High Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction in a Lensed Young Compact Dwarf Galaxy at z = 2.5

Abstract

We present the HST WFC3/F275W UV imaging observations of A2218-Flanking, a lensed compact dwarf galaxy at redshift z ≈ 2.5. The stellar mass of A2218-Flanking is log(M∗/Mo) = 9.14+0.07-0.04 and SFR is 12.5+3.8-7.4 Mo yr-1 after correcting the magnification. This galaxy has a young galaxy age of 127 Myr and a compact galaxy size of r1/2 = 2.4 kpc. The HST UV imaging observations cover the rest-frame Lyman continuum (LyC) emission (∼800 Å) from A2218-Flanking. We firmly detect (14σ) the LyC emission in A2218-Flanking in the F275W image. Together with the HST F606W images, we find that the absolute escape fraction of LyC is fabs,esc > 28%-57% based on the flux density ratio between 1700 and 800 Å (f1700/f800). The morphology of the LyC emission in the F275W images is extended and follows the morphology of the UV continuum morphology in the F606W images, suggesting that the f 800 is not from foreground contaminants. We find that the region with a high star formation rate surface density has a lower f1700/f800 (higher f800/f1700) ratio than the diffused regions, suggesting that LyC photons are more likely to escape from the region with the intensive star-forming process. We compare the properties of galaxies with and without LyC detections and find that LyC photons are easier to escape in low-mass galaxies Show more