Lyman alpha emitter

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Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) are a type of distant galaxy that emits Lyman alpha radiation. They are extremely distant and becauce of the finite travel time of light they are glimpses of the past history of the universe. They are thought to be the progenitors of most modern Milky Way like galaxies. These galaxies can be found nowadays rather easily in narrow-band searches by an excess of their narrow-band flux at a wavelength which may be interpreted as their redshift

$z= {{\lambda } \over {1215.67}}-1$ . Where z is the redshift,

λ

is the observed wavelength, and 1215.67 is the wavelength in Angstroms of Lyman alpha emission. The Lyman alpha line is thought to be caused by an ongoing outburst of star-formation. Experimental observations of the redshift of LAEs are important in cosmology because they trace dark matter halos and subsequently the evolution of matter distribution in the universe.