Lyα Blobs Research Articles

Obscured star formation in Lyα blobs at z = 3.1

We present results from the AzTEC/ASTE 1.1-mm imaging survey of 35 Ly-alpha blobs (LABs) found in the SSA22 protocluster at z = 3.1. These 1.1-mm data reach an r.m.s. noise level of 0.7-1 mJy/beam, making this the largest millimetre-wave survey of LABs to date. No significant (> 3.5-sigma) emission is found in any of individual 35 LABs, and from this, we estimate 3-sigma upper limits on the far-infrared luminosity of L_FIR < 2e+12 Lsun. Stacking analysis reveals that the 1.1-mm flux density averaged over the LABs is S(1.1mm) < 0.40 mJy (3-sigma), which places a constraint of L_FIR < 4.5e+11 Lsun. This indicates that earlier 850-um measurements of the LABs may have overestimated their flux densities. Our results suggest that LABs on average have little ultra-luminous obscured star-formation, in contrast to a long-believed picture that LABs undergo an intense episode of dusty star-formation activities with star-formation rates of ~ 10^3 Msun/yr. Observations with ALMA are needed to directly study the obscured part of star-formation activity in the LABs.

Extended and filamentary Lyα emission from the formation of a protogalactic halo at z = 2.63★†

We report the observation of a further asymmetric, extended Lyman alpha emitting halo at z=2.63, from our ultra-deep, long-slit spectroscopic survey of faint high redshift emitters, undertaken with Magellan LDSS3 in the GOODS-S field. The Lya emission, detected over more than 30 kpc, is spatially coincident with a concentration of galaxies visible in deep broad-band imaging. While these faint galaxies without spectroscopic redshifts cannot with certainty be associated with one another or with the Lya emission, there are a number of compelling reasons why they very probably form a Milky Way halo-mass group at the Lya redshift. A filamentary structure, possibly consisting of Lya emission at very high equivalent width, and evidence for disturbed stellar populations, suggest that the properties of the emitting region reflect ongoing galaxy assembly, with recent galaxy mergers and star formation occurring in the group. Hence, the Lya provides unique insights into what is probably a key mode of galaxy formation at high redshifts. The Lya emission may be powered by cooling radiation or spatially extended star formation in the halo, but is unlikely to be fluorescence driven by either an AGN or one of the galaxies. The spatial profile of the emission is conspicuously different from that of typical Lya emitters or Lyman break galaxies, which is consistent with the picture that extended emission of this kind represents a different stage in the galaxy formation process. Faint, extended Lya emitters such as these may be lower-mass analogues of the brighter Lya blobs. Our observations provide further, circumstantial evidence that galaxy mergers may promote the production and / or escape of ionizing radiation, and that the halos of interacting galaxies may be significant sources for ionizing photons during the epoch of reionization.

A massive bubble of extremely metal-poor gas around a collapsing Lyα blob at z = 2.54

Using long-slit optical spectroscopy obtained at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias, we have examined the gaseous environment of the radio-loud quasar TXS 1436+157 (z=2.54), previously known to be associated with a large Ly-alpha nebula and a spatially extended Ly-alpha-absorbing structure. From the Ly-alpha nebula we measure kinematic properties consistent with infall at a rate of about 10-100 M./yr - more than sufficient to power a quasar at the top of the luminosity function. The absorbing structure lies outside of the Ly-alpha nebula, at a radius of >40 kpc from the quasar. Against the bright unresolved continuum and line emission from the quasar, we detect in absorption the NV 1239,1241, CIV 1548,1551 and SiIV 1394,1403 doublets, with no unambiguous detection of absorption lines from any low-ionization species of metal. The metal column densities, taken together with the HI column density measurement from the literature, indicate that the absorbing gas is predominantly ionized by the quasar, has a mass of hydrogen of >1.6 x 10E11 M., a gas density of <18 per cubic cm, a line of sight thickness of >18 pc, and a covering factor approaching unity. While this absorbing structure is clearly not composed of pristine gas, it has an extremely low metallicity, with ionization models providing a 3-sigma limit of 12+log(O/H)<7.3. To explain these results, we discuss a scenario involving starburst-driven super-bubbles and the creation of infalling filaments of cold gas which fuel/trigger the quasar. We also discuss the possibility of detecting large-scale absorbers such as this in emission when illuminated by a powerful quasar.

Hot gas, cold gas and sub-haloes in a Lyman α blob at redshift 2.38

We present integral field spectroscopy of a Lyman-alpha blob at redshift 2.38, with a spectral resolution three times better than previous published work. As with previous observations, the blob has a chaotic velocity structure, much of which breaks up into multiple components. Our spectroscopy shows, however, that some of these multiple components are extremely narrow: they have velocity widths of less than 100 km/s. Combining these new data with previous observations, we argue that this Lyman-alpha blob resides in a dark-matter halo of around 10^13 solar masses. At the centre of this halo are two compact red massive galaxies. They are surrounded by hot gas, probably a super-wind from merger-induced nuclear starbursts. This hot gas has shut down star formation in the non-nuclear region of these galaxies, leading to their red-and-dead colours. A filament or lump of infalling cold gas is colliding with the hot gas phase and being shocked to high temperatures, while still around 30kpc from the red galaxies. The shock region is self-absorbed in Lyman-alpha but produces C IV emission. Further out still, the cold gas in a number of sub-halos is being lit up, most likely by a combination of tidally triggered star formation, bow-shocks as they plough through the hot halo medium, resonant scattering of Lyman-alpha from the filament collision, and tidal stripping of gas which enhances the Lyman-alpha escape fraction. The observed Lyman-alpha emission from the Blob is dominated by the sum of the emission from these sub-halos. On statistical grounds, we argue that Lyman-alpha blobs are not greatly elongated in shape, and that most are not powered by ionisation or scattering from a central active galactic nucleus or starburst.

ASSEMBLY OF MASSIVE GALAXIES IN A HIGH-zPROTOCLUSTER

We present the results of wide-field deep JHK imaging of the SSA22 field using the MOIRCS instrument equipped with the Subaru telescope. The observed field is 112 arcmin2 in area, which covers the z = 3.1 protocluster characterized by the overdensities of Lyα emitters (LAEs) and Lyα blobs (LABs). The 5σ limiting magnitude is KAB = 24.3. We extract the potential protocluster members from the K-selected sample by using the multi-band photometric-redshift selection as well as the simple color cut for distant red galaxies (DRGs; J − KAB > 1.4). The surface number density of DRGs in our observed fields shows clear excess compared with those in the blank fields, and the location of the densest area whose projected overdensity is twice the average coincides with the large-scale density peak of LAEs. We also found that K-band counterparts with zphot ≃ 3.1 are detected for 75% (15/20) of the LABs within their Lyα halo, and the 40% (8/20) of LABs have multiple components, which gives a direct evidence of the hierarchical multiple merging in galaxy formation. The stellar mass of LABs correlates with their luminosity, isophotal area, and the Lyα velocity widths, implying that the physical scale and the dynamical motion of Lyα emission are closely related to their previous star formation activities. Highly dust-obscured galaxies such as hyper extremely red objects (J − KAB > 2.1) and plausible K-band counterparts of submillimeter sources are also populated in the high-density region.

Extended Lyα emission from cold accretion streams★

We investigate the observability of cold accretion streams at redshift 3 via Lyα emission and the feasibility of cold accretion as the main driver of Lyα blobs (LABs). We run cosmological zoom simulations focusing on three haloes spanning almost two orders of magnitude in mass, roughly from 1011 to ⁠. We use a version of the ramses code that includes radiative transfer of ultraviolet (UV) photons, and we employ a refinement strategy that allows us to resolve accretion streams in their natural environment to an unprecedented level. For the first time in a simulation, we self-consistently model self-shielding in the cold streams from the cosmological UV background, which enables us to predict their temperatures, ionization states and Lyα luminosities with improved accuracy. We find the efficiency of gravitational heating in cold streams in a halo to be around 10–20 per cent throughout most of the halo but reaching much higher values close to the centre. As a result, most of the Lyα luminosity comes from gas which is concentrated at the central 20 per cent of the halo radius, leading to Lyα emission which is not extended. In more massive haloes, of ⁠, cold accretion is complex and disrupted, and gravitational heating does not happen as a steady process. Ignoring the factors of Lyα scattering, local UV enhancement and supernovae feedback, the cold ‘messy’ accretion alone in these massive haloes can produce LABs that largely agree with observations in terms of morphology, extent and luminosity. Our simulations slightly and systematically overpredict LAB abundances, perhaps hinting that the interplay of these ignored factors may have a negative net effect on extent and luminosity. We predict that a factor of a few increase in sensitivity from current observational limits should unambiguously reveal continuum-free accretion streams around massive galaxies at z= 3.

CONSTRAINING DUST AND MOLECULAR GAS PROPERTIES IN Lyα BLOBS ATz∼ 3

In order to constrain the bolometric luminosities, dust properties and molecular gas content of giant Lyman alpha nebulae, the so-called Lyman alpha blobs, we have carried out a study of dust continuum and CO line emission in two well-studied representatives of this population at z ~ 3: a Lya blob discovered by its strong Spitzer MIPS 24um detection (LABd05; Dey et al. 2005) and the Steidel blob 1 (SSA22-LAB01; Steidel et al. 2000). We find that the spectral energy distribution of LABd05 is well described by an AGN-starburst composite template with L(FIR) = (4.0 +/- 0.5) x 10^12 Lsun, comparable to high-z sub-millimeter galaxies and ultraluminous infrared galaxies. New APEX/LABOCA 870um measurements rule out the reported SCUBA detection of the SSA22-LAB01 (S[850um] = 16.8 mJy) at the > 4sigma level. Consistent with this, ultra-deep Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) observations with ~2arcsec spatial resolution also fail to detect any 1.2mm continuum source down to ~0.45mJy per beam (3sigma). Combined with the existing (sub)mm observations in the literature, we conclude that the FIR luminosity of SSA22-LAB01 remains uncertain. No CO line is detected in either case down to integrated flux limits of (Snu dV) < 0.25--1.0 Jy km/s, indicating a modest molecular gas reservoir, M(H_2) < 1--3 x 10^10 Msun. The non-detections exclude, with high significance (12 sigma), the previous tentative detection of a CO(4-3) line in the SSA22-LAB01. The increased sensitivity afforded by ALMA will be critical in studying molecular gas and dust in these interesting systems.

Unlocking the secrets of the giant blobs

Polarized emission has been detected from the largest Lyman-α gas cloud, known as blob 1. This result strongly suggests that such clouds are powered by a central source of ionizing radiation. See Letter p.304 High-redshift Lyman-α (Ly-α) blobs are extended, luminous structures that seem to be associated with the highest peaks in the matter density of the Universe. The polarization of the Ly-α emission can, in principle, distinguish between the various options, but a previous attempt to detect this signature returned a null detection. Hayes et al. report observations of polarized Ly-α from the LAB1 nebula, the largest and most luminous of these objects. The central region of LAB1 shows no measurable polarization, but the polarized fraction increases to about 20% at a radius of 45 kiloparsecs. This suggests that the Ly-α photons must have been produced in the galaxies hosted within the nebula, and re-scattered by neutral hydrogen.

Central powering of the largest Lyman-α nebula is revealed by polarized radiation

High-redshift Lyman-α (Lyα) blobs are extended, luminous but rare structures that seem to be associated with the highest peaks in the matter density of the Universe. Their energy output and morphology are similar to those of powerful radio galaxies, but the source of the luminosity is unclear. Some blobs are associated with ultraviolet or infrared bright galaxies, suggesting an extreme starburst event or accretion onto a central black hole. Another possibility is gas that is shock-excited by supernovae. But not all blobs are associated with galaxies, and these ones may instead be heated by gas falling into a dark-matter halo. The polarization of the Lyα emission can in principle distinguish between these options, but a previous attempt to detect this signature returned a null detection. Here we report observations of polarized Lyα from the blob LAB1 (ref. 2). Although the central region shows no measurable polarization, the polarized fraction (P) increases to ∼20 per cent at a radius of 45 kiloparsecs, forming an almost complete polarized ring. The detection of polarized radiation is inconsistent with the in situ production of Lyα photons, and we conclude that they must have been produced in the galaxies hosted within the nebula, and re-scattered by neutral hydrogen.

GAS KINEMATICS IN Lyα NEBULAE,

Exploring the origin of Ly-alpha nebulae (blobs) requires measurements of their gas kinematics that are impossible with only the resonant, optically-thick LyA line. To define gas motions relative to the systemic velocity of the blob, the LyA line must be compared with an optically-thin line like Halpha, which is not much altered by radiative transfer effects. We obtain optical and NIR spectra of the two brightest LyA blobs from Yang et al. sample using the Magellan/MagE and VLT/SINFONI. Both the LyA and Halpha lines confirm that these blobs lie at the survey redshift, z~2.3. Within each blob, we detect several Halpha sources, which roughly correspond to galaxies seen in HST images. The Halpha detections show that these galaxies have large internal velocity dispersions (130 - 190km/s) and that, in the one system (LAB01), their velocity difference is ~440 km/s. The presence of multiple galaxies within the blobs, and those galaxies' large velocity dispersions and large relative motion, is consistent with our previous finding that LyA blobs inhabit massive dark matter halos that will evolve into those typical of rich clusters today. To determine whether the gas near the embedded galaxies is predominantly infalling or outflowing, we compare the LyA and Halpha line centers, finding that LyA is not offset (Delta LyA = +0km/s) in LAB01 and redshifted by only +230 km/s in LAB02. These offsets are small compared to those of Lyman break galaxies, which average +450 km/s and extend to about +700 km/s. We test and rule out the simplest infall models and those outflow models with super/hyper-winds, which require large outflow velocities. Because of the unknown geometry of the gas distribution and the possibility of multiple sources of LyA emission embedded in the blobs, a larger sample and more sophisticated models are required to test more complex or a wider range of infall and outflow scenarios.

POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON EMISSION WITHIN Lyα BLOBS

We present Spitzer observations of Lyα blobs (LABs) at z = 2.38-3.09. The mid-infrared ratios (4.5 μm/8 μm and 8 μm/24 μm) indicate that ~60% of LAB infrared counterparts are cool, consistent with their infrared output being dominated by star formation and not active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The rest have a substantial hot dust component that one would expect from an AGN or an extreme starburst. Comparing the mid-infrared to submillimeter fluxes (~850 μm or rest-frame far-infrared) also indicates that a large percentage (~2/3) of the LAB counterparts have total bolometric energy output dominated by star formation, although the number of sources with submillimeter detections or meaningful upper limits remains small (~10). We obtained Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectra of six infrared-bright sources associated with LABs. Four of these sources have measurable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features, indicative of significant star formation, while the remaining two show a featureless continuum, indicative of infrared energy output completely dominated by an AGN. Two of the counterparts with PAHs are mixed sources, with PAH line-to-continuum ratios and PAH equivalent widths indicative of large energy contributions from both star formation and AGN. Most of the LAB infrared counterparts have large stellar masses, around 10^(11) M_⊙. There is a weak trend of mass upper limit with the Lyα luminosity of the host blob, particularly after the most likely AGN contaminants are removed. The range in likely energy sources for the LABs found in this and previous studies suggests that there is no single source of power that is producing all the known LABs.

The Subaru Lyα blob survey: a sample of 100-kpc Lyα blobs at z = 3

Abstract We present results of a survey for giant Lyα blobs (LABs) at z = 3 with Subaru/Suprime-Cam. We obtained Lyα imaging at z = 3.09 ± 0.03 around the SSA22 protocluster and in several blank fields. The total survey area is 2.1 deg2, corresponding to a comoving volume of 1.6 × 106 Mpc3. Using a uniform detection threshold of 1.4 × 10−18 erg s−1 cm−2 arcsec−2 for the Lyα images, we construct a sample of 14 LAB candidates with major-axis diameters larger than 100 kpc, including five previously known blobs and two known quasars. This survey triples the number of known LABs over 100 kpc. The giant LAB sample shows a possible ‘morphology—density relation’: filamentary LABs reside in average density environments as derived from compact Lyα emitters, while circular LABs reside in both average density and overdense environments. Although it is hard to examine the formation mechanisms of LABs only from the Lyα morphologies, more filamentary LABs may relate to cold gas accretion from the surrounding intergalactic medium (IGM) and more circular LABs may relate to large-scale gas outflows, which are driven by intense starbursts and/or by active galactic nucleus activities. Our survey highlights the potential usefulness of giant LABs to investigate the interactions between galaxies and the surrounding IGM from the field to overdense environments at high redshift.

Lyα COOLING EMISSION FROM GALAXY FORMATION

Recent studies have shown that galaxies accrete most of their baryons via the cold mode, from streams with temperatures T~10^4-10^5 K. At these temperatures, the streams should radiate primarily in the Lya line and have therefore been proposed as a model to power the extended, high-redshift objects known as Lya blobs and other high-redshift Lya sources. We introduce a new Lya radiative transfer code, aRT, and apply it to cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. We address physical and numerical issues that are critical to making accurate predictions for the cooling luminosity, but that have been mostly neglected or treated simplistically so far. We highlight the importance of self-shielding and of properly treating sub-resolution models in simulations. Most existing simulations do not self-consistently incorporate these effects, which can lead to order-of-magnitude errors in the predicted cooling luminosity. Using a combination of post-processing ionizing radiative transfer and re-simulation techniques, we develop an approximation to the consistent evolution of the self-shielded gas. We quantify the dependence of the Lya cooling luminosity on halo mass at z=3 for the simplified problem of pure gas accretion. While cooling in massive halos (without additional energy input from star formation and AGN) is in principle sufficient to produce L_alpha~10^43-10^44 erg s^-1 blobs, this requires including energy released in gas of density sufficient to form stars, but which is kept 100% gaseous in our optimistic estimates. Excluding emission from such dense gas yields lower luminosities by up to one to two orders of magnitude at high masses, making it difficult to explain the observed Lya blobs with pure cooling. Resonant scattering produces diffuse Lya halos, even for centrally concentrated emission, and broad double peaked line profiles. [Abridged]

Gravity-driven Lyα blobs from cold streams into galaxies

We use high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical AMR simulations to predict the characteristics of La emission from the cold gas streams that fed galaxies in massive haloes at high redshift. The La luminosity in our simulations is powered by the release of gravitational energy as gas flows from the intergalactic medium into the halo potential wells. The UV background contributes only <20% to the gas heating. The La emissivity is due primarily to electron-impact excitation cooling radiation in gas ~2x10^4K. We calculate the La emissivities assuming collisional ionisation equilibrium (CIE) at all gas temperatures. The simulated streams are self-shielded against the UV background, so photoionisation and recombination contribute negligibly to the La line formation. We produce theoretical maps of the La surface brightnesses, assuming that ~85% of the La photons are directly observable. We find that typical haloes of mass Mv~10^12-13 Msun at z~3 emit as La blobs (LABs) with luminosities 10^43-44 erg/s. Most of the La comes from the extended narrow, partly clumpy, inflowing, cold streams that feed the growing galaxies. The predicted LAB morphology is therefore irregular, with dense clumps and elongated extensions. The linewidth is expected to range from 10^2 to more than 10^3 km/s with a large variance. The typical La surface brightness profile is proportional to r^-1.2 where r is the distance from the halo centre. Our simulated LABs are similar in luminosity, morphology and extent to the observed LABs, with distinct kinematic features. The predicted La luminosity function is consistent with observations, and the predicted areas and linewidths roughly recover the observed scaling relations. This mechanism for producing LABs appears inevitable in many high-z galaxies. Some of the LABs may thus be regarded as direct detections of the cold streams that drove galaxy evolution at high z.

Dissecting the Lyman α emission halo of LAB1

We report observations of Lyman Alpha Blob 1 (LAB1) in the SSA 22 protocluster region (z=3.09) with the integral-field spectrograph SAURON. We increased the signal-to-noise in the spectra by more than a factor three compared to our previous observations. This allows us to probe the structure of the LAB system in detail, examining its structure in the spatial and wavelength dimensions. We find that the emission from the system comes largely from five distinct blobs. Two of the emission regions are associated with Lyman Break Galaxies, while a third appears to be associated with a heavily obscured submillimeter galaxy. The fourth and fifth components do not appear to be associated with any galaxy despite the deep imaging that is available in this field. If we interpret wavelength shifts in the line centroid as velocity structure in the underlying gas, many of these emission systems show evidence of velocity shear. It remains difficult to distinguish between an underlying rotation of the gas and an outflow driven by the central object. We have examined all of the line profiles for evidence of strong absorption features. While several systems are better fitted by the inclusion of a weak absorption component, we do not see evidence for a large-scale coherent absorption feature such as that seen in LAB2.

Lyα blobs like company: the discovery of a candidate 100 kpc Lyα blob near to a radio galaxy with a giant Lyα halo B3 J2330+3927 at z = 3.1

Abstract We present the discovery of a candidate of giant radio-quiet Lyα blob (RQLAB) in a large-scale structure around a high-redshift radio galaxy (HzRG) lying in a giant Lyα halo B3 J2330+3927 at redshift z= 3.087. We obtained narrow- and broad-band imaging around B3 J2330+3927 with Subaru/Suprime-Cam to search for Lyα emitters (LAEs) and absorbers (LAAs) at redshift z= 3.09 ± 0.03. We detected candidate 127 LAEs and 26 LAAs in the field of view of 31 × 24 arcmin2 (58 × 44 comoving Mpc). We found that B3 J2330+3927 is surrounded by a 130 kpc Lyα halo and a large-scale (∼60 × 20 comoving Mpc) filamentary structure. The large-scale structure contains one prominent local density peak with an overdensity of greater than 5, which is 8 arcmin (15 comoving Mpc) away from B3 J2330+3927. In this peak, we discovered a candidate 100 kpc RQLAB. The existence of both types of Lyα nebulae in the same large-scale structure suggests that giant Lyα nebulae need special large-scale environments to form. On smaller scales, however, the location of B3 J2330+3927 is not a significant local density peak in this structure, in contrast to the RQLAB. There are two possible interpretations of the difference of the local environments of these two Lyα nebulae. First, RQLAB may need a prominent (δ∼ 5) density peak of galaxies to form through intense starbursts due to frequent galaxy interactions/mergers and/or continuous gas accretion in an overdense environment. On the other hand, Lyα halo around HzRG may not always need a prominent density peak to form if the surrounding Lyα halo is mainly powered by its radio and active galactic nucleus activities. Alternatively, both RQLAB and Lyα halo around HzRG may need prominent density peaks to form but we could not completely trace the density of galaxies because we missed evolved and dusty galaxies in this survey.

Ly�� blobs as an observational signature of cold accretion streams into galaxies

Recent hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation reveal streams of cold (T ~ 1e4 K) gas flowing into the centers of dark matter halos as massive as 1e12-1e13.5 M_sun at redshifts z~1-3. In this paper we show that if > 20% of the gravitational binding energy of the gas is radiated away, then the simulated cold flows are spatially extended Lyman Alpha (Lya) sources with luminosities, Lya line widths, and number densities that are comparable to those of observed Lya blobs. Furthermore, the filamentary structure of the cold flows can explain the wide range of observed Lya blob morphologies. Since the most massive halos form in dense environments, the association of Lya blobs with overdense regions arise naturally. We argue that Lya blobs - even those which are clearly associated with starburst galaxies or quasars - provide direct observational support for the cold accretion mode of galaxies. We discuss various testable predictions of this association.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF Lyα BLOBS: AGALEXSEARCH ATz= 0.8

Lyman alpha blobs - luminous, spatially extended emission-line nebulae, often lacking bright continuum counterparts - are common in dense environments at high redshift. Until recently, atmospheric absorption and filter technology have limited our knowledge of any similar objects at z<2. We use GALEX slitless spectroscopy to search for similar objects in the rich environments of two known cluster and supercluster fields at z=0.8, where the instrumental sensitivity peaks. The regions around Cl 1054-0321 and Cl 0023+0423 were each observed in slitless-spectrum mode for 10-19 ksec, with accompanying direct images of 3-6 ksec to assist in recognizing continuum sources. Using several detection techniques, we find no resolved Lyman alpha emitters to a flux limit of(1.5-9) x 10^{-15} erg/ cm^2 s, on size scales of 5-30 arcseconds. This corresponds to line luminosities of (0.5-3) x 10^43 erg/s for linear scales 35-200 kpc. Comparison with both blind and targeted surveys at higher redshifts indicates that the population must have evolved in comoving density at least as strongly as (1+z)^3. These results suggest that the population of Lyman alpha blobs is specific to the the high-redshift Universe.

THECHANDRADEEP PROTOCLUSTER SURVEY: Lyα BLOBS ARE POWERED BY HEATING, NOT COOLING

We present the results of a 400 ks Chandra survey of 29 extended Lyα emitting nebulae (Lyα Blobs, LABs) in the z = 3.09 protocluster in the SS A22 field. We detect luminous X-ray counterparts in five LABs, implying a large fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in LABs, fAGN = 17+12−7% down to L2–32 keV ∼ 1044 erg s−1. All of the AGN appear to be heavily obscured, with spectral indices implying obscuring column densities of NH > 1023 cm−2. The AGN fraction should be considered a lower limit, since several more LABs not detected with Chandra show AGN signatures in their mid-infrared (mid-IR) emission. We show that the UV luminosities of the AGN are easily capable of powering the extended Lyα emission via photoionization alone. When combined with the UV flux from a starburst component, and energy deposited by mechanical feedback, we demonstrate that "heating" by a central source, rather than gravitational cooling is the most likely power source of LABs. We argue that all LABs could be powered in this manner, but that the luminous host galaxies are often just below the sensitivity limits of current instrumentation, or are heavily obscured. No individual LABs show evidence for extended X-ray emission, and a stack equivalent to a ≳9 Ms exposure of an average LAB also yields no statistical detection of a diffuse X-ray component. The resulting diffuse X-ray/Lyα luminosity limit implies there is no hot (T ≳ 107 K) gas component in these halos, and also rules out inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons, or local far-IR photons, as a viable power source for LABs.

EXTENDED Lyα NEBULAE ATz≃ 2.3: AN EXTREMELY RARE AND STRONGLY CLUSTERED POPULATION?

To obtain an unbiased sample of bright LyA blobs [L(LyA) > 10^43 ergs/s], we have undertaken a blind, wide-field, narrow-band imaging survey in the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey Bootes field with the Steward Bok-2.3m telescope. After searching over 4.82 sq. degrees at z=2.3, we discover four LyA blobs with L(LyA) = 1.6-5.3 x 10^43 ergs/s, isophotal areas of 28-57 sq. arcsec, and broad LyA line profiles (FWHM = 900-1250 km/s). In contrast with the extended Lyman alpha halos associated with high-z radio galaxies, none of our four blobs are radio-loud. The X-ray luminosities and optical spectra of these blobs are diverse. Two blobs (3 and 4) are X-ray-detected with L_X(2-7 keV) = 2-4 x 10^44 ergs/s and have broad optical emission lines (C IV) characteristic of AGN, implying that 50% of our sample blobs are associated with strong AGN. The other 50% of blobs (1 and 2) are not X-ray or optically-detected as AGN down to similar limits. The number density of the four blobs is ~3 x 10^{-6} Mpc^{-3}, comparable to that of galaxy clusters at similar redshifts and 3x lower than that found in the SSA22 proto-cluster at z=3.1, even after accounting for the over-density of that region. The two X-ray undetected blobs are separated by only 70" (550 kpc) and have almost identical redshifts (< 360 kpc along the line-of-sight), suggesting that they are part of the same system. Given the rarity of the blobs and our discovery of a close pair, we speculate that blobs occupy the highest density regions and thus may be precursors of today's rich cluster galaxies.