Integral-field spectroscopy of a Lyman-Break Galaxy at z=3.2: evidence for merging

TL;DR

This study uses integral-field spectroscopy to analyze a bright z~3 Lyman-break galaxy, revealing two unresolved components and providing evidence supporting the galaxy-merging scenario over other models.

Contribution

First spatially-resolved optical spectroscopy of a bright z~3 LBG, offering new insights into its morphology, kinematics, and potential merging activity.

Findings

Galaxy consists of two unresolved blobs separated by ~5 kpc

Derived star-formation rate of ~20-40 M_sun/yr

Estimated oxygen abundance range 12+[O/H]=7.9-8.6

Abstract

We present spatially-resolved, rest-frame optical spectroscopy of a z~3 Lyman-break galaxy (LBG), Q0347-383 C5, obtained with SINFONI on the VLT. This galaxy, among the ~10% brightest LBGs, is only the second z~3 LBG observed with an integral-field spectrograph. It was first described by Pettini et al. (2001), who obtained WFPC2 F702W imaging and longslit spectroscopy in the K-band. We find that the emission line morphology is dominated by two unresolved blobs at a projected distance of ~5 kpc with a velocity offset of ~33 km s^-1. Velocity dispersions suggest that each blob has a mass of ~10^10 M_sun. Unlike Pettini et al. (2001), our spectra are deep enough to detect H-beta, and we derive star-formation rates of ~20-40 M_sun yr^-1, and use the H-beta/[OIII] ratio to crudely estimate an oxygen abundance 12+[O/H]=7.9-8.6, which is in the range typically observed for LBGs. We compare the properties of Q0347-383 C5 with what is found for other LBGs, including the gravitationally lensed ``arc+core'' galaxy (Nesvadba et al. 2006), and discuss possible scenarios for the nature of the source, namely disk rotation, a starburst-driven wind, disk fragmentation, and merging of two LBGs. We favor the merging interpretation or bright, extended LBGs like Q0347-383C5, in broad agreement with predicted merger rates from hierarchical models.