The Redshift Distribution and Luminosity Functions of Galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field

Abstract

Photometric redshifts have been determined for the galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field. The resulting redshift distribution shows two peaks: one at z~0.6 and one at z~2.2. Luminosity functions derived from the redshifts show strong luminosity evolution as a function of redshift. This evolution is consistent with the Babul & Rees (1992) scenario wherein massive galaxies form stars at high redshift while star formation in dwarf galaxies is delayed until after z=1.