Giant Ly-alpha nebulae in the high redshift (z>2) Universe
Abstract
Description
High redshift radio galaxies (z>2) are believed to be progenitors of the giant ellipticals of today. They are often associated with giant Ly-alpha nebulae (sometimes >100 kpc), which have been for more than two decades valuable sources of information about the evolutionary status of the host galaxy and its chemical enrichment and star formation histories.
I present in this paper a summary of the most relevant results about the giant nebulae obtained in the last ~10 years and the implications on our understanding of the early phases of evolution of massive elliptical galaxies.
Presented at the workshop on The Fate of the Gas in Galaxies, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands, July 2006. To appear in New Astronomy Reviews; 7 pages, 7 figures
Presented at the workshop on The Fate of the Gas in Galaxies, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands, July 2006. To appear in New Astronomy Reviews; 7 pages, 7 figures