The H-alpha Luminosity Function and Star Formation Rate Volume Density at z=0.8 from the NEWFIRM H-alpha Survey

Understand

[Abridged] We present new measurements of the H-alpha luminosity function (LF) and SFR volume density for galaxies at z~0.8.

• Our analysis is based on 1.18$\mu$m narrowband data from the NEWFIRM H-alpha Survey, a comprehensive program designed to capture deep samples of intermediate redshift emission-line galaxies using narrowband imaging in the near-infrared.
• The combination of depth ($\approx1.9\times10^{-17}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ in H-alpha at 3$\sigma$) and areal coverage (0.82 deg$^2$) complements other recent H-alpha studies at similar redshifts, and enables us to minimize the impact of cosmic variance and place robust constraints on the shape of the LF.
• The present sample contains 818 NB118 excess objects, 394 of which are selected as H-alpha emitters.