{
  "abstract": "We detect two high-confidence star-forming sources in the environment of a chemically near-pristine ([Fe/H] <−3.66 ; 2σ) Damped Lyα system (DLA) using Keck/KCWI. These are found via the hydrogen Lyα emission line at Δv = −1200 km s−1 (LAE1) and Δv = −200 km s−1 (LAE2) relative to the DLA redshift (zabs = 3.078) at an impact parameter of b = 66 physical kpc and b = 137 physical kpc. We measure Lyα fluxes of $F(\\rm Ly\\alpha )_{\\rm LAE1} =4.4\\pm 0.7\\times 10^{-18}~\\rm erg\\, s^{-1}\\, cm^{-2}$ and $F(\\rm Ly\\alpha )_{\\rm LAE2} =3.8\\pm 0.9\\times 10^{-18}~\\rm erg\\, s^{-1}\\, cm^{-2}$. This marks the first detection of star formation in the environment of a chemically near-pristine DLA. We use red channel Keck/KCRM data to place limits on the associated He ii 1640Å emission flux of these sources, $F(\\rm He\\textsc {ii}) <3.8\\times 10^{-19}~\\rm erg\\, s^{-1}\\, cm^{-2}~(3\\sigma )$ and $F(\\rm He\\textsc {ii}) <3.7\\times 10^{-19}~\\rm erg\\, s^{-1}\\, cm^{-2}~(3\\sigma )$. The weak and narrow properties of the Lyα emission, combined with the inferred position on the mass-metallicity relation, suggest a metal-paucity of these galaxies. Future rest-frame optical observations are required to pin down the metallicity of LAE1 and LAE2 and test if chemically near-pristine DLAs can be used as a signpost to search for primitive, metal-poor galaxies 2 Gyrs after the Big Bang.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE ,",
    "INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste , via G. B. Tiepolo 11, I-34143 Trieste ,",
    "Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca Dipartimento di Fisica G. Occhialini, , Piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano ,",
    "IUCAA , Postbag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411007, Maharashtra ,",
    "INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera , Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, via E. Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Louise Welsh",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3174-7054"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ryan Cooke",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7653-5827"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Michele Fumagalli",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6676-3842"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Rajeshwari Dutta"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Matteo Fossati",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9043-8764"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Valentina D’Odorico"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7j8ffwy9tzemm.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/mnras/stag2035",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "7j8ffwy9tzemm",
  "issns": [
    "0035-8711",
    "1365-2966"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2035/8997903",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223441544",
  "pdf_url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2035/72481606/stag2035.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-24",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press (OUP)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7j8ffwy9tzemm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.1093/mnras/stag2035",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2035/8997903"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Detection of star formation in a near-pristine pocket of the Universe",
  "title_text": "Detection of star formation in a near-pristine pocket of the Universe",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7j8ffwy9tzemm",
  "venue": "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.36042",
      "pid": "eqwg2gd60ba6t",
      "relation": "preprint",
      "title": "Detection of star formation in a near-pristine pocket of the Universe",
      "venue": "arXiv"
    }
  ]
}