%0 Generic %1 matthee2014lymanalpha %A Matthee, Jorryt %A Sobral, David %A Swinbank, Mark %A Smail, Ian %A Best, Philip %A Kim, Jae-Woo %A Franx, Marijn %A Milvang-Jensen, Bo %A Fynbo, Johan %D 2014 %K emission high-z lya %T A 10 deg$^2$ Lyman-$\alpha$ survey at z=8.8 with spectroscopic follow-up: strong constraints on the LF and implications for other surveys %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1402.6697 %X Candidate galaxies at redshifts of $z 10$ are now being found in extremely deep surveys, probing very small areas. As a consequence, candidates are very faint, making spectroscopic confirmation practically impossible. In order to overcome such limitations, we have undertaken the CF-HiZELS survey, which is a large area, medium depth near infrared narrow-band survey targeted at $z=8.8$ Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) emitters (LAEs) and covering 10 deg$^2$ in part of the SSA22 field with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. We surveyed a comoving volume of $4.710^6$ Mpc$^3$ to a Ly$\alpha$ luminosity limit of $6.3\times10^43$ erg s$^-1$. We look for Ly$\alpha$ candidates by applying the following criteria: i) clear emission line source, ii) no optical detections ($ugriz$ from CFHTLS), iii) no visible detection in the optical stack ($ugriz > 27$), iv) visually checked reliable NB$_J$ and $J$ detections and v) $J-K 0$. We compute photometric redshifts and remove a significant amount of dusty lower redshift line-emitters at $z 1.4 $ or $2.2$. A total of 13 Ly$\alpha$ candidates were found, of which two are marked as strong candidates, but the majority have very weak constraints on their SEDs. Using follow-up observations with SINFONI/VLT we are able to exclude the most robust candidates as Ly$\alpha$ emitters. We put a strong constraint on the Ly$\alpha$ luminosity function at $z 9$ and make realistic predictions for ongoing and future surveys. Our results show that surveys for the highest redshift LAEs are susceptible of multiple contaminations and that spectroscopic follow-up is absolutely necessary.

@misc{matthee2014lymanalpha, abstract = {Candidate galaxies at redshifts of $z \sim 10$ are now being found in extremely deep surveys, probing very small areas. As a consequence, candidates are very faint, making spectroscopic confirmation practically impossible. In order to overcome such limitations, we have undertaken the CF-HiZELS survey, which is a large area, medium depth near infrared narrow-band survey targeted at $z=8.8$ Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) emitters (LAEs) and covering 10 deg$^2$ in part of the SSA22 field with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. We surveyed a comoving volume of $4.7\times 10^6$ Mpc$^3$ to a Ly$\alpha$ luminosity limit of $6.3\times10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$. We look for Ly$\alpha$ candidates by applying the following criteria: i) clear emission line source, ii) no optical detections ($ugriz$ from CFHTLS), iii) no visible detection in the optical stack ($ugriz > 27$), iv) visually checked reliable NB$_J$ and $J$ detections and v) $J-K \leq 0$. We compute photometric redshifts and remove a significant amount of dusty lower redshift line-emitters at $z \sim 1.4 $ or $2.2$. A total of 13 Ly$\alpha$ candidates were found, of which two are marked as strong candidates, but the majority have very weak constraints on their SEDs. Using follow-up observations with SINFONI/VLT we are able to exclude the most robust candidates as Ly$\alpha$ emitters. We put a strong constraint on the Ly$\alpha$ luminosity function at $z \sim 9$ and make realistic predictions for ongoing and future surveys. Our results show that surveys for the highest redshift LAEs are susceptible of multiple contaminations and that spectroscopic follow-up is absolutely necessary.}, added-at = {2014-02-28T11:44:46.000+0100}, author = {Matthee, Jorryt and Sobral, David and Swinbank, Mark and Smail, Ian and Best, Philip and Kim, Jae-Woo and Franx, Marijn and Milvang-Jensen, Bo and Fynbo, Johan}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/267d94a318d843c8d0099e10e5ac105f1/miki}, description = {[1402.6697] A 10 deg$^2$ Lyman-$\alpha$ survey at z=8.8 with spectroscopic follow-up: strong constraints on the LF and implications for other surveys}, interhash = {b34cd66c1d22310f78dd1728d7d621d8}, intrahash = {67d94a318d843c8d0099e10e5ac105f1}, keywords = {emission high-z lya}, note = {cite arxiv:1402.6697Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS}, timestamp = {2014-02-28T11:44:46.000+0100}, title = {A 10 deg$^2$ Lyman-$\alpha$ survey at z=8.8 with spectroscopic follow-up: strong constraints on the LF and implications for other surveys}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1402.6697}, year = 2014 }