IAU00833
Presentation type requested: ORAL
FIRES: ULTRADEEP NEAR-INFRARED IMAGING WITH VLT/ISAAC
Ivo Labbe
Leiden Observatory, Leiden, The Netherlands
We have obtained 170 hours of near-infrared (NIR) Js, H, Ks imaging with VLT/ISAAC of two selected fields: the 5 sq arcmin Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S) representing the deepest groundbased NIR observations to date (and the deepest K-band in any field), and the 30 sq arcmin field around the z=0.83 cluster MS1054-03, yielding the best combination of depth and area. Complemented with HST/WFPC2 imaging, we can select high-redshift galaxies on their restframe optical light, and study their statistical properties and morphologies. We find a new population of red galaxies, spectroscopically confirmed at redshifts greater than 2, which are barely detected in the observers optical and were notably absent in the HDF-North. Their contribution to the stellar mass density is estimated to be substantial. We also find a wide variety of morphologies: some are large in the restframe optical, with morphologies reminiscent of nearby normal spirals. Overall, the results show the necessity of deep NIR imaging to obtain a better census of the high redshift universe. The depth of the current survey allows us to determine the spectral energy distributions of the high redshift galaxies with unprecendented accuracy, which is necessary to obtain a proper understanding of their stellar populations.
Franx Marijn , Forster schreiber Natascha M, Rudnick Gregory , Daddi Emanuele , Moorwood Alan F, Rix Hans-walter , Van dokkum Pieter G, Van der werf Paul , R\"{o}ttgering Huub
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