The Green Peas: Searching for LyC Emitters at Low Redshift

The escape fraction of Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation from galaxies remains one of the primary uncertainties in studies of reionization. However, few LyC-emitting galaxies are known. The recently identified, low-redshift “Green Pea” (GP) galaxies exhibit a number of similarities with high-redshift...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2015-08, Vol.11 (S319), p.126-126
Main Authors: Jaskot, Anne, Oey, Sally
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorption
Analogies
Astronomy
Coherence
Contributed Papers
Emission
Emitters
Galaxies
Peas
Red shift
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Summary:The escape fraction of Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation from galaxies remains one of the primary uncertainties in studies of reionization. However, few LyC-emitting galaxies are known. The recently identified, low-redshift “Green Pea” (GP) galaxies exhibit a number of similarities with high-redshift galaxies, and their optical emission lines suggest they may be some of the elusive LyC emitters. Recent HST COS and ACS observations of four GPs suggest further evidence for LyC escape and give new insights into the origins of Lyα and low-ionization UV lines in high-redshift galaxies. The Lyα emission and low-ionization emission and absorption lines provide a coherent physical picture of the neutral gas distribution in the GPs and may identify LyC emitters at high redshift. The rare, low-redshift GPs hint at possible factors that may enable LyC and Lyα escape from high-redshift galaxies.
ISSN:1743-9213
1743-9221
DOI:10.1017/S1743921315010054