The CALYMHA survey : Ly$α$ escape fraction and its dependence on galaxy properties at $z=2.23$

Matthee, Jorryt and Sobral, David and Oteo, Ivàn and Best, Philip and Smail, Ian and Röttgering, Huub and Paulino-Afonso, Ana (2016) The CALYMHA survey : Ly$α$ escape fraction and its dependence on galaxy properties at $z=2.23$. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 458 (1). pp. 449-467. ISSN 0035-8711

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Abstract

We present the first results from our CAlibrating LYMan-$\alpha$ with H$\alpha$ (CALYMHA) pilot survey at the Isaac Newton Telescope. We measure Ly$\alpha$ emission for 488 H$\alpha$ selected galaxies at $z=2.23$ from HiZELS in the COSMOS and UDS fields with a specially designed narrow-band filter ($\lambda_c$ = 3918 {\AA}, $\Delta\lambda$= 52 {\AA}). We find 17 dual H$\alpha$-Ly$\alpha$ emitters ($f_{\rm Ly\alpha} >5\times10^{-17}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, of which 5 are X-ray AGN). For star-forming galaxies, we find a range of Ly$\alpha$ escape fractions (f$_{\rm esc}$, measured with 3$"$ apertures) from $2$\%$-30$\%. These galaxies have masses from $3\times10^8$ M$_{\odot}$ to 10$^{11}$ M$_{\odot}$ and dust attenuations E$(B-V)=0-0.5$. Using stacking, we measure a median escape fraction of $1.6\pm0.5$\% ($4.0\pm1.0$\% without correcting H$\alpha$ for dust), but show that this depends on galaxy properties. The stacked f$_{\rm esc}$ tends to decrease with increasing SFR and dust attenuation. However, at the highest masses and dust attenuations, we detect individual galaxies with f$_{\rm esc}$ much higher than the typical values from stacking, indicating significant scatter in the values of f$_{\rm esc}$. Relations between f$_{\rm esc}$ and UV slope are bimodal, with high f$_{\rm esc}$ for either the bluest or reddest galaxies. We speculate that this bimodality and large scatter in the values of f$_{\rm esc}$ is due to additional physical mechanisms such as outflows facilitating f$_{\rm esc}$ for dusty/massive systems. Ly$\alpha$ is significantly more extended than H$\alpha$ and the UV. f$_{\rm esc}$ continues to increase up to at least 20 kpc (3$\sigma$, 40 kpc [2$\sigma$]) for typical SFGs and thus the aperture is the most important predictor of f$_{\rm esc}$.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Additional Information:
© 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society
Uncontrolled Keywords:
astro-ph.GA
ID Code:
78212
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
12 Feb 2016 10:28
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
11 Jun 2019 03:06