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Register a new userThe nature of sub-millimetre galaxies I: A comparison of AGN and star-forming galaxy SED fits
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T. Shanks
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High redshift sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) are usually assumed to be powered by star-formation. However, it has been clear for some time that $>$20% of such sources brighter than $approx3$mJy host quasars. Here we analyse a complete sample of 12 sub-mm LABOCA/ALMA 870 $mu$m sources in the centre of the William Herschel Deep Field (WHDF) with multi-wavelength data available from the X-ray to the radio bands. Previously, two sources were identified as X-ray absorbed quasars at $z=1.32$ and $z=2.12$. By comparing their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with unabsorbed quasars in the same field, we confirm that they are dust reddened although at a level significantly lower than implied by their X-ray absorption. Then we compare the SEDs of all the sources to dust-reddened AGN and star-forming galaxy models. This optical/NIR comparison combined with Spitzer MIR colours and faint Chandra X-ray detections shows that 7/12 SMGs are best fitted with an obscured quasarmodel, a further 3/12 show no preference between AGN and star-forming templates, leaving only a $z=0.046$ spiral galaxy and one unidentified source. So in our complete sample, the majority (10/12) of bright SMGs are at least as likely to fit an AGN as a star-forming galaxy template, although no claim is made to rule out the latter as SMG power sources. We then suggest modifications to a previous SMG number count model and conclude that obscured AGN in SMGs may still provide the dominant contribution to both the hard X-ray and sub-millimetre backgrounds.
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We investigate the dust heating mechanisms of sub-mm galaxies (SMGs) to consider the contribution of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) compared to star-formation. We have used ALMA at $0.1$ resolution to image a complete sample of seven sub-mm sources previously shown to have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that were as well-fitted by obscured AGN as star-forming galaxy templates. Indeed, two sub-mm sources were known to be quasars from their absorbed X-ray emission. We now find that the sub-mm sizes of all SMGs are small ($approx1-2$ kpc) and generally $>3times$ smaller than any host detected in the near-Infra-Red. In all cases, the five SMGs are comparable in sub-mm size to the two known quasars and four $zapprox6$ quasars, also observed with ALMA. We detect no evidence of diffuse spiral arms in this complete sample. We then convert the Far-Infra-Red (FIR) luminosities to star-formation rate (SFR) surface densities and find that the SMGs occupy the same range as the known quasars in our sample. We conclude that in terms of sub-mm size, extent relative to host and SFR density as well as luminosity and mid-IR colour, there is little distinction between the SMGs and sub-mm bright quasars. In light of these results, we continue to suggest that dust+gas absorbed quasars may simultaneously dominate the FIR and hard X-ray backgrounds.
We study the interstellar medium (ISM) properties as a function of the molecular gas size of 82 infrared-selected galaxies on and above the main sequence at $z sim 1.3$. Molecular gas sizes are measured on ALMA images that combine CO(2-1), CO(5-4) and underlying continuum observations. We include CO(4-3),CO(7-6)+[CI]($^3 P_2-^3P_1$), [CI]($^3 P_1-^3P_0$) observations for a subset of the sample. The $geqslant 46 %$ of our galaxies have a compact molecular gas reservoir as these lie $geqslant 1 sigma$ below the optical mass-size relation of disks. Compact galaxies on and above the main sequence have higher CO excitation and star formation efficiency than galaxies with extended molecular gas reservoirs, as traced by CO(5-4)/CO(2-1) and CO(2-1)/$L_{rm IR, SF}$ ratios. Average CO+[CI] spectral line energy distributions indicate higher excitation in compacts relative to extended sources. Using multiple molecular gas mass tracers, and conversion factors tailored to their ISM conditions, we measure lower gas fractions in compact main-sequence galaxies compared to extended sources. These results are consistent with a picture in which mergers have driven the gas in the nuclear regions, enhancing the CO excitation and star formation efficiency. We suggest that the sub-millimetre compactness, defined as the ratio between the molecular gas and stellar size, is an unavoidable information to be used with the main sequence offset to describe the ISM properties of galaxies, at least above $M_{star} geqslant 10^{10.6}$ M$_{odot}$, where our observations fully probe the main sequence scatter. Compact main-sequence galaxies are consistent with being an early post-starburst population following a merger-driven starburst episode, stressing the important role of mergers in the evolution of massive galaxies.
We exploit EAGLE, a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation, to reproduce the selection of the observed sub-millimeter (submm) galaxy population by selecting the model galaxies at $z geq 1$ with mock submm fluxes $S_{850} geq 1$ mJy. There is a reasonable agreement between the galaxies within this sample and the properties of the observed submm population, such as their star formation rates (SFRs) at $z<3$, redshift distribution and many integrated galaxy properties. We find that the bulk of the $S_{850} geq 1$ mJy model population is at $z = 2.5$, and that they are massive galaxies ($M_* sim 10^{11}$ Msol) with high dust masses ($M_{mathrm{dust}} sim 10^{8}$ Msol), gas fractions ($f_{mathrm{gas}} approx 50$%) and SFRs ($dot M_* approx 100$ Msol/yr). They have major and minor merger fractions similar to the general population, suggesting that mergers are not the primary driver of the model submm galaxies. Instead, the $S_{850} geq 1$ mJy model galaxies yield high SFRs primarily because they maintain a significant gas reservoir as a result of hosting an undermassive black hole. In addition, we find that not all highly star-forming EAGLE galaxies have submm fluxes $S_{850} > 1$ mJy. Thus, we investigate the nature of $z geq 1$ highly star-forming Submm-Faint galaxies (i.e., $dot M_* geq 80$ Msol/yr but $S_{850}< 1$ mJy). We find they are similar to the model submm galaxies; being gas rich and hosting undermassive black holes, however they are typically lower mass ($M_* sim 10^{10}$ Msol) and are at higher redshifts ($z>4$). These typically higher-$z$ galaxies show stronger evidence for having been triggered by major mergers, and critically, they are likely missed by current submm surveys due to their higher dust temperatures. This suggests a potentially even larger contribution to the SFR density at $z > 3$ from dust-obscured systems than implied by current observations.
We study the nature of rapidly star-forming galaxies at z=2 in cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, and compare their properties to observations of sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs). We identify simulated SMGs as the most rapidly star-forming systems that match the observed number density of SMGs. In our models, SMGs are massive galaxies sitting at the centres of large potential wells, being fed by smooth infall and gas-rich satellites at rates comparable to their star formation rates (SFR). They are not typically undergoing major mergers that significantly boost their quiescent SFR, but they still often show complex gas morphologies and kinematics. Our simulated SMGs have stellar masses of log M*/Mo~11-11.7, SFRs of ~180-500 Mo/yr, a clustering length of 10 Mpc/h, and solar metallicities. The SFRs are lower than those inferred from far-IR data by a factor of 3, which we suggest may owe to one or more systematic effects in the SFR calibrations. SMGs at z=2 live in ~10^13 Mo halos, and by z=0 they mostly end up as brightest group galaxies in ~10^14 Mo halos. We predict that higher-M* SMGs should have on average lower specific SFRs, less disturbed morphologies, and higher clustering. We also predict that deeper far-IR surveys will smoothly join SMGs onto the massive end of the SFR-M* relationship defined by lower-mass z=2 galaxies. Overall, our simulated rapid star-formers provide as good a match to available SMG data as merger-based scenarios, offering an alternative scenario that emerges naturally from cosmological simulations.
We studied the global characteristics of dust emission in a large sample of emission-line star-forming galaxies. The sample consists of two subsamples. One subsample (SDSS sample) includes ~4000 compact star-forming galaxies from the SDSS, which were also detected in all four bands at 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 mum of the WISE all-sky survey. The second subsample (Herschel sample) is a sample of 28 compact star-forming galaxies observed with Herschel in the FIR range. Data of the Herschel sample were supplemented by the photometric data from the Spitzer observations, GALEX, SDSS, WISE, 2MASS, NVSS, and FIRST surveys, as well as optical and Spitzer spectra and data in sub-mm and radio ranges. It is found that warm dust luminosities of galaxies from the SDSS sample and cold and warm dust luminosities of galaxies from the Herschel sample are strongly correlated with Hbeta luminosities, which implies that one of the main sources of dust heating in star-forming galaxies is ionising UV radiation of young stars. Using the relation between warm and cold dust masses for estimating the total dust mass in star-forming galaxies with an accuracy better than ~0.5 dex is proposed. On the other hand, it is shown for both samples that dust temperatures do not depend on the metallicities. The dust-to-neutral gas mass ratio strongly declines with decreasing metallicity, similar to that found in other studies of local emission-line galaxies, high-redshift GRB hosts, and DLAs. On the other hand, the dust-to-ionised gas mass ratio is about one hundred times as high implying that most of dust is located in the neutral gas. It is found that thermal free-free emission of ionised gas in compact star-forming galaxies might be responsible for the sub-mm emission excess. This effect is stronger in galaxies with lower metallicities and is also positively affected by an increased star-formation rate.
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