Abstract
Gravitational lensing by massive galaxy clusters is a powerful tool for the discovery and study of high-redshift galaxies, including those at z ≥ 6 likely responsible for cosmic reionization. Pelló et al. recently used this technique to discover a candidate gravitationally magnified galaxy at z = 10 behind the massive cluster lens Abell 1835 (z = 0.25). We present new Keck and Spitzer Space Telescope observations of the z = 10 candidate (hereafter #1916, following Pelló et al.'s nomenclature) together with a reanalysis of archival optical and near-infrared imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope and Very Large Telescope, respectively. Our analysis extends from the atmospheric cutoff at λobs sime 0.35 μm out to λobs sime 5 μm. The z = 10 galaxy is not detected in any of these data, including an independent reduction of Pelló et al.'s discovery H- and K-band imaging. We conclude that there is no statistically reliable evidence for the existence of #1916. We also assess the implications of our results for ground-based near-infrared searches for gravitationally magnified galaxies at z gsim 7. The broad conclusion is that such experiments remain feasible, assuming that space-based optical and mid-infrared imaging are available to break the degeneracy with low-redshift interlopers (e.g., z ~ 2-3) when fitting spectral templates to the photometric data.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 575-581 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | The Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 636 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10 Jan 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Graham P. Smith et al 2006 ApJ 636 575Keywords
- cosmology: observations
- early universe
- galaxies: evolution
- galaxies: formation
- infrared : galaxies