Are Hubble Deep Field Galaxy Counts Whole Numbers?

We compute the two-point angular correlation function and number-magnituderelation of Hubble Deep Field sources in order to assess their nature. We findthat the correlation peaks between 0.25 arcsec and 0.4 arcsec with amplitude of2 or greater, and much more for the smallest objects. This angular scalecorresponds to physical scales of order 1 kpc for redshifts z > 1. Thecorrelation must therefore derive from objects with subgalaxian separations. Atfaint magnitudes, the counts satisfy the relation Number prop. to 1/flux,expected for images which are subdivisions of larger ones. A conservativeconjecture may explain these results. Since high redshift space (z > 0.5)dominates the volume of the sample, observational redshift effects areimportant. The K-correction and surface brightness dimming of diffuse sourcesenhances the prominence of compact, unresolved, UV-bright objects, such asstar-forming regions within normal gas-rich galaxies. If such regions appear asindividual sources, they could explain the subgalaxian correlation.Comment: accepted by ApJL, AASTeX 4.0 preprint style, 2 PostScript figures, Replacing astro-ph/9603020 (major modification: improved detection alg.