Galaxies in the first billion years: Implications for re-ionization and the star formation history at z>6

We discuss the selection of star-forming galaxies at z6 through the Lyman-break technique. Spitzer imaging implies many of these contain older stellar populations (>200Myr) which produce detectable Balmer breaks. The ages and stellar masses (1010M) imply that the star formation rate density a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bunker, A, Stanway, E, Eyles, L, Ellis, R, McMahon, R, Lacy, M, Stark, D
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2006
Description
Summary:We discuss the selection of star-forming galaxies at z6 through the Lyman-break technique. Spitzer imaging implies many of these contain older stellar populations (>200Myr) which produce detectable Balmer breaks. The ages and stellar masses (1010M) imply that the star formation rate density at earlier epochs may have been significantly higher than at z6, and might have played a key role in re-ionizing the universe. © 2007 International Astronomical Union.