2023A&A...677A..54Z

We report the identification of Lyman break galaxy (LBG) candidates around the most luminous hot dust-Obscured galaxy (Hot DOG) known, WISE J224607.56-052634.9 (W2246-0526) at z = 4.601, using deep r-, i-, and z-band imaging from the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph South (GMOS-S). We used the surface density of LBGs to probe the megaparsec-scale environment of W2246-0526 to characterize its richness and evolutionary state. We identified LBG candidates in the vicinity of W2246-0526 using the selection criteria developed in the Subaru Deep Field and in the Subaru XMM-Newton Deep Field, slightly modified to account for the difference between the filters used, and we find 37 and 55 LBG candidates, respectively. Matching to the z-band depths of those studies, this corresponds to $ \delta = 5.8^{+2.4}_{-1.9} $ times the surface density of LBGs expected in the field. Interestingly, the Hot DOG itself, as well as a confirmed neighbor, do not satisfy either LBG selection criteria, suggesting we may be missing a large number of companion galaxies. Our analysis shows that we have mostly likely only found those with a higher than average intergalactic medium (IGM) optical depth or moderately high dust obscuration. The number density of LBG candidates is not concentrated around W2246-0526, suggesting an early evolutionary stage for the proto-cluster, that the Hot DOG may not be the most massive galaxy, or that the Hot DOG may be affecting the IGM transparency in its vicinity. The overdensity around W2246-0526 is comparable to overdensities found around other Hot DOGs and is somewhat higher than what is typically found for radio galaxies and luminous quasars at a similar redshift.