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Adaptive optics imaging of Lyman break galaxies as progenitors of spheroids in the local Universe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2007

M. Akiyama
Affiliation:
Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 650 North A'ohoku Place, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA email: [email protected]
Y. Minowa
Affiliation:
Optical and Infrared Astronomy Division, NAOJ, Mitaka, 181-8588, Japan
N. Kobayashi
Affiliation:
Institute of Astronomy, University of Tokyo, Mitaka, 181-0015, Japan
K. Ohta
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
I. Iwata
Affiliation:
Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, NAOJ, Okayama 719-0232, Japan
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Abstract

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In order to reveal the stellar mass distribution of z ~ 3 galaxies, we are conducting deep imaging observations of U-dropout Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) with Adaptive Optics (AO) systems in K-band, which corresponds to rest-frame V-band of z ~ 3 galaxies. The results of the Subaru intensive-program observations with AO36/NGS/IRCS indicate that 1) the K-band peaks of some of the LBGs brighter than K = 22.0 mag show significant offset from those in the optical images, 2) the z ~ 3 LBGs and serendipitously observed Distant Red Galaxies (DRGs) have flat profiles similar to disk galaxies in the local universe (i.e., Sérsic with n < 2), and 3) the surface stellar mass densities of the LBGs are 3-6 times larger than those of disk galaxies at z = 0 − 1. Considering the lack of n > 2 systems among the luminous z ~ 3 LBGs and DRGs, and their strong spatial clustering, we infer that the dense n < 2 disk-like structures evolve into the n > 2 spheroids of nearby galaxies through relaxations due to major merger events.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2008

References

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