The star formation rate and stellar mass limits for submillimetre galaxies implied by recent interferometric observations

Abstract

Explaining the observed number counts of submillimetre (submm) galaxies (SMGs) has been a longstanding challenge for theoretical models. Surprisingly, recent observations have suggested that the brightest SMGs are almost exclusively multiple fainter sources blended into a single source in the single-dish surveys. This result is in contrast with the predictions of our previously presented theoretical model, which includes some effects of blending. In this Letter, we consider the implications of an upper limit on the submm flux density for the demographics of the SMG population. Using a relation amongst submm flux, star formation rate (SFR), and dust mass (M_d) from our previous work, we infer the maximum SFR for a range of flux density limits. For M_d = 2 x 10^9 (5 x 10^8) M_sun, the SFR limit that corresponds to an 870-μm flux density (S_870) limit in the range 9 - 12.5 mJy is in the range ~630 - 1400 (3600 - 7700) M_sun/yr. The SFR limit implies a correspondingly sharp, redshift-dependent cutoff in the stellar mass (M_star) function, the value of which we predict using the S_870-M_star relation predicted by our model. The M_star limit decreases with increasing redshift: for an S_870 limit of 9 - 12.5 mJy, the M_star limit ranges from ~4 - 7 x 10^12 M_sun at z ~ 1 to ~3 - 5 x 10^11 M_sun at z ~ 6. We discuss the few interferometrically detected SMGs that may be brighter than the proposed cutoff. Although such objects are certainly interesting, inferences based on such objects may not apply to most SMGs.