We report on a Hubble Space Telescope search for rest-frame ultraviolet emission from the host galaxies of five far-infrared-luminous $z\simeq{}6$ quasars and the $z=5.85$ hot-dust free quasar SDSS J0005-0006. We perform 2D surface brightness modeling for each quasar using a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo estimator, to simultaneously fit and subtract the quasar point source in order to constrain the underlying host galaxy emission. We measure upper limits for the quasar host galaxies of $m_J>22.7$ mag and $m_H>22.4$ mag, corresponding to stellar masses of $M_\ast<2\times10^{11}M_\odot$. These stellar mass limits are consistent with the local $M_{\textrm{BH}}$-$M_\ast$ relation. Our flux limits are consistent with those predicted for the UV stellar populations of $z\simeq6$ host galaxies, but likely in the presence of significant dust ($\langle A_{\mathrm{UV}}\rangle\simeq 2.6$ mag). We also detect a total of up to 9 potential $z\simeq6$ quasar companion galaxies surrounding five of the six quasars, separated from the quasars by 1.4''-3.2'', or 8.4-19.4 kpc, which may be interacting with the quasar hosts. These nearby companion galaxies have UV absolute magnitudes of -22.1 to -19.9 mag, and UV spectral slopes $\beta$ of -2.0 to -0.2, consistent with luminous star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq6$. These results suggest that the quasars are in dense environments typical of luminous $z\simeq6$ galaxies. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that some of these companions are foreground interlopers. Infrared observations with the James Webb Space Telescope will be needed to detect the $z\simeq6$ quasar host galaxies and better constrain their stellar mass and dust content.
Research over the past decade has shown diminishing empirical evidence for major galaxy mergers being a dominating or even important mechanism for the growth of supermassive black holes in galaxies and the triggering of optically or X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN). We here for the first time test whether such a connection exists at least in the most plausible part of parameter space for this mechanism: the highest specific accretion rate broad-line AGNs at the peak epoch of black hole activity around z = 2. To that end we examine 21 galaxies hosting a high accreting black hole (L/Ledd > 0.7) observed with HST/WFC3 and 92 stellar mass- and redshift- matched inactive galaxies taken from the CANDELS survey. We removed the AGN point sources from their host galaxies and avoided bias in visual classification by adding and then subtracting mock point sources to and from the comparison galaxies, producing matched residual structures for both sets. The resulting samples were joined, randomized, and subsequently visually ranked with respect to perceived strength of structural distortions by 10 experts. The ensuing individual rankings were combined into a consensus sequence and from this we derived merger fractions for both samples. With the merger fractions f$_{m,agn}$ = 0.24 $\pm$ 0.09 for the AGN host galaxy sample and f$_{m,ina}$ = 0.19 $\pm$ 0.04 for the inactive galaxies, we find no significant difference between the AGN host galaxies and inactive galaxies. Also, both samples display comparable fractions of disk-dominated galaxies. These findings are consistent with previous studies for different AGN populations, and we conclude that even black hole growth at the highest specific accretion rates and at the peak of cosmic AGN activity is not predominantly caused by major mergers. (abriged)
We have developed a Java-based teaching tool, "Appreciating Hubble at Hyper-speed" ("AHaH"), intended for use by students and instructors in beginning astronomy and cosmology courses, which we have made available online. This tool lets the user hypothetically traverse the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) in three dimensions at over 500x10^12 times the speed of light, from redshifts z=0 today to z=6, about 1 Gyr after the Big Bang. Users may also view the Universe in various cosmology configurations and two different geometry modes - standard geometry that includes expansion of the Universe, and a static pseudo-Euclidean geometry for comparison. In this paper we detail the mathematical formulae underlying the functions of this Java application, and provide justification for the use of these particular formulae. These include the manner in which the angular sizes of objects are calculated in various cosmologies, as well as how the application's coordinate system is defined in relativistically expanding cosmologies. We also briefly discuss the methods used to select and prepare the images in the application, the data used to measure the redshifts of the galaxies, and the qualitative implications of the visualization - that is, what exactly users see when they "move" the virtual telescope through the simulation. Finally, we conduct a study of the effectiveness in this teaching tool in the classroom, the results of which show the efficacy of the tool, with over 90% approval by students, and provide justification for its further use in a classroom setting.
We present a detailed structural and morphological study of a large sample of spectroscopically confirmed galaxies at z ⩾ 6 using deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) near-IR broad-band images and Subaru Telescope optical narrow-band images. The galaxy sample consists of 51 Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z ≃ 5.7, 6.5, and 7.0, and 16 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at 5.9 ⩽ z ⩽ 6.5. These galaxies exhibit a wide range of rest-frame UV continuum morphology in the HST images, from compact features to multiple component systems. The fraction of merging/interacting galaxies reaches 40%–50% at the brightest end of M1500 ⩽ −20.5 mag. The intrinsic half-light radii rhl, in, after correcting for point-spread function (PSF) broadening, are roughly between rhl, in ≃ 005 (0.3 kpc) and 03 (1.7 kpc) at M1500 ⩽ −19.5 mag. The median rhl, in value is 016 (∼0.9 kpc). This is consistent with the sizes of bright LAEs and LBGs at z ⩾ 6 found in previous studies. In addition, more luminous galaxies tend to be larger and exhibit a weak size–luminosity relation, rhl, in∝L0.14 at M1500 ⩽ −19.5 mag. The slope of 0.14 is significantly flatter than those in fainter LBG samples. We discuss the morphology of z ⩾ 6 galaxies with nonparametric methods, including the concentration, asymmetry, and smoothness system and the Gini and M20 parameters, and demonstrate their validity through simulations. We search for extended Lyα emission halos around LAEs at z ≃ 5.7 and 6.5 by stacking a number of narrow-band images. We do not find evidence of extended Lyα halos predicted by cosmological simulations. Such halos, if they exist, could be weaker than predicted. Finally, we investigate positional misalignment between the UV continuum and Lyα emissions in LAEs. While the two positions are generally consistent, several merging galaxies show significant positional differences. This is likely caused by a disturbed interstellar medium distribution due to merging activity.
We present a full analysis of the Probing Evolution And Reionization Spectroscopically (PEARS) slitess grism spectroscopic data obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on HST. PEARS covers fields within both the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) North and South fields, making it ideal as a random survey of galaxies, as well as the availability of a wide variety of ancillary observations to support the spectroscopic results. Using the PEARS data we are able to identify star forming galaxies within the redshift volume 0< z<1.5. Star forming regions in the PEARS survey are pinpointed independently of the host galaxy. This method allows us to detect the presence of multiple emission line regions (ELRs) within a single galaxy. 1162 Ha, [OIII] and/or [OII] emission lines have been identified in the PEARS sample of ~906 galaxies down to a limiting flux of ~1e-18 erg/s/cm^2. The ELRs have also been compared to the properties of the host galaxy, including morphology, luminosity, and mass. From this analysis we find three key results: 1) The computed line luminosities show evidence of a flattening in the luminosity function with increasing redshift; 2) The star forming systems show evidence of disturbed morphologies, with star formation occurring predominantly within one effective (half-light) radius. However, the morphologies show no correlation with host stellar mass; and 3) The number density of star forming galaxies with M_* > 1e9} M_sun decreases by an order of magnitude at z<0.5 relative to the number at 0.5
