The End of the Reionization Epoch Probed by Lyα Emitters at z = 6.5 in the Subaru Deep Field* **

Nobunari Kashikawa; Kazuhiro Shimasaku; Matthew A. Malkan; Mamoru Doi; Yuichi Matsuda; Masami Ouchi; Yoshiaki Taniguchi; Chun Ly; Tohru Nagao; Masanori Iye; Kentaro Motohara; Takashi Murayama; Kouji Murozono; Kyoji Nariai; Kouji Ohta; Sadanori Okamura; Toshiyuki Sasaki; Yasuhiro Shioya; Masayuki Umemura

doi:10.1086/504966

The End of the Reionization Epoch Probed by Lyα Emitters at z = 6.5 in the Subaru Deep Field^* ^**

Nobunari Kashikawa^1,2, Kazuhiro Shimasaku^3,4, Matthew A. Malkan⁵, Mamoru Doi⁶, Yuichi Matsuda⁷, Masami Ouchi⁸, Yoshiaki Taniguchi⁹, Chun Ly⁵, Tohru Nagao^1,10, Masanori Iye^1,2, Kentaro Motohara⁶, Takashi Murayama⁹, Kouji Murozono³, Kyoji Nariai¹¹, Kouji Ohta⁷, Sadanori Okamura^3,4, Toshiyuki Sasaki¹², Yasuhiro Shioya⁹, and Masayuki Umemura¹³

© 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 648, Number 1 Citation Nobunari Kashikawa et al 2006 ApJ 648 7 DOI 10.1086/504966

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¹ Optical and Infrared Astronomy Division, National Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan

² Department of Astronomy, School of Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan

³ Department of Astronomy, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan

⁴ Research Center for the Early Universe, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan

⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547

⁶ Institute of Astronomy, University of Tokyo, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan

⁷ Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan

⁸ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218

⁹ Astronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai 980-8578, Japan

¹⁰ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125 Florence, Italy

¹¹ Department of Physics, Meisei University, 2-1-1 Hodokubo, Hino, Tokyo 191-8506, Japan

¹² Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 650 North A'ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720

¹³ Center for Computational Physics, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan

Dates

Received 2005 November 19
Accepted 2006 April 5

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Abstract

We report an extensive search for Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z = 6.5 in the Subaru Deep Field. Subsequent spectroscopy with Subaru and Keck identified eight more LAEs, giving a total of 17 spectroscopically confirmed LAEs at z = 6.5. Based on this spectroscopic sample of 17, complemented by a photometric sample of 58 LAEs, we have derived a more accurate Lyα luminosity function of LAEs at z = 6.5, which reveals an apparent deficit at the bright end of ~0.75 mag fainter L*, compared with that observed at z = 5.7. The difference in the LAE luminosity functions between z = 5.7 and 6.5 is significant at the 3 σ level, which is reduced to 2 σ when cosmic variance is taken into account. This result may imply that the reionization of the universe has not been completed at z = 6.5. We found that the spatial distribution of LAEs at z = 6.5 was homogeneous over the field. We discuss the implications of these results for the reionization of the universe.

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Footnotes

*
The data presented herein were partly obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
**
Based in part on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

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