New observations of z ∼ 7 galaxies: Evidence for a patchy reionization

Abstract

We present new results from our search for z ∼ 7 galaxies from deep spectroscopic observations of candidate z dropouts in the CANDELS fields. Despite the extremely low flux limits achieved by our sensitive observations, only two galaxies have robust redshift identifications, one from its Lyα emission line at z = 6.65, the other from its Lyman break, i.e., the continuum discontinuity at the Lyα wavelength consistent with a redshift of 6.42 but with no emission line. In addition, for 23 galaxies we present deep limits in the Lyα equivalent width derived from the nondetections in ultradeep observations. Using this new data as well as previous samples, we assemble a total of 68 candidate z ∼ 7 galaxies with deep spectroscopic observations, of which 12 have a line detection. With this much enlarged sample we can place solid constraints on the declining fraction of Lyα emission in z ∼ 7 Lyman-break galaxies compared to z ∼ 6, both for bright and faint galaxies. Applying a simple analytical model, we show that the present data favor a patchy reionization process rather than a smooth one.