2004/01/21 by C. Tapken, I. Appenzeller, D. Mehlert +4 · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20040015
published as Astron.Astrophys. 416 (2004) L1 · Accepted for publication in A&A Letters
arxiv created 2004/01/21 · openalex publication_date 2004/02/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
In order to study the origin of the strong Lyα emission of high-redshift starburst galaxies we observed and modeled the rest-frame UV spectrum and the Lyα emission of the galaxy FDF-4691 (rest-frame = 103 Å). The observations show that FDF-4691 is a young starburst galaxy with a (for this redshift) typical metallicity. The broad, double-peaked profile of the Lyα emission line can be explained assuming a highly turbulent emission region in the inner part of the starburst galaxy, and a surrounding extended shell of low-density neutral gas with a normal dust/gas ratio and with Galactic dust properties. The detection of the Lyα emission line is explained by the intrinsic broad Lyα emission and a low HI column density of the neutral shell. A low dust/gas ratio in the neutral shell is not needed to explain the strong Lyα line.