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M. Im (SIRTF Science Center/Caltech)
HEROs (Hyper Extremely Red Objects) are objects which are very red in NIR colors (J-K \gtrsim 3). They are speculated to be intrinsically red galaxies at z \gtrsim 2 or Lyman-break galaxies at z > 10. We report the discovery of a HERO in the field which includes a known radio galaxy, 53W002, and a possible cluster of galaxies both at z=2.39. The HERO, which we name as HERO J171412+501542, or 53W002-HERO1 for brevity, is visible in the HST NICMOS H-band data and deep K'-band data from Subaru telescope (K' ~q 21.5 mag), but not visible in B, V, I, and J band images (J-K > 4.45, 2-\sigma). Its spectral energy distribution is consistent with that of a dusty starforming or an old galaxy at z ~q 2.4, which may suggest that 53W002-HERO1 is a member of group of galaxies associated with 53W002. Alternatively, the HERO could be at z ~q 12.5, if its red color is due to the redshifted Lyman break. If 53W002-HERO1 is an old galaxy at z ~ 2.4, the implied stellar age is a few Gyrs, meaning that stars in the HERO formed at the reionization epoch of z \gtrsim 10. This research was carried out at the California Institute of Technology under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: myung@ipac.caltech.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.