The Bright End of the UV Luminosity Function at z~8: New Constraints from CANDELS Data in GOODS-South

TL;DR

This study uses new and existing Hubble data to better constrain the bright end of the UV luminosity function at redshift ~8, revealing a lower number density of bright galaxies than previously thought.

Contribution

It provides the most accurate measurement of the z~8 UV luminosity function by combining new CANDELS data with previous deep surveys, refining key parameters.

Findings

UV luminosity function is ~1.7 times lower at M_UV < -19.5 mag than earlier estimates

Best-fit characteristic magnitude M* at z=8 is -20.04±0.46 mag

Faint-end slope is very steep, with alpha = -2.06±0.32

Abstract

We present new z~8 galaxy candidates from a search over ~95 arcmin^2 of WFC3/IR data, tripling the previous search area for bright z~8 galaxies. Our analysis uses newly acquired WFC3/IR imaging data from the CANDELS Multi-Cycle Treasury program over the GOODS South field. These new data are combined with existing deep optical ACS imaging to search for relatively bright (M_UV < -19.5 mag) z~8 galaxy candidates using the Lyman Break technique. These new candidates are used to determine the bright end of the UV luminosity function (LF) of star-forming galaxies at z~8. To minimize contamination from lower redshift galaxies, we make full use of all optical ACS data and impose strict non-detection criteria based on an optical chi^2_opt flux measurement. In the whole search area we identify 16 candidate z~8 galaxies, spanning a magnitude range H_160 = 25.7-27.9 mag. The new data show that the UV LF is a factor ~1.7x lower at M_UV < -19.5 mag than determined from the HUDF09 and ERS data alone. Combining this new sample with the previous candidates from the HUDF09 and ERS data allows us to perform the most accurate measurement of the z~8 UV LF yet. Schechter function fits to the combined data result in a best-fit characteristic magnitude of M*(z=8) = -20.04+-0.46 mag. The faint-end slope is very steep, though quite uncertain, with alpha = -2.06+-0.32. A combination of wide area data with additional ultra-deep imaging will be required to significantly reduce the uncertainties on these parameters in the future.