We present deep and high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope NIC2 F160W imaging at 1.6 µm of six z \sim 2 star-forming galaxies with existing near-infrared integral field spectroscopy from SINFONI at the Very Large Telescope .
The unique combination of rest-frame optical imaging and nebular emission-line maps provides simultaneous insight into morphologies and dynamical properties .
The overall rest-frame optical emission of the galaxies is characterized by shallow profiles in general ( Sérsic index n < 1 ) , with median effective radii of R _ { e } \sim 5 ~ { } { kpc } .
The morphologies are significantly clumpy and irregular , which we quantify through a non-parametric morphological approach , estimating the Gini ( G ) , Multiplicity ( \Psi ) , and M _ { 20 } coefficients .
The estimated strength of the rest-frame optical emission lines in the F160W bandpass indicates that the observed structure is not dominated by the morphology of line-emitting gas , and must reflect the underlying stellar mass distribution of the galaxies .
The sizes and structural parameters in the rest-frame optical continuum and H \alpha emission reveal no significant differences , suggesting similar global distributions of the on-going star formation and more evolved stellar population .
While no strong correlations are observed between stellar population parameters and morphology within the NIC2/SINFONI sample itself , a consideration of the sample in the context of a broader range of z \sim 2 galaxy types ( K -selected quiescent , AGN , and star-forming ; 24 µm-selected dusty , infrared-luminous ) indicates that these galaxies probe the high specific star formation rate and low stellar mass surface density part of the massive z \sim 2 galaxy population , with correspondingly large effective radii , low Sérsic indices , low G , and high \Psi and M _ { 20 } .
The combined NIC2 and SINFONI dataset yields insights of unprecedented detail into the nature of mass accretion at high redshift .