The Clustering of Faint Galaxies and the Evolution of $\xi$(r)

Abstract

The two-point angular correlation function, $\w$, is constructed from a catalog of 13,000 objects in 24 fields distributed over an area of 4 deg$^2$ and complete to a limit of $R = 23.5$. The amplitude and slope of our correlation function on arcminute scales are in broad agreement with recent CCD results in the literature and decreases with depth. No evidence is found for a flattening of the slope of the correlation function away from $\delta \sim 0.8$. Using the redshift distribution from the recent I-band selected Canada-France Redshift Survey, the observed $w(\theta)$ implies a value of the clustering length $r_0 = 1.86 \pm 0.43 \h$ Mpc ($q_0 = 0.5$) at $z = 0.48$. This is generally consistent with the possible rates of clustering evolution expected for optically selected galaxies. We finally discuss the implications of our results for the nature of the faint galaxy population.