A Search for Lensed Lyα Emitters within the Early HETDEX Data Set

Abstract

Abstract The Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) is a large-volume spectroscopic survey without preselection of sources, searching ∼540 deg2 for Lyα emitting galaxies (LAEs) at 1.9 < z < 3.5. Taking advantage of such a wide-volume survey, we perform a pilot study using early HETDEX data to search for lensed Lyα emitters (LAEs). After performing a proof of concept using a previously known lensed LAE covered by HETDEX, we perform a search for previously unknown lensed LAEs in the HETDEX spectroscopic sample. We present a catalog of 26 potential LAEs lensed by foreground, red, non-star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 0.4–0.7. We estimate the magnification for each candidate system, finding 12 candidates to be within the strong lensing regime (magnification μ > 2). Follow-up observations of these potential lensed LAEs have the potential to confirm their lensed nature and explore these distant galaxies in more detail.