DISCOVERY OF LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES AT z ∼ 7 FROM THE zFourGE SURVEY

Star-forming galaxies at redshiftsz > 6 are likely responsible for the reionization of the universe, and it is important to study the nature of these galaxies. We present three candidates for z similar to 7 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) from a 155 arcmin(2) area in the CANDELS/COSMOS field imaged by the deep FourStar Galaxy Evolution (zFourGE) survey. The FourStar medium-band filters provide the equivalent of R similar to 10 spectroscopy, which cleanly distinguishes between z similar to 7 LBGs and brown dwarf stars. The distinction between stars and galaxies based on an object's angular size can become unreliable even when using Hubble Space Telescope imaging; there exists at least one very compact z similar to 7 candidate (FWHM similar to 0.5-1 kpc) that is indistinguishable from a point source. The medium-band filters provide narrower redshift distributions compared with broadband-derived redshifts. The UV luminosity function derived using the three z similar to 7 candidates is consistent with previous studies, suggesting an evolution at the bright end (MUV similar to -21.6 mag) from z similar to 7 to z similar to 5. Fitting the galaxies' spectral energy distributions, we predict Ly alpha equivalent widths for the two brightest LBGs, and find that the presence of a Ly alpha line affects the medium-band flux thereby changing the constraints on stellar masses and UV spectral slopes. This illustrates the limitations of deriving LBG properties using only broadband photometry. The derived specific star-formation rates for the bright LBGs are similar to 13 Gyr(-1), slightly higher than the lower-luminosity LBGs, implying that the star-formation rate increases with stellar mass for these galaxies.