The Luminosity Function and Mean Galaxy Density from the ESP galaxy Redshift Survey

Abstract

We summarise the main results obtained over the last two years by the ESO Slice Project (ESP) redshift survey, concerning the luminosity function and mean density of galaxies, and their implications for the galaxy number counts at bright magnitudes. The bj-band luminosity function is characterised by a steep faint-end, which raises above a "global" Schechter fit for M_bj > -17 + 5log(h) and is well described by a power-law with slope ~ -1.6. This steepening is mostly produced by galaxies with emission lines, with a clear trend for galaxies with larger [OII] equivalent widths to show a steeper faint end (and a fainter M*). The normalization of the luminosity function is about a factor of 1.6 higher that that from the Stromlo-APM survey. We find that, in fact, the mean density can be seen to increase out to ~140/h Mpc. If we take this into account when computing the expected cumulative number counts from the observed luminosity function, we are able to reproduce the observed steep counts at bright (bj<17) magnitudes very accurately.