C III] Emission in Star-forming Galaxies at z ̃ 1

Author(s): Du, X; Shapley, AE; Martin, CL; Coil, AL | Abstract: © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. The C iii]λλ1907, 1909 rest-frame UV emission doublet has recently been detected in galaxies during the epoch of reionization (z g 6), with a high equivalent width (EW; 10 A, rest frame). Currently, it is possible to obtain much more detailed information for star-forming galaxies at significantly lower redshift. Accordingly, studies of their far-UV spectra are useful for understanding the factors modulating the strength of C iii] emission. We present the first statistical sample of C iii] emission measurements in star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1. Our sample is drawn from the DEEP2 survey and spans the redshifts 0.64 z 1.35 ((z) = 1.08). We find that the median EW of individual C iii] detections in our sample (1.30 A) is much smaller than the typical value observed thus far at z g 6. Furthermore, out of 184 galaxies with coverage of C iii], only 40 have significant detections. Galaxies with individual C iii] detections have bluer colors and lower luminosities on average than those without, implying that strong C iii] emitters are in general young and low-mass galaxies without significant dust extinction. Using stacked spectra, we further investigate how C iii] strength correlates with multiple galaxy properties (M B, U - B, M ∗, star formation rate, specific star formation rate) and rest-frame near-UV (Fe ii∗ and Mg ii) and optical ([O iii] and Hβ) emission line strengths. These results provide a detailed picture of the physical environment in star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1, and motivate future observations of strong C iii] emitters at similar redshifts.