The MUSE Ultra Deep Field (MUDF). I. Discovery of a group of Ly$alpha$ nebulae associated with a bright $zapprox 3.23$ quasar pair. (arXiv:1903.00483v1 [astro-ph.GA])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lusso_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">E. Lusso</a> (Durham-CEA), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Fumagalli_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Fumagalli</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Fossati_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Fossati</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Mackenzie_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. Mackenzie</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bielby_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. M. Bielby</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Battaia_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">F. Arrigoni Battaia</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Cantalupo_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Cantalupo</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Cooke_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. Cooke</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Cristiani_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Cristiani</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Dayal_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">P. Dayal</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+DOdorico_V/0/1/0/all/0/1">V. D'Odorico</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Haardt_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">F. Haardt</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lofthouse_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">E. Lofthouse</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Morris_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Morris</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Peroux_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">C. Peroux</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Prichard_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">L. Prichard</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Rafelski_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Rafelski</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Simcoe_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. Simcoe</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Swinbank_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Swinbank</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Theuns_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">T. Theuns</a>
We present first results from Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE)
observations at the Very Large Telescope in the MUSE Ultra Deep Field (MUDF), a
$approx 1.2times 1.4$ arcmin$^2$ region for which we are collecting
$approx$200 hours of integral field spectroscopy. The $approx 40$-hour
observation completed to date reveals the presence of a group of three
Ly$alpha$ nebulae associated with a bright quasar pair at $zsimeq3.23$ with
projected separation of $approx 500rm~kpc$. Two of the nebulae are physically
associated with the quasars which are likely powering the Ly$alpha$ emission,
and extend for $gtrsim 100~rm kpc$ at a surface brightness level of $approx
6times 10^{-19}~rm erg~s^{-1}~cm^{-2}~arcsec^{-2}$. A third smaller
($approx$35 kpc) nebula lies at a velocity offset of $approx 1550$ km
s$^{-1}$. Despite their clustered nature, the two large nebulae have properties
similar to those observed in isolated quasars and exhibit no sharp decline in
flux at the current depth, suggesting an even more extended distribution of gas
around the quasars. We interpret the shape and the alignment of the two
brighter nebulae as suggestive of the presence of an extended structure
connecting the two quasar host galaxies, as seen for massive galaxies forming
within gas-rich filaments in cosmological simulations.
We present first results from Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE)
observations at the Very Large Telescope in the MUSE Ultra Deep Field (MUDF), a
$approx 1.2times 1.4$ arcmin$^2$ region for which we are collecting
$approx$200 hours of integral field spectroscopy. The $approx 40$-hour
observation completed to date reveals the presence of a group of three
Ly$alpha$ nebulae associated with a bright quasar pair at $zsimeq3.23$ with
projected separation of $approx 500rm~kpc$. Two of the nebulae are physically
associated with the quasars which are likely powering the Ly$alpha$ emission,
and extend for $gtrsim 100~rm kpc$ at a surface brightness level of $approx
6times 10^{-19}~rm erg~s^{-1}~cm^{-2}~arcsec^{-2}$. A third smaller
($approx$35 kpc) nebula lies at a velocity offset of $approx 1550$ km
s$^{-1}$. Despite their clustered nature, the two large nebulae have properties
similar to those observed in isolated quasars and exhibit no sharp decline in
flux at the current depth, suggesting an even more extended distribution of gas
around the quasars. We interpret the shape and the alignment of the two
brighter nebulae as suggestive of the presence of an extended structure
connecting the two quasar host galaxies, as seen for massive galaxies forming
within gas-rich filaments in cosmological simulations.
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