Title: Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies at high redshift
Description: This thesis presents studies on Lyα emitting galaxies (LAEs) at high redshift. The main goal of this work is to understand the nature and evolution of LAEs, with the broader aim of gaining insights into galaxy formation and evolution in general. We achieve the stated goal by constraining the stellar populations of LAEs at z ~ 3 - 6 using detailed multiwavelength observations. Using deep Spitzer IRAC imaging, we study the stellar populations of LAEs at z = 5.7 and 6.6. IRAC observations sample the rest-frame optical emission from the z ~ 6 LAEs, thus allowing the stellar masses and star formation histories of the galaxies to be constrained. Interestingly, we find that IRAC-detected LAEs at z ~ 6 can be massive and evolved, unlike typical LAEs at lower redshifts. Extending our work to lower redshift, we study the overall properties of LAEs at z = 3.1 using a large sample of 162 objects. The majority of the LAEs in our sample are young and low-mass galaxies but there is also a significant fraction of older and more massive objects. The fact that Lyα emission can be seen in both young and evolved galaxies has interesting implications for the evolution of LAEs. In a further study, we use a combined sample of 40 spectroscopically selected and 111 photometrically selected objects to constrain the average stellar population of LAEs at z = 5.7. Surprisingly, the z = 5.7 LAEs in our sample appear to be more massive on average than their low-redshift counterparts. Additionally, we demonstrate that at higher redshift LAEs account for a larger fraction of the global stellar mass density and star formation rate density. Our results suggest a possible evolution of LAEs towards higher mass with redshift, potentially due to the increasing prevalence of Lyα emission as a result of the lower overall dust content in high-redshift galaxies.