The Star-Forming Molecular Gas in High Redshift Submillimeter Galaxies
Desika Narayanan, Thomas J. Cox, Christopher Hayward, Joshua D. Younger, Lars Hernquist
备注:
MNRAS Aceepted; 20 pages, 13 Figures. Replaced version after minor revisions from referee. Additional details regarding radiative transfer provided. For full resolution manuscript, see http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~dnarayan/SMG_CO.pdf
We present a model for the CO molecular line emission from high redshift Submillimeter Galaxies (SMGs). By combining hydrodynamic simulations of gas rich galaxy mergers with the polychromatic radiative transfer code, Sunrise, and the 3D non-LTE molecular line radiative transfer code, Turtlebeach, we show that if SMGs are typically a transient phase of major mergers, their observed compact CO spatial extents, broad line widths, and high excitation conditions (CO SED) are naturally explained. In this sense, SMGs can be understood as scaled-up analogs to local ULIRGs. We utilize these models to investigate the usage of CO as an indicator of physical conditions. We find that care must be taken when applying standard techniques. The usage of CO line widths as a dynamical mass estimator from SMGs can possibly overestimate the true enclosed mass by a factor ~1.5-2. At the same time, assumptions of line ratios of unity from CO J=3-2 (and higher lying lines) to CO (J=1-0) will oftentimes lead to underestimates of the inferred gas mass. We provide tests for these models by outlining predictions for experiments which are imminently feasible with the current generation of bolometer arrays and radio-wave spectrometers.
We report the redshift of a distant, highly obscured submm galaxy (SMG), based entirely on the detection of its CO line emission. We have used the newly commissioned Eight-MIxer Receiver (EMIR) at the IRAM 30m telescope, with its 8 GHz of instantaneous dual-polarization bandwidth, to search the 3-mm atmospheric window for CO emission from SMMJ14009+0252, a bright SMG detected in the SCUBA Lens Survey. A detection of the CO(3--2) line in the 3-mm window was confirmed via observations of CO(5--4) in the 2-mm window. Both lines constrain the redshift of SMMJ14009+0252 to z=2.9344, with high preci…
We explore a technique for identifying the highest redshift (z>4) sources in Herschel/SPIRE and BLAST submillimeter surveys by localizing the position of the far-infrared dust peak. Just as Spitzer/IRAC was used to identify stellar `bump' sources, the far-IR peak is also a redshift indicator; although, the latter also depends on the average dust temperature. We demonstrate the wide range of allowable redshifts for a reasonable range of dust temperatures and show that it is impossible to constraint the redshift of individual objects using solely the position of the far-IR peak. By fitting spect…
We use the photometric redshift method of Chakrabarti & McKee (2008) to infer photometric redshifts of submillimeter galaxies with far-IR (FIR) $\it{Herschel}$ data obtained as part of the PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) program. For the sample with spectroscopic redshifts, we demonstrate the validity of this method over a large range of redshifts ($ 4 \ga z \ga 0.3$) and luminosities, finding an average accuracy in $(1+z_{\rm phot})/(1+z_{\rm spec})$ of 10%. Thus, this method is more accurate than other FIR photometric redshift methods. This method is different from typical FIR photometric meth…
We obtained SMA observations of eight faint (intrinsic 850 $μ$m fluxes $<$ 2 mJy) submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) discovered in SCUBA images of the massive lensing cluster fields A370, A2390, and A1689 and detected five. In total, we obtain 5 SMA detections, all of which have de-lensed fluxes $<$1 mJy with estimated total infrared luminosities 10$^{10}-10^{12}$ $L_\odot$, comparable to luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) and normal star-forming galaxies. Based on the latest number counts, these galaxies contribute $\sim$70% of the 850 $μ$m extragalactic background light and represent the dominant…
We present the first photometric redshift distribution for a large unbiased sample of 870um selected submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) with robust identifications based on observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). In our analysis we consider 96 SMGs in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, 77 of which have 4-19 band, optical-near-infrared, photometry. We model the Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) for these 77 SMGs, deriving a median photometric redshift of z=2.3+/-0.1. The remaining 19 SMGs have insufficient optical or near-infrared photometry to derive photometric redshift…
Submillimeter excess emission has been reported at 500 microns in a handful of local galaxies, and previous studies suggest that it could be correlated with metal abundance. We investigate the presence of an excess submillimeter emission at 500 microns for a sample of 20 galaxies from the Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: a Far Infrared Survey with Herschel (KINGFISH) that span a range of morphologies and metallicities (12+log(O/H)=7.8-8.7). We probe the far-infrared (IR) emission using images from the Spitzer Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory in the wavelength range 24-500 microns…
We report a highly significant Submillimeter Array (SMA) detection of the prototypical submillimeter source HDF 850.1, which is the brightest submillimeter source in the Hubble Deep Field-North proper. The detection yields an extremely precise position of RA(2000)=12:36:51.99 and Dec(2000)=+62:12:25.83 with a 1-sigma positional uncertainty of 0.17 arcsec. The position is consistent with the location of a millimeter wavelength interferometric detection and with the locations of weak VLA detections at 1.4 and 8.4 GHz, but it is not consistent with any previous optical/near-infrared identificatio…
Using the Herschel ATLAS science demonstration phase data crossidentified with SDSS DR7 spectra, we select 297 galaxies with F250μm > 5σ. The sample galaxies are classified into five morphological types, and more than 40% of the galaxies are peculiar/compact galaxies. The peculiar galaxies show higher far-infrared/submillimeter luminosity-to-mass ratios than the other types. We perform and analyze the correlations of far-infrared/submillimeter and Hα luminosities for different morphological types and different spectral types. The Spearman rank coefficient decreases and the scatter increases wi…
We present results from a continuing interferometric survey of high-redshift submillimeter galaxies with the Submillimeter Array, including high-resolution (beam size ~2 arcsec) imaging of eight additional AzTEC 1.1mm selected sources in the COSMOS Field, for which we obtain six reliable (peak S/N>5 or peak S/N>4 with multiwavelength counterparts within the beam) and two moderate significance (peak S/N>4) detections. When combined with previous detections, this yields an unbiased sample of millimeter-selected SMGs with complete interferometric followup. With this sample in hand, we (1) empiric…
We report on interferometric observations at 1.3 mm at 2"-3" resolution using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). We identify multi-wavelength counterparts of three submillimeter galaxies (SMGs; F(1mm)>5.5 mJy) in the COSMOS field, initially detected with MAMBO and AzTEC bolometers at low, ~10"-30", resolution. All three sources -- AzTEC/C1, Cosbo-3 and Cosbo-8 -- are identified to coincide with positions of 20 cm radio sources. Cosbo-3, however, is not associated with the most likely radio counterpart, closest to the MAMBO source position, but that further aw…
We carried out extremely sensitive Submillimeter Array (SMA) 340 GHz (860 micron) continuum imaging of a complete sample of SCUBA 850 micron sources (>4 sigma) with fluxes >3 mJy in the GOODS-N. Using these data and new SCUBA-2 data, we do not detect 4 of the 16 SCUBA sources, and we rule out the original SCUBA fluxes at the 4 sigma level. Three more resolve into multiple fainter SMA galaxies, suggesting that our understanding of the most luminous high-redshift dusty galaxies may not be as reliable as we thought. 10 of the 16 independent SMA sources have spectroscopic redshifts (optical/infrar…
We present a search for Herschel-PACS counterparts of dust-obscured, high-redshift objects previously selected at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North field. We detect 22 of 56 submillimeter galaxies (39%) with a SNR of >=3 at 100 micron down to 3.0 mJy, and/or at 160 micron down to 5.7 mJy. The fraction of SMGs seen at 160 micron is higher than that at 100 micron. About 50% of radio-identified SMGs are associated with PACS sources. We find a trend between the SCUBA/PACS flux ratio and redshift, suggesting that these flux ratios could be…
We present an analytical model which reproduces measured galaxy number counts from surveys in the wavelength range of 500 micron to 2 mm. The model involves a single high-redshift galaxy population with a Schechter luminosity function which has been gravitationally lensed by galaxy clusters in the mass range 10^13 to 10^15 Msun. This simple model reproduces both the low flux and the high flux end of the number counts reported by the BLAST, SCUBA, AzTEC and the SPT surveys. In particular, our model accounts for the most luminous galaxies detected by SPT as the result of high magnifications by g…
We describe a model for the formation of \zsim 2 Submillimeter Galaxies (SMGs) which simultaneously accounts for both average and bright SMGs while providing a reasonable match to their mean observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs). By coupling hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy mergers with the high resolution 3D polychromatic radiative transfer code Sunrise, we find that a mass sequence of merger models which use observational constraints as physical input naturally yield objects which exhibit black hole, bulge, and H2 gas masses similar to those observed in SMGs. The dominant drivers b…
We present high-resolution interferometric Submillimeter Array (SMA) imaging at 890 microns (~2" resolution) of two millimeter selected galaxies -- MMJ100015+021549 and MMJ100047+021021 -- discovered with the Max-Planck Millimeter Bolometer (MAMBO) on the IRAM 30 m telescope and also detected with Bolocam on the CSO, in the COSMOS field. The first source is significantly detected at the ~11 sigma level, while the second source is tentatively detected at the ~4 sigma level, leading to a positional accuracy of ~0.2-0.3". MM100015+021549 is identified with a faint radio and K-band source. MMJ1000…
We carried out extremely sensitive Submillimeter Array (SMA) 340 GHz continuum imaging on two submillimeter galaxies (SMGs): GOODS 850-11 and GOODS 850-13. The observations reach sub-mJy rms sensitivities and, interestingly, resolve both sources into multiple, physically unrelated SMGs. GOODS 850-11 is resolved into two sources at different redshifts. GOODS 850-13 is resolved into three sources, two with different spectroscopic redshifts and one only with a photometric redshift. All the SMA sources have fluxes in the 3-5 mJy range and all are detected at 1.4 GHz. Three of them are detected by …
We use the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope's SCUBA-2 camera to image a 400 arcmin^2 area surrounding the GOODS-N field. The 850 micron rms noise ranges from a value of 0.49 mJy in the central region to 3.5 mJy at the outside edge. From these data, we construct an 850 micron source catalog to 2 mJy containing 49 sources detected above the 4-sigma level. We use an ultradeep (11.5 uJy at 5-sigma) 1.4 GHz image obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array together with observations made with the Submillimeter Array to identify counterparts to the submillimeter galaxies. For most cases of multip…
Herschel and Planck are surveying the sky at unprecedented angular scales and sensitivities over large areas. But both experiments are limited by source confusion in the submillimeter. The high confusion noise in particular restricts the study of the clustering properties of the sources that dominate the cosmic infrared background. At these wavelengths, it is more appropriate to consider the statistics of the unresolved component. In particular, high clustering will contribute in excess of Poisson noise in the power spectra of CIB anisotropies. These power spectra contain contributions from so…
The Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) has uncovered a population of strongly-lensed submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). The Zpectrometer instrument on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) was used to measure the redshifts and constrain the masses of the cold molecular gas reservoirs for two candidate high-redshift lensed sources. We derive CO(1-0) redshifts of z=3.042+/-0.001 and z=2.625+/-0.001, and measure molecular gas masses of (1--3)x10^{10}Msun, corrected for lens amplification and assuming a conversion factor of alhpa=0.8 Msun(K km/s pc^2)^{-1}. We find typical L(IR)/L'(…
A two-parameter semi-empirical model is presented for the spectral energy distributions of galaxies with contributions to their infrared-submillimeter-radio emission from both star formation and accretion disk-powered activity. This model builds upon a previous one-parameter family of models for star-forming galaxies, and includes an update to the mid-infrared emission using an average template obtained from Spitzer Space Telescope observations of normal galaxies. Star-forming/AGN diagnostics based on PAH equivalent widths and broadband infrared colors are presented, and example mid-infrared A…
We report the detection of a CO emission line from the submillimiter galaxy (SMG) GN10 in the GOODS-N field. GN10 lacks any counterpart in extremely deep optical and near-IR imaging obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based facilities. This is a prototypical case of a source that is extremely obscured by dust, for which it is practically impossible to derive a spectroscopic redshift in the optical/near-IR. Under the hypothesis that GN10 is part of a proto-cluster structure previously identified at z~4.05 in the same field, we searched for CO[4-3] at 91.4 GHz with the IRAM Plate…
We present the identification of a bright submm source, SMMJ163555.5+661300, detected in the lensing cluster Abell2218, for which we have accurately determined the position using observations from the Submillimeter Array (SMA). The identified optical counterpart has a spectroscopic redshift of z=4.044+-0.001 if we attribute the single emission line detected at lambda=6140AA to Lyman-alpha. This redshift identification is in good agreement with the optical/near-infrared photometric redshift as well as the submm flux ratio S_450/S_850~1.6, the radio-submm flux ratio S_1.4/S_850 < 0.004, and the …
We present the results from a 1.1 mm imaging survey of the SSA22 field, known for having an overdensity of z=3.1 Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs), taken with the AzTEC camera on the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE). We imaged a 950 arcmin$^2$ field down to a 1 sigma sensitivity of 0.7-1.3 mJy/beam to find 125 submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) with a signal to noise ratio >= 3.5. Counterpart identification using radio and near/mid-infrared data was performed and one or more counterpart candidates were found for 59 SMGs. Photometric redshifts based on optical to near-infrared im…
We present new IRAM PdBI 1.3mm continuum observations at ~1.5" resolution of 28 SMGs previously discovered with the 870um bolometer LABOCA at APEX within the central 0.7deg2 of the COSMOS field. 19 out of the 28 LABOCA sources were detected with the PdBI at a >~3sigma level of ~1.4mJy/b. A combined analysis of this new sample with existing interferometrically identified SMGs in the COSMOS field yields the following results: 1) >~15%, and possibly up to ~40% of single-dish detected SMGs consist of multiple sources, 2) statistical identifications of multi-wavelength counterparts to the single-di…
We present structural parameters and morphological properties of faint 450-um selected submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) from the JCMT Large Program, STUDIES, in the COSMOS-CANDELS region. Their properties are compared to an 850um selected and a matched star-forming samples. We investigate stellar structures of 169 faint 450-um sources (S450=2.8-29.6mJy; S/N>4) at z<3 using HST near-infrared observations. Based on our spectral energy distribution fitting, half of such faint SMGs (LIR=10^11.65+-0.98Lsun) lie above the star-formation rate (SFR)/stellar mass plane. The size-mass relation shows that t…
We present radiative transfer models for submillimeter galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts and mid-infrared spectroscopy from Spitzer/IRS and analyze available Spitzer/MIPS 24, 70 and 160mu data. We use two types of starburst models, a cirrus model and a model for the emission of an AGN torus in order to investigate the nature of these objects. We find that for three of the objects (25%) cirrus emission alone can account for the mid-infrared spectrum and the MIPS and submillimeter data. For the remaining objects we find that we need a combination of starburst and cirrus in order to fit simul…
We predict the abundance of giant gravitational arcs produced by submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) lensed by foreground galaxy clusters, both at radio and submm wavelengths. The galaxy cluster population is modeled in a realistic way with the use of semi-analytic merger trees, while the density profiles of individual deflectors take into account ellipticity and substructures. The adopted typical size of the radio and submm emitting regions of SMGs is based on current radio/CO observations and the FIR-radio correlation. The source redshift distribution has been modeled using three different functio…
Clusters of galaxies are effective gravitational lenses able to magnify background galaxies and making it possible to probe the fainter part of the galaxy population. Submillimeter galaxies, which are believed to be star-forming galaxies at typical redshifts of 2 to 3, are a major contaminant to the extended Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) signal of galaxy clusters. For a proper quantification of the SZ signal the contribution of submillimeter galaxies needs to be quantified. The aims of this study are to identify submillimeter sources in the field of the Bullet Cluster (1E 0657-56), a massive cluster …
We present the first integral-field spectroscopic observations of high-redshift submillimeter-selected galaxies (SMGs) using Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGS-AO). We target H-alpha emission of three SMGs at redshifts z~1.4-2.4 with the OH-Suppressing Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (OSIRIS) on Keck. The spatially-resolved spectroscopy of these galaxies reveals unresolved broad H-alpha line regions (FWHM>1000 km/s) likely associated with an AGN and regions of diffuse star formation traced by narrow-line H-alpha emission (FWHM<500 km/s) dominated by multiple Halpha-bright stellar clumps, each…
In order to understand galaxy evolution through cosmic times it is critical to derive the properties of the molecular gas content of galaxies, i.e. the material out of which stars ultimately form. The last decade has seen rapid progress in this area, with the detection of massive molecular gas reservoirs at high redshifts in submillimeter-selected galaxies and quasars. In the latter case, molecular gas reservoirs have been quantified out to redshifts z>6, i.e. towards the end of cosmic reionization when the universe was less than one Gyr old. The recent discovery of molecular gas in more norma…
We present the radio and X-ray properties of 1.2 mm MAMBO source candidates in a 1600 sq. arcmin field centered on the Abell 2125 galaxy cluster at z=0.247. The brightest, non-synchrotron mm source candidate in the field has a photometric redshift, z = 3.93^+1.11_-0.80, and is not detected in a 31 ks Chandra X-ray exposure. These findings are consistent with this object being an extremely dusty and luminous starburst galaxy at high-redshift, possibly the most luminous yet identified in any blank-field mm survey. The deep 1.4 GHz VLA imaging identifies counterparts for 83% of the 29 mm source c…
We present new observations from Z-Spec, a broadband 185-305 GHz spectrometer, of five sub-millimeter bright lensed sources selected from the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) science demonstration phase (SDP) catalog. We construct a redshift finding algorithm using combinations of the signal-to-noise of all the lines falling in the Z-Spec bandpass to determine redshifts with high confidence, even in cases where the signal-to-noise in individual lines is low. We measure the dust continuum in all sources and secure CO redshifts for four out of five (z~1.5-3). In one s…
We present a detailed comparison of the CO(3-2) emitting molecular gas between a local sample of luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs) and a high redshift sample that comprises submm selected galaxies (SMGs), quasars, and Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs). The U/LIRG sample consists of our recent CO(3-2) survey using the Submillimeter Array while the CO(3-2) data for the high redshift population are obtained from the literature. We find that the L(CO(3-2)) and L(FIR) relation is correlated over five orders of magnitude, which suggests that the molecular gas traced in CO(3-2) emission is a robust trac…
We used the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) to study the mid-IR properties and investigate the energetics of 24 Submillimeter Galaxies (SMGs). This is the largest sample of SMGs observed with Spitzer IRS and covers the full extent of properties of the radio-identified population of SMGs in the redshift range of z ~ 0.65-3.2. We observe broad emission features from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in more than 80% of our sample. We find that the median mid-IR spectrum is well described by a starburst component with an additional power law, Fnu ~ nu^-2, likely representing a < 32% AGN…
Aims. The main goal of this paper is to derive observational constraints on the halo mass fuction (HMF) by performing a tomographic analysis of the magnification bias signal on a sample of background submillimeter galaxies. The results can then be compared with those from a non-tomographic study. Methods. We measure the cross-correlation function between a sample of foreground GAMA galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the range $0.1 < z < 0.8$ (and divided up into four bins) and a sample of background submillimeter galaxies from H-ATLAS with photometric redshifts in the range $1.2 < z < 4.…
We derive physical properties of 10 submillimeter galaxies located in the CANDELS coverage of the GOODS-S field. The galaxies were first identified as submillimeter sources with the LABOCA bolometer and subsequently targeted for 870um continuum observation with ALMA. The high angular resolution of the ALMA imaging allows secure counterparts to be identified in the CANDELS multiband dataset. The CANDELS data provide deep photometric data from UV through near-infrared wavelengths. Using synthetic spectral energy distributions, we derive photometric redshifts, stellar masses, extinction, ages, an…
We present the average rest-frame spectrum of high-redshift dusty, star-forming galaxies from 250-770GHz. This spectrum was constructed by stacking ALMA 3mm spectra of 22 such sources discovered by the South Pole Telescope and spanning z=2.0-5.7. In addition to multiple bright spectral features of 12CO, [CI], and H2O, we also detect several faint transitions of 13CO, HCN, HNC, HCO+, and CN, and use the observed line strengths to characterize the typical properties of the interstellar medium of these high-redshift starburst galaxies. We find that the 13CO brightness in these objects is comparab…
We study lensing magnification of source galaxies by intervening galaxy groups and clusters using a halo model. Halos are modeled with truncated NFW profiles with ellipticity added to their lensing potential and propagated to observable lensing statistics. We present the formalism to calculate observable effects due to a distribution of halos of different masses at different redshifts along the l ine of sight. We calculate the effects of magnification on the number counts of high-redshift galaxies. Using BLAST survey data for submillimeter galaxies (SMGs), we find that magnification affects th…
We have been undertaking a systematic survey at 850 $μ$m based on a sample of four prototypical $z\sim2-3$ enormous Ly$α$ nebulae (ELANe) as well as their megaparsec-scale (Mpc-scale) environments to study the physical connections between ELANe and their coeval dusty submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). By analysing the SCUBA-2 data with self-consistent Monte Carlo simulations to construct the number counts, here, we report on the overabundance of 850 $μ$m-selected submillimeter sources around all the four ELANe, by a factor of 3.6$\pm$0.6 (weighted average) compared to the blank fields. This sugges…
The nature of galaxies selected at submillimeter wavelengths (SMGs, S_850 > 3 mJy), some of the bolometrically most luminous objects at high redshifts, is still elusive. In particular their star formation histories and source of emission are not accurately constrained. In this paper we introduce a new approach to analyse the SMG data. Namely, we present the first self-consistent UV-to-radio spectral energy distribution fits of 76 SMGs with spectroscopic redshifts using all photometric datapoints from ultraviolet to radio simultaneously. We find that they are highly star-forming (median star fo…
The properties of submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) that are fainter than the confusion limit of blank-field single-dish surveys ($S_{850} \lesssim$ 2 mJy) are poorly constrained. Using a newly developed color selection technique, Optical-Infrared Triple Color (OIRTC), that has been shown to successfully {select} such faint SMGs, we identify a sample of 2938 OIRTC-selected galaxies, dubbed Triple Color Galaxies (TCGs), in the UKIDSS-UDS field. We show that these galaxies have a median 850 $μ$m flux of S$_{850} = 0.96\pm0.04$ mJy (equivalent to a star-formation rate SFR $\sim60-100$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{…
We present multiwavelength identifications for the counterparts of 1088 submillimeter sources detected at 850$μ$m in the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey study of the UKIDSS-UDS field. By utilising an ALMA pilot study on a subset of our bright SCUBA-2 sample as a training set, along with the deep optical-near-infrared data available in this field, we develop a novel technique, Optical-IR Triple Color (OIRTC), using $z-K$, $K-[3.6]$, $[3.6]-[4.5]$ colors to select the candidate submillimeter galaxy (SMG) counterparts. By combining radio identification and the OIRTC technique, we find counterpart…