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Gravitationally lensed galaxies at 2 < z < 3.5: direct abundance measurements of Ly α emitters†

  1. Lise Christensen1,*,
  2. Peter Laursen1,2,
  3. Johan Richard1,3,
  4. Jens Hjorth1,
  5. Bo Milvang-Jensen1,
  6. Miroslava Dessauges-Zavadsky4,
  7. Marceau Limousin5,
  8. Claudio Grillo1,
  9. Harald Ebeling6

Article first published online: 20 NOV 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.22007.x

Issue

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Volume 427, Issue 3, pages 1973–1982, 11 December 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Christensen, L., Laursen, P., Richard, J., Hjorth, J., Milvang-Jensen, B., Dessauges-Zavadsky, M., Limousin, M., Grillo, C. and Ebeling, H. (2012), Gravitationally lensed galaxies at 2 < z < 3.5: direct abundance measurements of Ly α emitters. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 427: 1973–1982. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.22007.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  2. 2

    Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Stockholm, Sweden

  3. 3

    Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Observatoire de Lyon, Saint Genis Laval cedex, France

  4. 4

    Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, Sauverny, Switzerland

  5. 5

    Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France

  6. 6

    Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

*E-mail: lise@dark-cosmology.dk

  1. †

    Based on data from the X-shooter GTO observations collected at the European Southern Observatory VLT/Kuyuen telescope, Paranal, Chile, collected under programme IDs: 084.B-0351(D), 086.A-0674(A), 086.A-0674(B), 087.A-0432(A) and 087.A-0432(B).

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 20 NOV 2012
  2. Article first published online: 20 NOV 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 11 SEP 2012
  4. Manuscript Received: 10 SEP 2012

Funded by

  • DNRF
  • Villum foundation
  • Marie Curie Career Integration. Grant Number: 294074
  • ERC-StG. Grant Number: EGGS-278202

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Keywords:

  • gravitational lensing: strong;
  • galaxies: abundances;
  • galaxies: evolution;
  • galaxies: high-redshift

ABSTRACT

Strong gravitational lensing magnifies the flux from distant galaxies, allowing us to detect emission lines that would otherwise fall below the detection threshold for medium-resolution spectroscopy. Here we present the detection of temperature-sensitive oxygen emission lines from three galaxies at 2 ≲ z ≲ 3.5, which enables us to directly determine the oxygen abundances and thereby double the number of galaxies at z > 2 for which this has been possible. The three galaxies have ∼10 per cent solar oxygen abundances in agreement with strong emission-line diagnostics. Carbon and nitrogen ratios relative to oxygen are subsolar as expected for young metal-poor galaxies. Two of the galaxies are Lyman α (Lyα) emitters with rest-frame equivalent widths of 20 and 40 Å, respectively, and their high magnification factors allow us for the first time to gain insight into the physical characteristics of high-redshift Lyα emitters. Using constraints from the physical properties of the galaxies, we accurately reproduce their line profiles with radiative transfer models. The models show a relatively small outflow in agreement with the observed small velocity offsets between nebular emission and interstellar absorption lines.

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