Open AccessMeasurement of [Oiii ] Emission in Lyman‐Break Galaxies
Author(s) -
Harry I. Teplitz,
Matthew A. Malkan,
Charles C. Steidel,
Ian S. McLean,
E. E. Becklin,
Donald F. Figer,
Andrea M. Gilbert,
James R. Graham,
James Larkin,
N. A. Levenson,
M. K. Wilcox
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the astrophysical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.376
H-Index - 489
eISSN - 1538-4357
pISSN - 0004-637X
DOI - 10.1086/309539
Subject(s) - astrophysics , galaxy , physics , metallicity , emission spectrum , doubly ionized oxygen , extinction (optical mineralogy) , star formation , telescope , astronomy , spectral line , optics
Measurements of [OIII] emission in Lyman Break galaxies (LBGs) at z>3 arepresented. Four galaxies were observed with narrow-band filters using theNear-IR Camera on the Keck I 10-m telescope. A fifth galaxy was observedspectroscopically during the commissioning of NIRSPEC, the new infraredspectrometer on Keck II. The emission-line spectrum is used to place limits onthe metallicity. Comparing these new measurements with others available fromthe literature, we find that strong oxygen emission in LBGs may suggestsub-solar metallicity for these objects. The [OIII]5007 line is also used toestimate the star formation rate (SFR) of the LBGs. The inferred SFRs arehigher than those estimated from the UV continuum, and may be evidence for dustextinction.Comment: 25 pages, including 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
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