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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/95250
- Title
- A candidate brightest protocluster galaxy at z = 3.03
- Author(s)
- Cooke, Jeff; Barton, Elizabeth J.; Bullock, James S.; Stewart, Kyle R.; Wolfe, Arthur M.
- Abstract
- We report the discovery of a very bright (m_R = 22.2) Lyman break galaxy at z = 3.03 that appears to be a massive system in a late stage of merging. Deep imaging reveals multiple peaks in the brightness profile with angular separations of ~0.''8 (~25 h^-1 kpc comoving). In addition, high signal-to-noise ratio rest-frame UV spectroscopy shows evidence for ~5 components based on stellar photospheric and ISM absorption lines with a velocity dispersion of sigma ~460 km s^-1 for the three strongest components. Both the dynamics and high luminosity, as well as our analysis of a LCDM numerical simulation, suggest a very massive system with halo mass M ~ 10^13 M_solar. The simulation finds that all halos at z = 3 of this mass contain sub-halos in agreement with the properties of these observed components and that such systems typically evolve into M ~ 10^14 M_solar halos in groups and clusters by z = 0. This discovery provides a rare opportunity to study the properties and individual components of z ~ 3 systems that are likely to be the progenitors to brightest cluster galaxies.
- Publication type
- Journal article
- Source
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 681, no. 2, part 2 (Jul 2008), pp. L57-L60
- Publication year
- 2008
- FOR Code(s)
- 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
- Keyword(s)
- Cluster galaxies; Galaxy evolution; Galaxy formation; Galaxy interactions; High redshift galaxies
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- ISSN
- 0004-637X
- Publisher URL
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/590406
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2008 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. The American Astronomical Society does not allow institutions to archive either the accepted manuscript or the published version of the article. However, you can find an earlier version of the full text here: http://arxiv.org/abs/0803.3808.
- Peer reviewed
