The MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey XIV. The evolution of the Lya emitter fraction from z=3 to z=6

Abstract

The Lya emitter (LAE) fraction, X_LAE, is a potentially powerful probe of the evolution of the intergalactic neutral hydrogen gas fraction. However, uncertainties in the measurement of X_LAE are still debated. Thanks to deep data obtained with MUSE, we can measure the evolution of X_LAE homogeneously over a wide redshift range of z~3-6 for UV-faint galaxies (down to M_1500~-17.75). This is significantly fainter than in former studies, and allows us to probe the bulk of the population of high-z star-forming galaxies. We construct a UV-complete photo-redshift sample following UV luminosity functions and measure the Lya emission with MUSE using the second data release from the MUSE HUDF Survey. We derive the redshift evolution of X_LAE for M_1500 in [-21.75;-17.75] for the first time with a equivalent width range EW(Lya)>=65 A and find low values of X_ LAE<~30% at z<~6. For M_1500 in [-20.25;-18.75] and EW(Lya)<~25 A, our X_LAE values are consistent with those in the literature within 1sigma at z<~5, but our median values are systematically lower than reported values over the whole redshift range. In addition, we do not find a significant dependence of X_LAE on M_1500 for EW(Lya)>~50 A at z~3-4, in contrast with previous work. The differences in X_LAE mainly arise from selection biases for Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) in the literature: UV-faint LBGs are more easily selected if they have strong Lya emission, hence X_LAE is biased towards higher values. Our results suggest either a lower increase of X_LAE towards z~6 than previously suggested, or even a turnover of X_LAE at z~5.5, which may be the signature of a late or patchy reionization process. We compared our results with predictions from a cosmological galaxy evolution model. We find that a model with a bursty star formation (SF) can reproduce our observed X_LAE much better than models where SF is a smooth function of time.

arXiv comment25 pages, 17 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in A&A

References in corpus (65)

• Astropy: A Community Python Package for Astronomy
• The Average Star Formation Histories of Galaxies in Dark Matter Halos from z=0-8
• A Highly Consistent Framework for the Evolution of the Star-Forming "Main Sequence" from z~0-6
• Constraining the Evolution of the Ionizing Background and the Epoch of Reionization with z ~ 6 Quasars II: A Sample of 19 Quasars
• The Star Formation History of Field Galaxies
• UV Luminosity Functions at redshifts z~4 to z~10: 10000 Galaxies from HST Legacy Fields
• Cosmic Reionization and Early Star-Forming Galaxies: A Joint Analysis of New Constraints from Planck and Hubble Space Telescope
• The MUSE second-generation VLT instrument
• The Evolution of the Galaxy Rest-Frame Ultraviolet Luminosity Function Over the First Two Billion Years
• Statistics of 207 Lya Emitters at a Redshift Near 7: Constraints on Reionization and Galaxy Formation Models
• UV Luminosity Functions at z~4, 5, and 6 from the HUDF and other Deep HST ACS Fields: Evolution and Star Formation History
• The Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS). IV. Evolution of Lya Emitters from z=3.1 to 5.7 in the 1 deg^2 Field: Luminosity Functions and AGN
• CANDELS Multi-wavelength Catalogs: Source Detection and Photometry in the GOODS-South Field
• Model-independent evidence in favor of an end to reionization by z~6
• On the Estimation of Confidence Intervals for Binomial Population Proportions in Astronomy: The Simplicity and Superiority of the Bayesian Approach
• Keck Spectroscopy of Faint 3<z<7 Lyman Break Galaxies: - I. New constraints on cosmic reionisation from the luminosity and redshift-dependent fraction of Lyman-alpha emission
• The End of the Reionization Epoch Probed by Ly-alpha Emitters at z=6.5 in the Subaru Deep Field
• Spectroscopic Confirmation of Three z-Dropout Galaxies at z = 6.844 - 7.213: Demographics of Lyman-Alpha Emission in z ~ 7 Galaxies
• The Universe is Reionizing at z~7: Bayesian Inference of the IGM Neutral Fraction Using Ly$\alpha$ Emission from Galaxies
• Lyman-alpha and CIII] Emission in z=7-9 Galaxies: Accelerated Reionization Around Luminous Star Forming Systems?
• Luminosity functions of Lyman-alpha emitters at z=6.5, and z=5.7: evidence against reionization at z=6
• The Relation Between SFR and Stellar Mass for Galaxies at 3.5 $\le z\le$ 6.5 in CANDELS
• Spectroscopic confirmation of z~7 LBGs: probing the earliest galaxies and the epoch of reionization
• Large Lyman-alpha opacity fluctuations and low CMB tau in models of late reionization with large islands of neutral hydrogen extending to z<5.5
• Keck Spectroscopy of Faint 3<z<7 Lyman Break Galaxies:- II. A High Fraction of Line Emitters at Redshift Six
• Inferences on the Timeline of Reionization at z~8 From the KMOS Lens-Amplified Spectroscopic Survey
• The MUSE 3D view of the Hubble Deep Field South
• Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters
• Faint Galaxies in deep ACS observations
• The Star Formation Main Sequence in the Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields
• New constraints on Lyman-α opacity with a sample of 62 quasars at z > 5.7
• Rapid Decline of Lyman-alpha Emission Toward the Reionization Era
• Long troughs in the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest below redshift 6 due to islands of neutral hydrogen
• MoMaF : The Mock Map Facility
• No evidence for a significant AGN contribution to cosmic hydrogen reionization
• 3D Lyman-alpha radiation transfer. III. Constraints on gas and stellar properties of z~3 Lyman break galaxies (LBG) and implications for high-z LBGs and Lyman-alpha emitters(LAEs)
• The lack of intense Lyman~alpha in ultradeep spectra of z=7 candidates in GOODS-S: imprint of reionization?
• First Results from the Lyman Alpha Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization (LAGER) Survey: Cosmological Reionization at z ~ 7
• Spectroscopy of z ~ 7 candidate galaxies: Using Lyman-alpha to constrain the neutral fraction of hydrogen in the high-redshift universe
• Lyman-alpha emission properties of simulated galaxies: interstellar medium structure and inclination effects
• The Detectability of Lyman Alpha Emission from Galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): autoz spectral redshift measurements, confidence and errors
• The VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS): fast increase of the fraction of strong Lyman alpha emitters from z=2 to z=6
• A remarkably high fraction of strong Ly_alpha emitters amongst luminous redshift 6.0<z<6.5 Lyman break galaxies in the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey
• Forecasting a Coronal Mass Ejection's Altered Trajectory: ForeCAT
• The Lyman-alpha luminosity function at z=5.7-6.6 and the steep drop of the faint end: implications for reionization
• On the Use of Ly-alpha Emitters as Probes of Reionization
• The MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey VI: The Faint-End of the Lya Luminosity Function at 2.91 < z < 6.64 and Implications for Reionisation
• Grid of Lya radiation transfer models for the interpretation of distant galaxies
• Statistical Properties of Diffuse Lyman-alpha Halos around Star-forming Galaxies at z~2
• The MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey VIII : Extended Lyman-alpha haloes around high-redshift star-forming galaxies
• The UV, Lyman-alpha, and dark matter halo properties of high redshift galaxies
• MUSE Deep-Fields: The Lya Luminosity Function in the Hubble Deep Field South at 2.91 < z < 6.64
• Spectroscopic observation of Ly$\alpha$ emitters at z~7.7 and implications on re-ionization
• Lyman continuum galaxies and the escape fraction of Lyman break galaxies
• Lyman-Alpha Emitting Galaxies as a Probe of Reionization: Large-Scale Bubble Morphology and Small-Scale Absorbers
• The MUSE-Wide survey: A measurement of the Ly$\alpha$ emitting fraction among $z>3$ galaxies
• On Lya emission in z~3-6 UV-selected galaxies
• Chasing Lyman alpha-emitting galaxies at z = 8.8
• Constraining Lyman-alpha spatial offsets at $3<z<5.5$ from VANDELS slit spectroscopy
• Evidence for a highly opaque large-scale galaxy void at the end of reionization
• Ly$\alpha$ Emitters with Very Large Ly$\alpha$ Equivalent Widths, EW${}_0$(Ly$\alpha$) $\simeq 200-400$ Å, at $z\sim 2$
• Hubble Frontier Field Photometric Catalogues of Abell 370 and RXC J2248.7-4431: Multiwavelength photometry, photometric redshifts, and stellar properties
• Lyman-α Emitters in the context of hierarchical galaxy formation: predictions for VLT/MUSE surveys
• The dominant origin of diffuse Ly$\alpha$ halos around LAEs explored by SED fitting and clustering analysis

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Exploration of the high-redshift universe enabled by THESEUS