Abstract

Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) are important tracers for star-formation, reionization, environment and large-scale structures in the distant universe. To date, most studies at redshift 2 < z  < 3 have focused on low-to-intermediate mass LAEs and little is known about massive (Mstar >5 x 10^10 Msun) LAEs that can only be identified in large-area surveys. In this project, we leverage the strength of the large-area (24 deg^2) SHELA field, its 5 deep photometric surveys, and the spectroscopic data the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) to present the first study ofmassive (Mstar >5 x 10^10 Msun) LAES at 1.9 < z <3.0 identified by HETDEXand to perform a relative comparison of the galaxy properties of massive LAEs and Non-LAEs at this epoch via SED-fitting with BAGPIPES. We present the first results to-date on the estimated fraction of massive (Mstar >5 x 10^10 Msun) LAEs at this epoch and on how they compare to massive Non-LAEs in terms of star formation rate (SFR), stellar mass, extinction, and other properties. Our study broadens the stellar mass parameter space of LAEs by an order of magnitude and provides important insights on physical models of LAEs and on their use as large-scale environmental tracers.