Direct Detection of Lyman Continuum Escape from Local Starburst Galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

Abstract

We report on the detection of Lyman continuum radiation in two nearby starburst galaxies. Tol 0440-381, Tol 1247-232 and Mrk 54 were observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescopes. The three galaxies have radial velocities of ~13,000 km/s, permitting a ~35 A window on the restframe Lyman continuum shortward of the Milky Way Lyman edge at 912 A. The chosen instrument configuration using the G140L grating covers the spectral range from 912 to 2,000 Å. We developed a dedicated background subtraction method to account for temporal and spatial background variations of the detector, which is crucial at the low flux levels around 912 A. This modified pipeline allowed us to significantly improve the statistical and systematic detector noise and will be made available to the community. We detect Lyman continuum in all three galaxies. However, we conservatively interpret the emission in Tol 0440-381 as an upper limit due to possible contamination by geocoronal Lyman series lines. We determined the current star-formation properties from the far-ultraviolet continuum and spectral lines and used synthesis models to predict the Lyman continuum radiation emitted by the current population of hot stars. We discuss the various model uncertainties such as, among others, atmospheres and evolution models. Lyman continuum escape fractions were derived from a comparison between the observed and predicted Lyman continuum fluxes. Tol 1247-232, Mrk 54 and Tol 0440-381 have absolute escape fractions of (4.5 +/- 1.2)%, (2.5 +/- 0.72)% and <(7.1 +/- 1.1)%, respectively.

Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (63)

• The Dust Content and Opacity of Actively Star-Forming Galaxies
• Starburst99: Synthesis Models for Galaxies with Active Star Formation
• Grids of stellar models with rotation - I. Models from 0.8 to 120 Msun at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014)
• Radiative transfer in a clumpy universe: IV. New synthesis models of the cosmic UV/X-ray background
• A Universal Stellar Initial Mass Function? A Critical Look at Variations
• The Dust Opacity of Star-Forming Galaxies
• Overview of the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Mission
• A standard stellar library for evolutionary synthesis: II. The M dwarf extension
• New Constraints on Cosmic Reionization from the 2012 Hubble Ultra Deep Field Campaign
• The HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. XXVIII. Combining the Constraints on the Hubble Constant
• Gaseous Galaxy Halos
• The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
• UV-continuum slopes at z~4-7 from the HUDF09+ERS+CANDELS observations: Discovery of a well-defined UV-color magnitude relationship for z>=4 star-forming galaxies
• Optimization of Starburst99 for Intermediate-Age and Old Stellar Populations
• An updated analytic model for the attenuation by the intergalactic medium
• Keck Spectroscopy of 3<z<7 Faint Lyman Break Galaxies: The Importance of Nebular Emission in Understanding the Specific Star Formation Rate and Stellar Mass Density
• The Effects of Stellar Rotation. II. A Comprehensive Set of Starburst99 Models
• Grids of stellar models with rotation - III. Models from 0.8 to 120 Msun at a metallicity Z = 0.002
• Stellar Population Effects on the Inferred Photon Density at Reionization
• The warm ionized medium in spiral galaxies
• A Library of Theoretical Ultraviolet Spectra of Massive, Hot Stars for Evolutionary Synthesis
• Using Lyman-alpha to detect galaxies that leak Lyman continuum
• Lyman continuum leaking from the compact star-forming dwarf galaxy J0925+1403
• Extreme Feedback and the Epoch of Reionization: Clues in the Local Universe
• Escape of Ionizing Radiation from High Redshift Galaxies
• The Origin and Optical Depth of Ionizing Radiation in the "Green Pea" Galaxies
• The First Billion Years Project: The escape fraction of ionizing photons in the epoch of reionization
• HST/COS Observations of the Ly alpha Forest toward the BL Lac Object 1ES1553+113
• A Local Clue to the Reionization of the Universe
• The Escape of Ionizing Photons from the Galaxy
• New catalogue of Wolf-Rayet galaxies and high-excitation extra-galactic HII regions
• The Survey for Ionization in Neutral-Gas Galaxies: III. Diffuse, Warm Ionized Medium and Escape of Ionizing Radiation
• The Optical Depth of H II Regions in the Magellanic Clouds
• On the Escape of Ionizing Radiation from Starbursts
• Escape of Lyman continuum radiation from local galaxies - Detection of leakage from the young starburst Tol 1247-232
• A Refined Estimate of the Ionizing Emissivity from Galaxies at z~3: Spectroscopic Follow-up in the SSA22a Field
• Binary Stars Can Provide the "Missing Photons" Needed for Reionization
• Narrowband imaging of Escaping Lyman-Continuum Emission in the SSA22 Field
• The VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS): fast increase of the fraction of strong Lyman alpha emitters from z=2 to z=6
• Precise Identifications of Submillimeter Galaxies: Measuring the History of Massive Star-Forming Galaxies to z>5
• The Effects of Stellar Rotation. I. Impact on the Ionizing Spectra and Integrated Properties of Stellar Populations
• Re-examining the Lyman Continuum in Starburst Galaxies Observed with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope
• A Deep Hubble and Keck Search for Definitive Identification of Lyman Continuum Emitters at z~3.1
• An Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Atlas of Local Starbursts and Star-Forming Galaxies: The Legacy of FOS and GHRS
• The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph: On-Orbit Instrument Performance
• Feedback in the local LBG Analog Haro 11 as probed by far-UV and X-ray observations
• On the relative Contribution of high-redshift Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei to Reionization
• A High-Resolution Hubble Space Telescope Study of Apparent Lyman Continuum Leakers at $z\sim 3$
• Constraints on the Lyman continuum radiation from galaxies: first results with FUSE on Mrk 54
• Reducing low signal-to-noise FUSE spectra: confirmation of Lyman continuum escape from Haro 11
• A Spectroscopic Search for Leaking Lyman Continuum at z~0.7
• The Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of Low-Mass Star-Forming Galaxies at z~1
• Stochasticity, a variable stellar upper-mass limit, binaries and star-formation rate indicators
• The Effect of Galactic Properties on the Escape Fraction of Ionizing Photons
• The Warm Ionized Medium in the Milky Way and Other Galaxies
• Lyman continuum leaking galaxies - Search strategies and local candidates
• Modeling Tracers of Young Stellar Population Age in Star-Forming Galaxies
• Far-UV sensitivity of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
• Far-Ultraviolet Observations of Outflows from IR-Luminous Galaxies
• The Escape Fraction of Ionizing Radiation from Galaxies
• Starburst99 for Windows
• Radiation-driven winds of hot luminous stars XVII. Parameters of selected central stars of PN from consistent optical and UV spectral analysis and the universality of the mass-luminosity relation
• Modeling Reionization in a Bursty Universe

Cited by in corpus (110)

• Detection of high Lyman continuum leakage from four low-redshift compact star-forming galaxies
• Low-redshift Lyman continuum leaking galaxies with high [OIII]/[OII] ratios
• The Keck Lyman Continuum Spectroscopic Survey (KLCS): The Emergent Ionizing Spectrum of Galaxies at $z\sim 3$
• Rapid Reionization by the Oligarchs: The Case for Massive, UV-Bright, Star-Forming Galaxies with High Escape Fractions
• The COS-Halos Survey: Metallicities in the Low-Redshift Circumgalactic Medium
• J1154+2443: a low-redshift compact star-forming galaxy with a 46 per cent leakage of Lyman continuum photons
• Lyman-alpha spectral properties of five newly discovered Lyman continuum emitters
• RELICS: Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey
• Ly$\alpha$ profile, dust, and prediction of Ly$\alpha$ escape fraction in Green Pea Galaxies
• Feedback-regulated star formation and escape of LyC photons from mini-haloes during reionisation
• The Low-Redshift Lyman Continuum Survey I: New, Diverse Local Lyman-Continuum Emitters
• Q1549-C25: A Clean Source of Lyman-Continuum Emission at $z=3.15$
• The Far-Ultraviolet Continuum Slope as a Lyman Continuum Escape Estimator at High-redshift
• New synthesis models of consistent extragalactic background light over cosmic time
• Lyman continuum leakage from low-mass galaxies with Mstar < 1.E8 Msun
• The production and escape of Lyman-Continuum radiation from star-forming galaxies at z~2 and their redshift evolution
• The Connection Between Reddening, Gas Covering Fraction, and the Escape of Ionizing Radiation at High Redshift
• SILVERRUSH. V. Census of Lya, [OIII]5007, Ha, and [CII]158um Line Emission with ~1000 LAEs at z=4.9-7.0 Revealed with Subaru/HSC
• Accurately predicting the escape fraction of ionizing photons using restframe ultraviolet absorption lines
• New Insights on Ly-alpha and Lyman Continuum Radiative Transfer in the Greenest Peas
• Understanding the escape of LyC and Ly$\alpha$ photons from turbulent clouds
• The origin of the escape of Lyman alpha and ionizing photons in Lyman Continuum Emitters
• New Insights into the Evolution of Massive Stars and Their Effects on Our Understanding of Early Galaxies
• Large scale opacity fluctuations in the Lyman alpha forest: evidence for QSOs dominating the ionising UV background at z ~ 5.5-6 ?
• Neutral gas properties of Lyman continuum emitting galaxies: column densities and covering fractions from UV absorption lines
• The Obelisk simulation: galaxies contribute more than AGN to HI reionization of protoclusters
• The Lyman Continuum escape fraction of faint galaxies at z~3.3 in the CANDELS/GOODS-North, EGS, and COSMOS fields with LBC
• The Rest-Frame Optical Spectroscopic Properties of Ly$\alpha$-Emitters at $z\sim 2.5$: The Physical Origins of Strong Ly$\alpha$ Emission
• Optically-Thin Spatially-Resolved Mg II Emission Maps the Escape of Ionizing Photons
• The Low-Redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. Unveiling the ISM properties of low-$z$ Lyman continuum emitters
• Diverse properties of Ly-alpha emission in low-redshift compact star-forming galaxies with extremely high [OIII]/[OII] ratios
• Do galaxies that leak ionizing photons have extreme outflows?
• The Mean Ultraviolet Spectrum of a Representative Sample of Faint z~3 Lyman Alpha Emitters
• Puzzling Lyman-alpha line profiles in green pea galaxies
• Ly$\alpha$-Lyman Continuum connection in 3.5 < z < 4.3 star-forming galaxies from the VUDS survey
• Revisiting the Lyman Continuum Escape Crisis: Predictions for z > 6 from Local Galaxies
• LBT observations of compact star-forming galaxies with extremely high [OIII]/[OII] flux ratios: HeI emission-line ratios as diagnostics of Lyman continuum leakage
• A new technique for finding galaxies leaking Lyman-continuum radiation: [SII]-deficiency
• A Low Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of $<10\%$ for Extreme [OIII] Emitters in an Overdensity at z$\sim 3.5$
• The contribution of faint AGNs to the ionizing background at z~4
• The spectral evolution of the first Galaxies. III. Simulated James Webb Space Telescope spectra of reionization-epoch galaxies with Lyman continuum leakage
• The ionising photon production efficiency at z~6 for Lyman-alpha emitters using JEMS and MUSE
• HST Imaging of the Ionizing Radiation from a Star-forming Galaxy at z = 3.794
• The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission Concept Study Interim Report
• The Lyman Continuum escape fraction of emission line-selected $z\sim 2.5$ galaxies is less than 15%
• The contribution from stars stripped in binaries to cosmic reionization of hydrogen and helium
• Strong Lyman continuum emitting galaxies show intense CIV 1550 emission
• On the Lack of Correlation Between [OIII]/[OII] and Lyman-Continuum Escape Fraction
• Intergalactic Lyman continuum photon budget in the past 5 billion years
• The Lyman Continuum Escape Survey: Connecting Time-Dependent [OIII] and [OII] Line Emission with Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction in Simulations of Galaxy Formation
• UV absorption lines and their potential for tracing the Lyman continuum escape fraction
• Mrk 71/NGC 2366: The nearest Green Pea analog
• The UV-brightest Lyman continuum emitting star-forming galaxy
• On the Origin of Diffuse Ionized Gas in the Antennae Galaxy
• Modeling UV Radiation Feedback from Massive Stars: III. Escape of Radiation from Star-forming Giant Molecular Clouds
• Absorption Line Spectroscopy of Gravitationally-Lensed Galaxies: Further Constraints on the Escape Fraction of Ionizing Photons at High Redshift
• The Lyman Continuum Escape and ISM properties in Tololo 1247-232 - New Insights from HST and VLA
• New Methods for Identifying Lyman Continuum Leakers and Reionization-Epoch Analogues
• AstroSat detection of Lyman continuum emission from a z=1.42 galaxy
• Super star cluster feedback driving ionization, shocks and outflows in the halo of the nearby starburst ESO 338-IG04
• Reconciling escape fractions and observed line emission in Lyman-continuum-leaking galaxies
• Tracing Lyman-alpha and Lyman Continuum Escape in Galaxies with Mg II Emission
• The impact of Stellar feedback from velocity-dependent ionised gas maps. -- A MUSE view of Haro 11
• The HDUV Survey: Six Lyman Continuum Emitter Candidates at z~2 Revealed by HST UV Imaging
• Chemical and stellar properties of star-forming dwarf galaxies
• The connection between galactic outflows and the escape of ionizing photons
• Lyman alpha and Lyman continuum emission of MgII-selected star-forming galaxies
• MgII in the JWST Era: a Probe of Lyman Continuum Escape?
• Inferring the HII region escape fraction of ionizing photons from infrared emission lines in metal-poor star-forming dwarf galaxies
• The Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of Galaxies and AGN in the GOODS Fields
• Mapping the Escape Fraction of Ionizing Photons Using Resolved Stars: A Much Higher Escape Fraction for NGC 4214
• Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction in Ly$\alpha$ Emitters at $z\simeq 3.1$
• Searching for candidates of Lyman continuum sources - revisiting the SSA22 field
• An Hα Impression of Lyα Galaxies at $z\simeq 6$ with Deep JWST/NIRCam Imaging
• A Census of the LyC Photons that Form the UV Background During Reionization
• Intense CIII] 1907,1909 emission from a strong Lyman continuum emitting galaxy
• The source of leaking ionizing photons from Haro11 -- Clues from HST/COS spectroscopy of knots A, B and C
• The Low-Redshift Lyman Continuum Survey: Optically Thin and Thick Mg II Lines as Probes of Lyman Continuum Escape
• Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction from Low-mass Starbursts at z=1.3
• A Virgo Environmental Survey Tracing Ionised Gas Emission (VESTIGE).XIV. The main sequence relation in a rich environment down to M_star ~ 10^6 Mo
• Physical Properties of Massive Compact Starburst Galaxies with Extreme Outflows
• Properties and redshift evolution of star-forming galaxies with high [OIII]/[OII] ratios with MUSE at 0.28<z<0.85
• Delayed Photons from Binary Evolution Help Reionize the Universe
• Sub-kiloparsec Imaging of Lyman-alpha Emission in a Low Mass, Highly Ionized, Gravitationally Lensed Galaxy at z = 1.84
• Lyman Continuum Emission Escaping from Luminous Green Pea Galaxies at z=0.5
• Resolving the X-ray emission from the Lyman continuum emitting galaxy Tol 1247-232
• A bottom-up search for Lyman-continuum leakage in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
• Mapping Lyman Continuum escape in Tololo 1247-232
• Linking Mg II and [O II] spatial distribution to ionizing photon escape in confirmed LyC leakers and non-leakers
• Global Correlations Between the Radio Continuum, Infrared and CO Emission in Dwarf Galaxies
• A Virgo Environmental Survey Tracing Ionised Gas Emission (VESTIGE) XV. The Halpha luminosity function of the Virgo cluster
• Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey: Radio continuum properties of low-$z$ Lyman continuum emitters
• Lyman continuum leaker candidates among highly ionised, low-redshift dwarf galaxies selected from HeII
• Flux sensitivity requirements for the detection of Lyman continuum radiation drop-ins from star-forming galaxies below redshifts of 3
• Resolving the Ultra-Luminous X-ray Sources in the Ly$\alpha$ Emitting Galaxy Haro 11
• The Initial Mass Function in the Extended Ultraviolet Disk of M83
• z ~ 2.5 - 3 Ionizers in the GOODS-N Field
• Understanding the spatial variation of \ion{Mg}{II} and ionizing photon escape in a local LyC leaker
• Investigating the Lyman photon escape in local starburst galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
• KMTNet Nearby Galaxy Survey III. Deficient H$\alpha$ flux in the Extended Disks of Spiral Galaxies
• Detections of [C II] 158 $\mu$m and [O III] 88 $\mu$m in a Local Lyman Continuum Emitter, Mrk 54, and its Implications to High-redshift ALMA Studies
• Ionizing Radiation Escape from Low-Redshift Galaxies and Its Connection to Cosmic Reionization
• The Importance of Dust Distribution in Ionizing-photon Escape: NIRCam and MIRI Imaging of a Lyman Continuum-emitting Galaxy at z ~ 3.8
• CEMPlifying reionization
• Does radiative feedback make faint z>6 galaxies look small?
• SDSS-IV MaNGA: an observational evidence of density bounded region in a Lyman-$\alpha$ emitter
• Emission Line Galaxies in the SHARDS Hubble Frontier Fields II: Limits on Lyman-Continuum Escape Fractions of Lensed Emission Line Galaxies at Redshifts 2 < z < 3.5
• Rapid turn-on of a luminous X-ray source in the candidate Lyman continuum emitting galaxy Tol 0440-381
• Gamma-Ray Absorption By The Cosmic Lyman Continuum From Star-forming Galaxies
• Lyman continuum observations across cosmic time: recent developments, future requirements