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arXiv · astro-ph/0403183

Submillimeter Galaxies as Tracers of Mass Assembly at Large M

R. Genzel·A. J. Baker·R. J. Ivison·F. Bertoldi·A. W. Blain·S. C. Chapman·P. Cox·R. I. Davies·F. Eisenhauer·D. T. Frayer·T. Greve·M. D. Lehnert·D. Lutz·N. Nesvadba·R. Neri·A. Omont·S. Seitz·I. Smail·L. J. Tacconi·M. Tecza·N. A. Thatte·R. Bender
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Abstract

Luminous submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) have been known for some time to produce a substantial fraction of the far-IR/submillimeter background. New observations show that these systems are not only very luminous, but also very massive. Here we present results from (a) a survey of SMGs' molecular line emission, which has confirmed Keck optical redshifts and revealed their high gas and dynamical masses; and (b) a detailed case study of the rest-frame optical emission from one SMG, which has revealed its high metallicity and old stellar population. We infer a high z~2.7 comoving number density of galaxies with baryonic masses greater than 10^11 solar masses; this is not accounted for in current semi-analytic models of galaxy evolution.

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R. Genzel, A. J. Baker, R. J. Ivison, F. Bertoldi, A. W. Blain, S. C. Chapman, P. Cox, R. I. Davies, F. Eisenhauer, D. T. Frayer, T. Greve, M. D. Lehnert, D. Lutz, N. Nesvadba, R. Neri, A. Omont, S. Seitz, I. Smail, L. J. Tacconi, M. Tecza, N. A. Thatte, R. Bender. 2004-03-08. Submillimeter Galaxies as Tracers of Mass Assembly at Large M. https://doi.org/10.1007/10995020_17

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