble Ultra Deep Field with 60 orbits of Y 105, J 125, and H 160 observations. These remarkable data cover 4.7 arcmin2 and are the deepest near infrared images ever taken, reaching to ~29 mag AB (5σ). The 16 z ~ 6.5-7.5 galaxies have been identified based on the Lyman Break technique utilizing (z 850 – Y 105) versus (Y 105 – J 125) colors. They have magnitudes J 125=26.0-29.0 (AB), an average apparent half-light radius of ~0.16 arcsec (lsim1 kpc), and show very blue colors (some even β lsim –2.5), in particular at low luminosities. The WFC3/IR data confirm previous Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer detections indicating that the dropout selection at z ~ 7 is very reliable. Our data allow a first determination of the faint-end slope of the z ~ 7 luminosity function, reaching down to M UV ~ –18, a full magnitude fainter than previous measurements. When fixing phi* = 1.4 × 10–3 Mpc–3 mag–1 to the value previously measured at z ~ 6, we find a best-fit value of α = –1.77 ± 0.20, with a characteristic luminosity of M * = –19.91 ± 0.09. This steep slope is similar to what is seen at z ~ 2-6 and indicates that low-luminosity galaxies could potentially provide adequate flux to reionize the universe. The remarkable depth and resolution of these new images provide insights into the coming power of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Based on data obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope operated by AURA, Inc. for NASA under contract NAS5-26555.

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