Combining high-z galaxy luminosity functions with Bayesian evidence

Understand

Galaxy formation during the first billion years of our Universe remains a challenging problem at the forefront of astrophysical cosmology.

• Although these $z \geq 6$ galaxies are likely responsible for the last major phase change of our Universe, the epoch of reionization (EoR), detailed studies are possible only for relatively rare, bright objects.
• Characterizing the fainter galaxies which are more representative of the population as a whole is currently done mainly through their non-ionizing UV luminosity function (LF).
• Observing the faint end of the UV LFs is nevertheless challenging, and current estimates can differ by orders of magnitude.