The great observatories origins deep survey: VLT/FORS2 spectroscopy in the GOODS-South Field

• Published in: Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 2005-04, Vol.434 (1), p.53-65
• Main Authors: VANZELLA, E, CRISTIANI, S, FERGUSON, H. C, FOSBURY, R. A. E, GIAVALISCO, M, HAASE, J, RENZINI, A, RETTURA, A, SERRA, P, DICKINSON, M, KUNTSCHNER, H, MOUSTAKAS, L. A, NONINO, M, ROSATI, P, STERN, D, CESARSKY, C, ETTORI, S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0004-6361; 1432-0746
• DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20041532

We present the first results of the ESO/GOODS program of spectroscopy of faint galaxies in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S). 399 spectra of 303 unique targets have been obtained in service mode with the FORS2 spectrograph at the ESO/VLT, providing 234 redshift determinations (the median of the redshift distribution is at 1.04). The typical redshift uncertainty is estimated to be sigma sub(z) 0.001. Galaxies have been color selected in a way that the resulting redshift distribution typically spans from z = 0.5 to 2. The reduced spectra and the derived redshifts are released to the community through the ESO web page http://www.eso.org/science/goods/. Large scale structure is clearly detected at z 0.67, 0.73, 1.10 and 1.61. Three Lyman-break galaxies have also been included as targets and are confirmed to have redshifts z = 4.800, 4.882 and 5.828. In a few cases, we observe clear [OII]3727 rotation curves, even at the relatively low resolution (R = 860) of the present observations. Assuming that the observed velocity structure is due to dynamically-relaxed rotation, this is an indication of large galactic masses (few times 10 super(11) M sub( )) at z similar to 1.