Star Formation in Galaxies between 0.7 < z < 1.8

Abstract

We present an analysis of the star formation rate in galaxies between 0.7<z<1.8 using Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph (NICMOS) grism spectral observations. We detect 163 galaxies in an area of ~4.4 square arcminutes, 37 of which show possible H-alpha emission. We extend the observed H-alpha luminosity function (LF) in this redshift range to luminosities a factor of two fainter than earlier work, and are consistent in the region of overlap. Using the H-alpha LF, we estimate a star formation rate (SFR) density in this redshift range of 0.166 M_sun/yr/Mpc^3 (H0=75 km/s/Mpc), consistent with other estimates based on emission lines, and supporting the order of magnitude increase in SFR density between z=0 and z=1. Our measurement of SFR density is a factor of ~2-3 greater than that estimated from UV data, comparable to the factor observed locally, implying little evolution in the relative extinctions between UV and H-alpha out to z~1.3.