Large area lyman alpha survey: finding young galaxies at z=4.5

Strong Lyα emission is a signpost of young stars and the absence of dust and thus indicates young galaxies. To find such a population of young galaxies at z=4.5 we started the Large Area Lyman Alpha survey (LALA). This survey achieves an unprecedented combination of volume and sensitivity by using narrow-band filters on a large format (36' × 36') camera on the 4 meter telescope at KPNO. The volume density and star-formation contribution of the Lyα emitters at z=4.5 is comparable to that of Lyman break galaxies. With many candidates and a few spectroscopic confirmations in hand we discuss what the properties of Lyα emitters imply for galaxy and star formation in the early universe.

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