Measurement of galaxy clustering at Z ∼ 7.2 and the evolution of galaxy bias from 3.8 < Z < 8 in the XDF, goods-s, and goods-n

Abstract

Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) samples observed during reionization (z ≳ 6) with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 are reaching sizes sufficient to characterize their clustering properties. Using a combined catalog from the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field and CANDELS surveys, containing N = 743 LBG candidates at z ≥ 6.5 at a mean redshift of , we detect a clear clustering signal in the angular correlation function (ACF) at ≳ 4σ, corresponding to a real-space correlation length cMpc. The derived galaxy bias is that of dark matter halos of at z = 7.2, and highlights that galaxies below the current detection limit (MAB∼ -17.7) are expected in lower-mass halos (M ∼ 108-1010.5). We compute the..