Bibcode
Lowenthal, J. D.; Koo, D. C.; Guzman, R.; Gallego, J.; Phillips, A. C.
Bibliographical reference
American Astronomical Society, 189th AAS Meeting, #103.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1412
Advertised on:
12
1996
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
We have obtained spectra with the 10-m Keck telescope of a sample of 24
galaxies having colors consistent with star-forming galaxies at
redshifts 2 ≲ z ≲ 4.5 in the Hubble Deep Field (HDF). Eleven
of these galaxies are confirmed to be at high redshift
(zmed=3.0). The spectra of the confirmed high-redshift
galaxies show a diversity of features, including weak Lyalpha emission,
strong Lyalpha breaks or damped Lyalpha absorption profiles, and the
stellar and interstellar rest-UV absorption lines common to local
starburst galaxies and high-redshift star-forming galaxies reported
recently by others. The galaxies are small but luminous, with half-light
radii 1.8 < r_{1/2} < 6.5 h50(-1) kpc and absolute
magnitudes -21.5 > M_B > -23, and show a wide range of
morphologies. The observed number density of high-redshift galaxies in
the HDF is comparable to estimates of the volume density of local
galaxies brighter than L*. We suggest that many may be low-mass objects
in an early burst phase of star formation and that they will soon merge
with other similar objects to build massive galaxies, or else consume or
expel their gas and thus quench their star formation.