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Register a new userThe LABOCA Survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South: Clustering of submillimetre galaxies
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We present a measurement of the spatial clustering of submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) at z = 1-3. Using data from the 870 micron LESS survey, we employ a novel technique to measure the cross-correlation between SMGs and galaxies, accounting for the full probability distributions for photometric redshifts of the galaxies. From the observed projected two-point cross-correlation function we derive the linear bias and characteristic dark matter (DM) halo masses for the SMGs. We detect clustering in the cross-correlation between SMGs and galaxies at the > 4 sigma level. For the SMG autocorrelation we obtain r_0 = 7.7 (+1.8,-2.3) h^-1 Mpc, and derive a corresponding DM halo mass of log(M_halo [h^-1 M_sun]) = 12.8 (+0.3,-0.5). Based on the evolution of DM haloes derived from simulations, we show that that the z = 0 descendants of SMGs are typically massive (~2-3 L*) elliptical galaxies residing in moderate- to high-mass groups (log(M_halo [h^-1 M_sun]) = 13.3 (+0.3,-0.5). From the observed clustering we estimate an SMG lifetime of ~100 Myr, consistent with lifetimes derived from gas consumption times and star-formation timescales, although with considerable uncertainties. The clustering of SMGs at z ~ 2 is consistent with measurements for optically-selected quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), supporting evolutionary scenarios linking starbursts and QSOs. Given that SMGs reside in haloes of characteristic mass ~ 6 x 10^12 h^-1 M_sun, we demonstrate that the redshift distribution of SMGs can be described remarkably well by the combination of two effects: the cosmological growth of structure and the evolution of the molecular gas fraction in galaxies. We conclude that the powerful starbursts in SMGs likely represent a short-lived but universal phase in massive galaxy evolution, associated with the transition between cold gas-rich, star-forming galaxies and passively evolving systems. [Abridged]
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[abridged] We derive photometric redshifts from 17-band optical to mid-IR photometry of 74 robust counterparts to 68 of the 126 submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) selected at 870um by LABOCA observations in the ECDFS. The median photometric redshift of identified SMGs is z=2.2pm0.1, the interquartile range is z=1.8-2.7 and we identify 10 (~15%) high-redshift (z>3) SMGs. We derive a simple redshift estimator for SMGs based on the 3.6 and 8um fluxes, which is accurate to Delta_z~0.4 for SMGs at z<4. A statistical analysis of sources around unidentified SMGs identifies a population of likely counterparts with a redshift distribution peaking at z=2.5pm0.3, which likely comprises ~60% of the unidentified SMGs. This confirms that the bulk of the undetected SMGs are coeval with those detected in the radio/mid-IR. We conclude that ~15% of all the SMGs are below the flux limits of our survey and lie at z>3 and hence ~30% of all SMGs have z>3. We estimate that the full S_870um>4mJy SMG population has a median redshift of 2.5pm0.6. In contrast to previous suggestions we find no significant correlation between S_870um and redshift. The median stellar mass of the SMGs derived from SED fitting is (9.2pm0.9)x10^10Msun and the interquartile range is (4.7-14)x10^10Msun, although we caution that uncertainty in the star-formation histories results in a factor of ~5 uncertainty in these stellar masses. The median characteristic dust temperature of SMGs is 35.9pm1.4K and the interquartile range is 28.5-43.3K. The infrared luminosity function shows that SMGs at z=2-3 typically have higher far-IR luminosities and luminosity density than those at z=1-2. This is mirrored in the evolution of the star-formation rate density (SFRD) for SMGs which peaks at z~2. The maximum contribution of bright SMGs to the global SFRD (~5% for SMGs with S_870um>4mJy; ~50% for SMGs with S_870um>1mJy) also occurs at z~2.
We present a sensitive 870 micron survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS) using LABOCA on the APEX telescope. The LABOCA ECDFS Submillimetre Survey (LESS) covers the full 30 x 30 field size of the ECDFS and has a uniform noise level of 1.2 mJy/beam. LESS is thus the largest contiguous deep submillimetre survey undertaken to date. The noise properties of our map show clear evidence that we are beginning to be affected by confusion noise. We present a catalog of 126 SMGs detected with a significance level above 3.7 sigma. The ECDFS exhibits a deficit of bright SMGs relative to previously studied blank fields but not of normal star-forming galaxies that dominate the extragalactic background light (EBL). This is in line with the underdensities observed for optically defined high redshift source populations in the ECDFS (BzKs, DRGs,optically bright AGN and massive K-band selected galaxies). The differential source counts in the full field are well described by a power law with a slope of alpha=-3.2, comparable to the results from other fields. We show that the shape of the source counts is not uniform across the field. The integrated 870 micron flux densities of our source-count models account for >65% of the estimated EBL from COBE measurements. We have investigated the clustering of SMGs in the ECDFS by means of a two-point correlation function and find evidence for strong clustering on angular scales <1. Assuming a power law dependence for the correlation function and a typical redshift distribution for the SMGs we derive a spatial correlation length of r_0=13+/-6 h^-1 Mpc.
We report on the identification of the highest redshift submm-selected source currently known: LESSJ033229.4-275619. This source was detected in the Large Apex BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA) Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS) Submillimetre Survey (LESS), a sensitive 870-um survey (~1.2-mJy rms) of the full 30x30 ECDFS with the LABOCA camera on the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) telescope. The submm emission is identified with a radio counterpart for which optical spectroscopy provides a redshift of z=4.76. We show that the bolometric emission is dominated by a starburst with a star formation rate of ~1000 Msun/yr, although we also identify a moderate luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) in this galaxy. Thus it has characteristics similar to those of z~2 submm galaxies (SMGs), with a mix of starburst and obscured AGN signatures. This demonstrates that ultraluminous starburst activity is not just restricted to the hosts of the most luminous (and hence rare) QSOs at z~5, but was also occurring in less extreme galaxies at a time when the Universe was less than 10% of its current age. Assuming that we are seeing the major phase of star formation in this galaxy, then we demonstrate that it would be identified as a luminous distant red galaxy at z~3 and that the current estimate of the space density of z>4 SMGs is only sufficient to produce ~10% of the luminous red galaxy population at these early times. However, this leaves open the possibility that some of these galaxies formed through less intense, but more extended star formation events. If the progenitors of all of the luminous red galaxies at z~3 go through an ultraluminous starburst at z>4 then the required volume density of z>4 SMGs will exceed that predicted by current galaxy formation models by more than an order of magnitude.
We present radio and infrared (3.6-24um) counterparts to submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) detected in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South with the LABOCA 870-um bolometer camera on the 12-m Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. Using the Very Large Array at 1.4GHz and Spitzer we have identified secure counterparts to 79 of the 126 SMGs (SNR>3.7, S_870>4.4mJy) in the field, 62 via their radio and/or 24-um emission, the remainder using a colour-flux cut on IRAC 3.6- and 5.8-um sources chosen to maximise the number of secure, coincident radio and 24-um counterparts. In constructing our radio catalogue, we have corrected for the effects of `flux boosting, then used the corrected flux densities to estimate the redshifts of the SMGs based on the radio/submm spectral indices. The effect of the boosting correction is to increase the median redshift by 0.2 resulting in a value of z=2.2 (+0.7-0.8) (1-sigma errors) for the secure radio counterparts, in agreement with other studies, both spectroscopic and photometric.
We present spectroscopic redshifts of S(870)>2mJy submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) which have been identified from the ALMA follow-up observations of 870um detected sources in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (the ALMA-LESS survey). We derive spectroscopic redshifts for 52 SMGs, with a median of z=2.4+/-0.1. However, the distribution features a high redshift tail, with ~25% of the SMGs at z>3. Spectral diagnostics suggest that the SMGs are young starbursts, and the velocity offsets between the nebular emission and UV ISM absorption lines suggest that many are driving winds, with velocity offsets up to 2000km/s. Using the spectroscopic redshifts and the extensive UV-to-radio photometry in this field, we produce optimised spectral energy distributions (SEDs) using Magphys, and use the SEDs to infer a median stellar mass of M*=(6+/-1)x10^{10}Msol for our SMGs with spectroscopic redshifts. By combining these stellar masses with the star-formation rates (measured from the far-infrared SEDs), we show that SMGs (on average) lie a factor ~5 above the main-sequence at z~2. We provide this library of 52 template fits with robust and well-sampled SEDs available as a resource for future studies of SMGs, and also release the spectroscopic catalog of ~2000 (mostly infrared-selected) galaxies targeted as part of the spectroscopic campaign.
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