|
Description
We present a morphological analysis of the rest-frame ultraviolet emission of 78 resolved, high signal-to-noise z~3.1 Ly{alpha} emitters (LAEs) in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South. Using Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys V-band images taken as part of the Galaxy Evolution from Morphology and SEDs, Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, and Hubble Ultra Deep Field surveys, we investigate both single-component and multi-component LAEs, and derive concentration indices, Sersic indices, ellipticities, and half-light radii for all resolved components and systems with a signal-to-noise >30. We show that, although the LAE population is heterogeneous in nature, most LAEs are highly concentrated, with a distribution of C values similar to that measured for field stars; this suggests that the diagnostic is a poor discriminator near the resolution limit. The LAEs also display a wide range of Sersic indices (0<n<12), similar to that seen for galaxies in the local neighborhood. However, the majority of LAEs have n<2, and a visual inspection of the images suggests that the small-n objects have extended or multimodal luminosity profiles, while the LAEs with n>2 have compact components surrounded by diffuse emission. Moreover, unlike nearby spiral galaxies, whose distribution of ellipticities is flat, the LAE ellipticity distribution peaks near 1-b/a~0.55. Thus, the population has more in common with z~3 Lyman-break galaxies than local star-forming objects.
|
