We present new measurements of the cosmic cold molecular gas evolution out to redshift 6 based on systematic mining of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) public archive in the ...COSMOS deep field (A3COSMOS). Our A3COSMOS data set contains ∼700 galaxies (0.3 z 6) with high-confidence ALMA detections in the (sub)millimeter continuum and multiwavelength spectral energy distributions. Multiple gas mass calibration methods are compared, and biases in band conversions (from observed ALMA wavelength to rest-frame Rayleigh-Jeans tail continuum) have been tested. Combining our A3COSMOS sample with ∼1000 CO-observed galaxies at 0 z 4 (75% at z < 0.1), we parameterize galaxies' molecular gas depletion time ( ) and molecular gas to stellar mass ratio ( ) each as a function of the stellar mass ( ), offset from the star-forming main sequence ( ) and cosmic age (or redshift). Our proposed functional form provides a statistically better fit to current data (than functional forms in the literature) and implies a "downsizing" effect (i.e., more-massive galaxies evolve earlier than less-massive ones) and "mass quenching" (gas consumption slows down with cosmic time for massive galaxies but speeds up for low-mass ones). Adopting galaxy stellar mass functions and applying our function for gas mass calculation, we for the first time infer the cosmic cold molecular gas density evolution out to redshift 6 and find agreement with CO blind surveys as well as semianalytic modeling. These together provide a coherent picture of cold molecular gas, star formation rate, and stellar mass evolution in galaxies across cosmic time.
Abstract
The Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey (REBELS) is a cycle-7 ALMA Large Program (LP) that is identifying and performing a first characterization of many of the most luminous ...star-forming galaxies known in the
z
> 6.5 universe. REBELS is providing this probe by systematically scanning 40 of the brightest UV-selected galaxies identified over a 7 deg
2
area for bright C
ii
158
μ
m
and O
iii
88
μ
m
lines and dust-continuum emission. Selection of the 40 REBELS targets was done by combining our own and other photometric selections, each of which is subject to extensive vetting using three completely independent sets of photometry and template-fitting codes. Building on the observational strategy deployed in two pilot programs, we are increasing the number of massive interstellar medium (ISM) reservoirs known at
z
> 6.5 by ∼4–5× to >30. In this manuscript, we motivate the observational strategy deployed in the REBELS program and present initial results. Based on the first-year observations, 18 highly significant ≥ 7
σ
C
ii
158
μ
m
lines have already been discovered, the bulk of which (13/18) also show ≥3.3
σ
dust-continuum emission. These newly discovered lines more than triple the number of bright ISM-cooling lines known in the
z
> 6.5 universe, such that the number of ALMA-derived redshifts at
z
> 6.5 rival Ly
α
discoveries. An analysis of the completeness of our search results versus star formation rate (SFR) suggests an ∼79% efficiency in scanning for C
ii
158
μ
m
when the SFR
UV+IR
is >28
M
⊙
yr
−1
. These new LP results further demonstrate ALMA’s efficiency as a “redshift machine,” particularly in the Epoch of Reionization.
ABSTRACT
We include a fully coupled treatment of metal and dust enrichment into the Delphi semi-analytic model of galaxy formation to explain the dust content of 13 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) ...detected by the Atacama Large millimetre Array (ALMA) REBELS Large Program at z ≃ 7. We find that the galaxy dust mass, Md, is regulated by the combination of Type II supernova dust production, astration, shock destruction, and ejection in outflows; grain growth (with a standard time-scale τ0 = 30 Myr) plays a negligible role. The model predicts a dust-to-stellar mass ratio of $\sim 0.07\!-\!0.1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ and a UV-to-total star formation rate relation such that log(ψUV) = −0.05 log(ψ)2 + 0.86 log(ψ) − 0.05 (implying that 55–80 per cent of the star formation is obscured) for REBELS galaxies with stellar mass $M_* = 10^{9}\!-\!10^{10} \rm M_\odot$. This relation reconciles the intrinsic UV luminosity of LBGs with their observed luminosity function at z = 7. However, 2 out of the 13 systems show dust-to-stellar mass ratios ($\sim 0.94\!-\!1.1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) that are up to 18 times larger than expected from the fiducial relation. Due to the physical coupling between dust and metal enrichment, even decreasing τ0 to very low values (0.3 Myr) only increases the dust-to-stellar mass ratio by a factor of ∼2. Given that grain growth is not a viable explanation for such high observed ratios of the dust-to-stellar mass, we propose alternative solutions.
We present high-resolution observations of the 880 mum (rest-frame FIR) continuum emission in the z= 4.05 submillimeter galaxy GN20 from the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI). These data ...resolve the obscured star formation (SF) in this unlensed galaxy on scales of 0".3 x 0".2 (~2.1 x 1.3 kpc). The observations reveal a bright (16 + or - 1 mJy) dusty starburst centered on the cold molecular gas reservoir and showing a bar-like extension along the major axis. The striking anti-correlation with the Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 imaging suggests that the copious dust surrounding the starburst heavily obscures the rest-frame UV/optical emission. A comparison with 1.2 mm PdBI continuum data reveals no evidence for variations in the dust properties across the source within the uncertainties, consistent with extended SF, and the peak star formation rate surface density (119 + or - 8 M sub(middot in circle) yr super(-1) kpc super(-2)) implies that the SF in GN20 remains sub-Eddington on scales down to 3 kpc super(2). We find that the SF efficiency (SFE) is highest in the central regions of GN20, leading to a resolved SF law with a power-law slope of Sigma sub(SFR)~ (ProQuest: Formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted), and that GN20 lies above the sequence of normal star-forming disks, implying that the dispersion in the SF law is not due solely to morphology or choice of conversion factor. These data extend previous evidence for a fixed SFE per free-fall time to include the star-forming medium on ~kiloparsec scales in a galaxy 12 Gyr ago.
We report the identification of an extreme protocluster of galaxies in the early universe whose core (nicknamed Distant Red Core, DRC, because of its very red color in Herschel SPIRE bands) is formed ...by at least 10 dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs), spectroscopically confirmed to lie at z spec = 4.002 via detection of C i(1-0), 12CO(6-5), 12CO(4-3), 12CO(2-1), and H 2 O ( 2 11 - 2 02 ) emission lines with ALMA and ATCA. These DSFGs are distributed over a 260 kpc × 310 kpc region and have a collective obscured star formation rate (SFR) of ∼ 6500 M yr − 1 , considerably higher than those seen before in any protocluster at z 4 . Most of the star formation is taking place in luminous DSFGs since no Ly emitters are detected in the protocluster core, apart from a Ly blob located next to one of the DRC components, extending over 60 kpc . The total obscured SFR of the protocluster could rise to SFR ∼ 14,400 M yr − 1 if all the members of an overdensity of bright DSFGs discovered around DRC in a wide-field Large APEX BOlometer CAmera 870 m image are part of the same structure. C i(1-0) emission reveals that DRC has a total molecular gas mass of at least M H 2 ∼ 6.6 × 10 11 M , and its total halo mass could be as high as ∼ 4.4 × 10 13 M , indicating that it is the likely progenitor of a cluster at least as massive as Coma at z = 0.
ABSTRACT
ALMA observations have revealed the presence of dust in the first generations of galaxies in the Universe. However, the dust temperature Td remains mostly unconstrained due to the few ...available FIR continuum data at redshift $z$ > 5. This introduces large uncertainties in several properties of high-$z$ galaxies, namely their dust masses, infrared luminosities, and obscured fraction of star formation. Using a new method based on simultaneous C $\scriptstyle \rm II$ 158-μm line and underlying dust continuum measurements, we derive Td in the continuum and C $\scriptstyle \rm II$ detected $z$ ≈ 7 galaxies in the ALMA Large Project REBELS sample. We find 39 < Td < 58 K, and dust masses in the narrow range Md = (0.9−3.6) × 107 M⊙. These results allow us to extend for the first time the reported Td($z$) relation into the Epoch of Reionization. We produce a new physical model that explains the increasing Td($z$) trend with the decrease of gas depletion time, tdep = Mg/SFR, induced by the higher cosmological accretion rate at early times; this hypothesis yields Td ∝ (1 + $z$)0.4. The model also explains the observed Td scatter at a fixed redshift. We find that dust is warmer in obscured sources, as a larger obscuration results in more efficient dust heating. For UV-transparent (obscured) galaxies, Td only depends on the gas column density (metallicity), $T_{\rm d} \propto N_{\rm H}^{1/6}$ (Td ∝ Z−1/6). REBELS galaxies are on average relatively transparent, with effective gas column densities around NH ≃ (0.03−1) × 1021 cm−2. We predict that other high-$z$ galaxies (e.g. MACS0416-Y1, A2744-YD4), with estimated Td ≫ 60 K, are significantly obscured, low-metallicity systems. In fact, Td is higher in metal-poor systems due to their smaller dust content, which for fixed LIR results in warmer temperatures.
ABSTRACT
We analyse FIR dust continuum measurements for 14 galaxies (redshift z ≈ 7) in the ALMA Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey (REBELS) Large Program to derive their physical ...properties. Our model uses three input data, i.e. (a) the UV spectral slope, β, (b) the observed UV continuum flux at 1500 Å, F1500, (c) the observed continuum flux at $\approx 158\, \mu$m, F158, and considers Milky Way (MW) and SMC extinction curves, along with different dust geometries. We find that REBELS galaxies have 28−90.5 per cent of their star formation obscured; the total (UV+IR) star formation rates are in the range $31.5 \lt {\rm SFR}/({\rm M}_\odot \, {\rm yr}^{-1}) \lt 129.5$. The sample-averaged dust mass and temperature are $(1.3\pm 1.1)\times 10^7 \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ and 52 ± 11 K, respectively. However, in some galaxies dust is particularly abundant (REBELS-14, $M^{\prime }_{\rm d} \approx 3.4 \times 10^7 \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$), or hot (REBELS-18, $T^{\prime }_{\rm d} \approx 67$ K). The dust distribution is compact (<0.3 kpc for 70 per cent of the galaxies). The inferred dust yield per supernova is $0.1 \le y_{\rm d}/\, \mathrm{M}_\odot \le 3.3$, with 70 per cent of the galaxies requiring $y_{\rm d} \lt 0.25 \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$. Three galaxies (REBELS-12, 14, 39) require $y_{\rm d} \gt 1 \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$, which is likely inconsistent with pure SN production, and might require dust growth via accretion of heavy elements from the interstellar medium. With the SFR predicted by the model and a MW extinction curve, REBELS galaxies detected in C ii nicely follow the local LCII−SFR relation, and are approximately located on the Kennicutt–Schmidt relation. The sample-averaged gas depletion time is $0.11\, y_{\rm P}^{-2}$ Gyr, where yP is the ratio of the gas-to-stellar distribution radius. For some systems, a solution simultaneously matching the observed (β, F1500, F158) values cannot be found. This occurs when the index Im = (F158/F1500)/(β − βint), where βint is the intrinsic UV slope, exceeds $I_m^{*}\approx 1120$ for an MW curve. For these objects, we argue that the FIR and UV emitting regions are not co-spatial, questioning the use of the IRX–β relation.
Using the IRAM NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA), we conducted a program to measure redshifts for 13 bright galaxies detected in the
Herschel
Astrophysical Large Area Survey with
S
500
μ
m
...≥ 80 mJy. We report reliable spectroscopic redshifts for 12 individual sources, which are derived from scans of the 3 and 2 mm bands, covering up to 31 GHz in each band, and are based on the detection of at least two emission lines. The spectroscopic redshifts are in the range 2.08 <
z
< 4.05 with a median value of
z
= 2.9 ± 0.6. The sources are unresolved or barely resolved on scales of 10 kpc. In one field, two galaxies with different redshifts were detected. In two cases the sources are found to be binary galaxies with projected distances of ∼140 kpc. The linewidths of the sources are large, with a mean value for the full width at half maximum of 700 ± 300 km s
−1
and a median of 800 km s
−1
. We analyze the nature of the sources with currently available ancillary data to determine if they are lensed or hyper-luminous (
L
FIR
> 10
13
L
⊙
) galaxies. We also present a reanalysis of the spectral energy distributions including the continuum flux densities measured at 3 and 2 mm to derive the overall properties of the sources. Future prospects based on these efficient measurements of redshifts of high-
z
galaxies using NOEMA are outlined, including a comprehensive survey of all the brightest
Herschel
galaxies.
The rest-frame ultraviolet properties of galaxies during the first three billion years of cosmic time (redshift z > 4) indicate a rapid evolution in the dust obscuration of such galaxies. This ...evolution implies a change in the average properties of the interstellar medium, but the measurements are systematically uncertain owing to untested assumptions and the inability to detect heavily obscured regions of the galaxies. Previous attempts to measure the interstellar medium directly in normal galaxies at these redshifts have failed for a number of reasons, with two notable exceptions. Here we report measurements of the forbidden C ii emission (that is, C II) from gas, and the far-infrared emission from dust, in nine typical star-forming galaxies about one billion years after the Big Bang (z ≈ 5-6). We find that these galaxies have thermal emission that is less than 1/12 that of similar systems about two billion years later, and enhanced C II emission relative to the far-infrared continuum, confirming a strong evolution in the properties of the interstellar medium in the early Universe. The gas is distributed over scales of one to eight kiloparsecs, and shows diverse dynamics within the sample. These results are consistent with early galaxies having significantly less dust than typical galaxies seen at z < 3 and being comparable in dust content to local low-metallicity systems.
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