Searching for the First Galaxies through Gravitational Lenses

Schaerer, D.; Pelló, R.; Richard, J.; Egami, E.; Hempel, A.; Le Borgne, J.-F.; Kneib, J.-P.; Wise, M.; Boon, F.; Combes, F.
Bibliographical reference

The Messenger, volume 125, page 20

Advertised on:
9
2006
Number of authors
10
IAC number of authors
0
Citations
6
Refereed citations
2
Description
Observing the first galaxies formed during the reionisation epoch, i.e. approximately within the first billion years after the Big Bang, remains one of the challenges of contemporary astrophysics. Several efforts are being undertaken to search for such remote objects. Combining the near-IR imaging power of the VLT and the natural effect of strong gravitational lensing our pilot program has allowed us to identify several galaxy candidates at redshift 6 <= z <= 10. The properties of these objects and the resulting constraints on the star formation rate density at high redshift are discussed. Finally we present the status of follow-up observations (ISAAC spectroscopy, HST and Spitzer imaging) and discuss future developments.