Probing the Dawn of Galaxies at z ~ 9-12: New Constraints from HUDF12/XDF and CANDELS data

Luke will present two related papers on constraining the z~9-12 UV luminosity function using the HUDF12/XDF and CANDELS by Oesch et al.: 2013ApJ...773...75O and arxiv:1309.2280.

1st Paper abstract: We present a comprehensive analysis of z > 8 galaxies based on ultra-deep WFC3/IR data. We exploit all the WFC3/IR imaging over the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field from the HUDF09 and the new HUDF12 program, in addition to the HUDF09 parallel field data, as well as wider area imaging over GOODS-South. Galaxies are selected based on the Lyman break technique in three samples centered around z ~ 9, z ~ 10, and z ~ 11, with seven z ~ 9 galaxy candidates, and one each at z ~ 10 and z ~ 11. We confirm a new z ~ 10 candidate (with z = 9.8 ± 0.6) that was not convincingly identified in our first z ~ 10 sample. Using these candidates, we perform one of the first estimates of the z ~ 9 UV luminosity function (LF) and improve our previous constraints at z ~ 10. Extrapolating the lower redshift UV LF evolution should have revealed 17 z ~ 9 and 9 z ~ 10 sources, i.e., a factor ~3 × and 9× larger than observed. The inferred star formation rate density (SFRD) in galaxies above 0.7 M _⊙ yr^-1 decreases by 0.6 ± 0.2 dex from z ~ 8 to z ~ 9, in excellent agreement with previous estimates. From a combination of all current measurements, we find a best estimate of a factor 10× decrease in the SFRD from z ~ 8 to z ~ 10, following (1 + z)^{-11.4 ± 3.1}. Our measurements thus confirm our previous finding of an accelerated evolution beyond z ~ 8, and signify a very rapid build-up of galaxies with M _UV < -17.7 mag within only ~200 Myr from z ~ 10 to z ~ 8, in the heart of cosmic reionization.

2nd paper abstract: We present the discovery of four surprisingly bright (H_160 ~ 26 - 27 mag AB) galaxy candidates at z~9-10 in the complete HST CANDELS WFC3/IR GOODS-N imaging data, doubling the number of z~10 galaxy candidates that are known, just 500 Myr after the Big Bang. These sources were identified in a search over the full CANDELS-Deep dataset, building on our previous analysis of the HUDF09/XDF fields and GOODS-S. Three of these four galaxies are significantly detected at 4.5-6.2sigma in the very deep Spitzer/IRAC 4.5 micron data. Furthermore, the brightest of our candidates (at z=10.2+-0.4) is robustly detected also at 3.6 micron (6.9sigma), revealing a flat UV spectral energy distribution with a slope beta=-2.0+-0.2, consistent with demonstrated trends with luminosity at high redshift. The abundance of these luminous candidates suggests that the luminosity function evolves more significantly in phi_* than in L_* at z>~8. Despite the discovery of these luminous candidates, the cosmic star formation rate density for galaxies with SFR >0.7 M_sun yr^-1 shows an order-of-magnitude increase in only 170 Myr from z ~ 10 to z ~ 8, consistent with previous results. Based on the IRAC detections, we derive galaxy stellar masses at z~10, finding that these luminous objects are typically 10^9 M_sun. This allows for a first estimate of the cosmic stellar mass density at z~10 resulting in log rho* = 4.7^+0.5_-0.9 M_sun Mpc^-3 for galaxies brighter than M_UV~-18. The remarkable brightness, and hence luminosity, of these z~9-10 candidates highlights the opportunity for deep spectroscopy to determine their redshift and nature, and demonstrates the value of additional search fields to understand star-formation in the very early universe.