Merging Signatures in an Offset Lyman Continuum Emitter at Redshift 3.8

Abstract Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters at z > 3 provide critical samples for studying the contribution of galaxies to the ionizing background in the epoch of reionization. We collect a sample of z > 3 LyC emitters, a dominant fraction (∼60%–70%) of which show spatial offsets between LyC emission and the nonionizing continuum. From this sample, especially, we find a case of an offset LyC emitter, CDFS-6664 ( z = 3.797), which shows two components in the high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope images. The exceptionally rich data set of CDFS-6664 enables us to extract the two components across multiple wavelengths and estimate their physical properties. We show that CDFS-6664 is consistent with a major merger system with boosted star formation in both components and that the offset LyC emission is most likely associated with the bluer and younger component in this merging system. Our result offers an example in which the offset can be caused by a merger. Future observations of more offset LyC emitters would elucidate the role that mergers play in the escape of LyC photons.