{
  "abstract": "We detect two high-confidence star-forming sources in the environment of a chemically near-pristine ([Fe/H] $<-3.66~;2σ)$ Damped Ly$α$ system (DLA) using Keck/KCWI. These are found via the hydrogen Ly$α$ emission line at $Δv=-1200$ kms$^{-1}$ (LAE1) and $Δv = -200$ kms$^{-1}$ (LAE2) relative to the DLA redshift ($z_{\\rm abs} = 3.078$) at an impact parameter of $b=66$ physical kpc and $b=137$ physical kpc. We measure Ly$α$ fluxes of $F(\\rm Lyα)_{\\rm LAE1} =4.4\\pm 0.7\\times10^{-18}~\\rm erg\\,s^{-1}\\,cm^{-2}$ and $F(\\rm Lyα)_{\\rm LAE2} =3.8\\pm 0.9\\times10^{-18}~\\rm erg\\,s^{-1}\\,cm^{-2}$. 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 1640 A emission flux of these sources, $F(\\rm He\\,II)<3.8\\times10^{-19}~\\rm erg\\,s^{-1}\\,cm^{-2}~(3σ)$ and $F(\\rm He\\,II) <3.7\\times10^{-19}~\\rm erg\\,s^{-1}\\,cm^{-2}~(3σ)$. The weak and narrow properties of the Ly$α$ 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": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.36042",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Louise Welsh"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ryan Cooke"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michele Fumagalli"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rajeshwari Dutta"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matteo Fossati"
    },
    {
      "name": "Valentina D'Odorico"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eqwg2gd60ba6t.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.36042",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "eqwg2gd60ba6t",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36042",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.36042",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eqwg2gd60ba6t.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:35:50Z",
      "native_id": "2610.36042",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36042"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "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": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:35:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eqwg2gd60ba6t",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1093/mnras/stag2035",
      "pid": "7j8ffwy9tzemm",
      "relation": "published-as",
      "title": "Detection of star formation in a near-pristine pocket of the Universe",
      "venue": "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society"
    }
  ]
}