Consequences of a Non-Detection of Forming Galaxies by an Infrared Survey

Abstract

We present the results of a narrowband search for forming galaxies at high redshifts. Given the coverage of 276 square minutes of arc, this is the most extended search for extragalactic emission line objects at near infrared wavelengths. Despite of flux limits down to 1.4E-16 erg cm-2 sec-1 and of a total comoving volume surveyed of 1.4E5 Mpc3 (for a cosmolgy with h=0.5 and q_0=0.5), no such population was detected. We show how this null detection can be used to derive upper limits to a) the comoving volume density of this population and b) to the metal production density at redshift between 1 and 4.

4 pages including 2 postscript figures; LaTex with hx37_latex.sty; contributed talk to the 37th Herstmonceux conference "HST and the High Redshift Universe", Cambridge UK, 1-5 July 1996