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Description
Distant luminous Lyman-{alpha} emitters (LAEs) are excellent targets for spectroscopic observations of galaxies in the epoch of reionisation (EoR). We present deep high-resolution (R=5000) VLT/X-shooter observations, along with an extensive collection of photometric data of COLA1, a proposed double peaked LAE at z=6.6. We rule out the possibility that COLA1's emission line is an [OII] doublet at z=1.475 on the basis of i) the asymmetric red line-profile and flux ratio of the peaks (blue/red=0.31+/-0.03) and ii) an unphysical [OII]/H{alpha} ratio ([OII]/H{alpha}>22). We show that COLA1's observed B-band flux is explained by a faint extended foreground LAE, for which we detect Ly{alpha} and [OIII] at z=2.142. We thus conclude that COLA1 is a real double-peaked LAE at z=6.593, the first discovered at z>6. COLA1 is UV luminous (M1500=-21.6+/-0.3), has a high equivalent width (EW0,Ly{alpha}=120_-40_^+50^{AA}) and very compact Ly{alpha} emission (r50,Ly{alpha}=0.33_-0.04_^+0.07^kpc). Relatively weak inferred H{beta}+[OIII] line-emission from Spitzer/IRAC indicates an extremely low metallicity of Z<1/20Z_{sun}_ or reduced strength of nebular lines due to high escape of ionising photons. The small Ly{alpha} peak separation of 220+/-20km/s implies a low HI column density and an ionising photon escape fraction of ~15-30%, providing the first direct evidence that such galaxies contribute actively to the reionisation of the Universe at z>6. Based on simple estimates, we find that COLA1 could have provided just enough photons to reionise its own ~0.3pMpc (2.3cMpc) bubble, allowing the blue Ly{alpha} line to be observed. However, we also discuss alternative scenarios explaining the detected double peaked nature of COLA1. Our results show that future high-resolution observations of statistical samples of double peaked LAEs at z>5 are a promising probe of the occurrence of ionised regions around galaxies in the EoR.
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