The SUBARU Deep Field Project: Lymanα Emitters at a Redshift of 6.6

We present new results of a deep optical imaging survey using a narrow band filter (NB921) centered at λ = 9196 u A together with B, V, R, i � ,a ndzbroadband filters in the sky area of the Subaru Deep Field, which has been promoted as one of legacy programs of the 8.2m Subaru Telescope. We obtained a photometric sample of 58 Ly α emitter candidates at z ≈ 6.5-6.6 among ∼ 180 strong NB921-excess (z � −NB921 > 1.0) objects together with a color criterion of i � −z � > 1.3. We then obtained optical spectra of 20 objects in our NB921-excess sample, and identified at least nine Ly α emitters at z ∼ 6.5-6.6, including the two emitters reported by Kodaira et al. (2003, PASJ, 55, L17). Since our Ly α-emitter candidates are free from strong amplification of gravitational lensing, we are able to discuss their observational properties from a statistical point of view. Based on these new results, we obtained a lower limit of the star-formation rate density of ρSFR � 5.7 ×10 −4 h0.7 Myr −1 Mpc −3 at z ≈ 6.6, being