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Casey Papovich

Publications and source records attributed to Casey Papovich.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
arXiv2019

Astro2020: Empirically Constraining Galaxy Evolution

Over the past decade, empirical constraints on the galaxy-dark matter halo connection have significantly advanced our understanding of galaxy evolution. Past techniques have focused on connections between halo properties and galaxy stellar mass and/or star formation rates. Empirical techniques in the next decade will link halo assembly histories with galaxies' circumgalactic media, supermassive black holes, morphologies, kinematics, sizes, colors, metallicities, and transient rates. Uncovering these links will resolve many critical uncertainties in galaxy formation and will enable much higher-fidelity mock catalogs essential for interpreting observations. Achieving these results will require broader and deeper spectroscopic coverage of galaxies and their circumgalactic media; survey teams will also need to meet several criteria (cross-comparisons, public access, and covariance matrices) to facilitate combining data across different surveys. Acting on these recommendations will continue enabling dramatic progress in both empirical modeling and galaxy evolution for the next decade.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2019

Unveiling the Phase Transition of the Universe During the Reionization Epoch with Lyman-alpha

The epoch of reionization (6 < z < 10) marks the period in our universe when the first large galaxies grew to fruition, and began to affect the universe around them. Massive stars, and potentially accreting supermassive black holes, filled the universe with ionizing radiation, burning off the haze of neutral gas that had filled the intergalactic medium (IGM) since recombination (z~1000). The evolution of this process constrains key properties of these earliest luminous sources, thus observationally constraining reionization is a key science goal for the next decade. The measurement of Lyman-alpha emission from photometrically-identified galaxies is a highly constraining probe of reionization, as a neutral IGM will resonantly scatter these photons, reducing detectability. While significant work has been done with 8-10m telescopes, these observations require extremely large telescopes (ELTs); the flux limits available from today's 10m class telescopes are sufficient for only the brightest known galaxies (m < 26). Ultra-deep surveys with the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will be capable of detecting Lyman-alpha emission from galaxies 2-3 magnitudes fainter than today's deepest surveys. Wide-field fiber spectroscopy on the GMT combined with narrow-field AO-assisted slit spectroscopy on the TMT will be able to probe the expected size of ionized bubbles throughout the epoch of reionization, following up degree scale deep imaging surveys with the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope. These data will provide the first resolved Lyman-alpha-based maps of the ionized intergalactic medium throughout the epoch of reionization, constraining models of both the temporal and spatial evolution of this phase change.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2019

UV Diagnostics of Galaxies from the Peak of Star-Formation to the Epoch of Reionization

The rest-frame UV emission from massive stars contains a wealth of information about the physical nature and conditions of star formation in galaxies. Using studies of the rest-frame UV, the past decade has witnessed the beginning of knowledge about the existence and properties of galaxies during the first few billion years after the Big Bang. This period of history corresponds to the formation of the first stars, the rapid formation of galaxy stellar populations, the reionization of the IGM, the production and dissemination of heavy elements, and the formation of the first black holes. Massive stars in these galaxies drive all of these events, and their light dominates the spectral energy distributions of galaxies. As we look to the 2020s, fundamental questions remain about the nature of these stellar populations and their evolution, from just before the peak of the cosmic star formation density (z~3), up to the epoch of reionization (z > 6). This next decade will provide transformative gains both in our ability to identify star-forming galaxies and accreting supermassive black holes at these early epochs with imaging surveys in the rest-frame UV (e.g., LSST, WFIRST). Ground-based, rest-frame UV spectroscopy on >20 m-class telescopes (e.g., GMT/TMT) offers the ability to investigate the astrophysical conditions in galaxies at the earliest cosmic times. This includes studies of the evolution in galaxy stellar populations, gas ionization (temperature, pressure), metallicity, and interstellar (and circumgalactic) gas kinematics and covering fractions. In this white paper, we describe the scientific prospects and the requirements for research in this area.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2019

Galaxy Merger Fractions in Two Clusters at $z\sim2$ Using the Hubble Space Telescope

We measure the fraction of galaxy-galaxy mergers in two clusters at $z\sim2$ using imaging and grism observations from the {\it Hubble Space Telescope}. The two galaxy cluster candidates were originally identified as overdensities of objects using deep mid-infrared imaging and observations from the {\it Spitzer Space Telescope}, and were subsequently followed up with HST/WFC3 imaging and grism observations. We identify galaxy-galaxy merger candidates using high resolution imaging with the WFC3 in the F105W, F125W, and F160W bands. Coarse redshifts for the same objects are obtained with grism observations in G102 for the $z\sim1.6$ cluster (IRC0222A) and G141 for the $z\sim2$ cluster (IRC0222B). Using visual classifications as well as a variety of selection techniques, we measure merger fractions of $11_{-3.2}^{+8.2}$ in IRC0222A and $18_{-4.5}^{+7.8}$ in IRC0222B. In comparison, we measure a merger fraction of $5.0_{-0.8}^{+1.1}\%$ for field galaxies at $z\sim2$. Our study indicates that the galaxy-galaxy merger fraction in clusters at $z\sim2$ is enhanced compared the field population, but note that more cluster measurements at this epoch are needed to confirm our findings.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2019

Texas Spectroscopic Search for Ly$α$ Emission at the End of Reionization II. The Deepest Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Observation at $z\gtrsim7$

Realizing the utility of Ly$α$ emission to trace the evolution of the intergalactic medium (IGM) during the epoch of reionization requires deep spectroscopy across the boundary of optical and near-infrared (NIR) spectrographs at $z\sim7.2$ when Ly$α$ emission is at $\sim$1$μ$m. Our Texas Spectroscopic Search for Ly$α$ Emission at the End of Reionization includes 18 nights of deep spectroscopic observations using the Keck DEIMOS (optical) and MOSFIRE (NIR) spectrographs. Within this dataset we observe Ly$α$ emission from 183 photometric-redshift selected galaxies at $z =$ 5.5 - 8.3 from the Cosmic Assembly Near infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). Our overlapping MOSFIRE observations, over 84 galaxies total, provide the deepest NIR spectroscopic data yet obtained for Ly$α$ from galaxies $z > 7$, with $>16$ hr integration time for four observed galaxies. Here we analyze these four targets, and we report the discovery of a new $z = 7.60$ Ly$α$ detection as well as provide an updated observation of the previously confirmed $z=7.51$ Ly$α$ emission from Finkelstein et al. (2013) with a $\sim$3$\times$ longer exposure time. Our analysis of these Ly$α$ emission line profiles reveal a significant asymmetric shape. The two detected Ly$α$ emission lines from bright sources ($M_{\text{UV}}<-20.25$) could imply that these bright galaxies inhabit ionized bubbles in a partially neutral IGM, although deeper exposures may yet reveal Ly$α$ emission in the fainter sources.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

The Spitzer-HETDEX Exploratory Large Area Survey II: Dark Energy Camera and Spitzer/IRAC Multiwavelength Catalog

We present the $ugriz$-band Dark Energy Camera (DECam) plus 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m IRAC catalogs for the Spitzer/HETDEX Exploratory Large-Area (SHELA) survey. SHELA covers $\sim24$ deg$^{2}$ of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 region, with seven bandpasses spanning a wavelength range of 0.35 to 4.5 $μ$m. SHELA falls within the footprint of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), which will provide spectroscopic redshifts for $\sim200{,}000$ Ly$α$ emitters at $1.9<z<3.5$ and also for $\sim200{,}000$ [OII] emitters at $z<0.5$. SHELA's deep, wide-area multiwavelength images combined with HETDEX's spectroscopic information, will facilitate many extragalactic studies, including measuring the evolution of galaxy stellar mass, halo mass, and environment from $1.5<z<3.5$. Here we present $riz$-band selected $ugriz$-band DECam catalogs that reach a $5σ$ depth of $\sim24.5$ AB mag (for point sources with an aperture that encloses $70\%$ of the total flux) and cover $17.5$ deg$^{2}$ of the overall SHELA field. We validate our DECam catalog by comparison to the DECam Legacy Survey (DECaLS) DR5 and the Dark Energy Survey (DES) DR1. We perform IRAC forced photometry with The Tractor image modeling code to measure 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m fluxes for all objects within our DECam catalog. We demonstrate the utility of our catalog by computing galaxy number counts and estimating photometric redshifts. Our photometric redshifts recover the available $\left\langle z \right\rangle = 0.33 $ SDSS spectroscopic redshifts with a $1σ$ scatter in $Δz/(1 +z)$ of 0.04.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

ZFOURGE: Extreme 5007$Å$ emission may be a common early-lifetime phase for star-forming galaxies at $z > 2.5$

Using the \prospector\ spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting code, we analyze the properties of 19 Extreme Emission Line Galaxies (EELGs) identified in the bluest composite SED in the \zfourge\ survey at $2.5 \leq z \leq 4$. \prospector\ includes a physical model for nebular emission and returns probability distributions for stellar mass, stellar metallicity, dust attenuation, and nonparametric star formation history (SFH). The EELGs show evidence for a starburst in the most recent 50 Myr, with the median EELG having a specific star formation rate (sSFR) of 4.6 Gyr$^{-1}$ and forming 15\% of its mass in this short time. For a sample of more typical star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at the same redshifts, the median SFG has a sSFR of 1.1 Gyr$^{-1}$ and forms only $4\%$ of its mass in the last 50 Myr. We find that virtually all of our EELGs have rising SFHs, while most of our SFGs do not. From our analysis, we hypothesize that many, if not most, star-forming galaxies at $z \geq 2.5$ undergo an extreme H$β$+$[\hbox{{\rm O}\kern 0.1em{\sc iii}}]$ emission line phase early in their lifetimes. In a companion paper, we obtain spectroscopic confirmation of the EELGs as part of our {\sc MOSEL} survey. In the future, explorations of uncertainties in modeling the UV slope for galaxies at $z>2$ are needed to better constrain their properties, e.g. stellar metallicities.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

CLEAR I: Ages and Metallicities of Quiescent Galaxies at $\mathbf{1.0 < z < 1.8}$ Derived from Deep Hubble Space Telescope Grism Data

We use deep \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} spectroscopy to constrain the metallicities and (\editone{light-weighted}) ages of massive ($\log M_\ast/M_\odot\gtrsim10$) galaxies selected to have quiescent stellar populations at $1.0 68$\% of their stellar mass by a redshift of $z>2$}. The posteriors give metallicities of \editone{$Z_{z\sim1.1}=1.16 \pm 0.29$~$Z_\odot$, $Z_{z\sim1.2}=1.05 \pm 0.34$~$Z_\odot$, $Z_{z\sim1.3}=1.00 \pm 0.31$~$Z_\odot$, and $Z_{z\sim1.6}=0.95 \pm 0.39$~$Z_\odot$}. This is evidence that massive galaxies had enriched rapidly to approximately Solar metallicities as early as $z\sim3$.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

X-UDS: The Chandra Legacy Survey of the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Field

We present the X-UDS survey, a set of wide and deep Chandra observations of the Subaru-XMM Deep/UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (SXDS/UDS) field. The survey consists of 25 observations that cover a total area of 0.33 deg$^{2}$. The observations are combined to provide a nominal depth of ~600 ksec in the central 100 arcmin$^{2}$ region of the field that has been imaged with Hubble/WFC3 by the CANDELS survey and $\sim$200 ksec in the remainder of the field. In this paper, we outline the survey's scientific goals, describe our observing strategy, and detail our data reduction and point source detection algorithms. Our analysis has resulted in a total of 868 band-merged point sources detected with a false-positive Poisson probability of $<1\times10^{-4}$. In addition, we present the results of an X-ray spectral analysis and provide best-fitting neutral hydrogen column densities, $N_{\rm H}$, as well as a sample of 51 Compton-thick active galactic nucleus candidates. Using this sample, we find the intrinsic Compton-thick fraction to be 30-35% over a wide range in redshift ($z=0.1-3$), suggesting the obscured fraction does not evolve very strongly with epoch. However, if we assume that the Compton-thick fraction is dependent on luminosity, as is seen for Compton-thin sources, then our results are consistent with a rise in the obscured fraction out to $z\sim3$. Finally, an examination of the host morphologies of our Compton-thick candidates shows a high fraction of morphological disturbances, in agreement with our previous results. All data products described in this paper are made available via a public website.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

ZFOURGE: Using Composite Spectral Energy Distributions to Characterize Galaxy Populations at 1<z<4

We investigate the properties of galaxies as they shut off star formation over the 4 billion years surrounding peak cosmic star formation. To do this we categorize $\sim7000$ galaxies from $1<z<4$ into $90$ groups based on the shape of their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and build composite SEDs with $R\sim 50$ resolution. These composite SEDs show a variety of spectral shapes and also show trends in parameters such as color, mass, star formation rate, and emission line equivalent width. Using emission line equivalent widths and strength of the 4000Å break, $D(4000)$, we categorize the composite SEDs into five classes: extreme emission line, star-forming, transitioning, post-starburst, and quiescent galaxies. The transitioning population of galaxies show modest H$α$ emission ($EW_{\rm REST}\sim40$Å) compared to more typical star-forming composite SEDs at $\log_{10}(M/M_\odot)\sim10.5$ ($EW_{\rm REST}\sim80$Å). Together with their smaller sizes (3 kpc vs. 4 kpc) and higher Sérsic indices (2.7 vs. 1.5), this indicates that morphological changes initiate before the cessation of star formation. The transitional group shows a strong increase of over one dex in number density from $z\sim3$ to $z\sim1$, similar to the growth in the quiescent population, while post-starburst galaxies become rarer at $z\lesssim1.5$. We calculate average quenching timescales of 1.6 Gyr at $z\sim1.5$ and 0.9 Gyr at $z\sim2.5$ and conclude that a fast quenching mechanism producing post-starbursts dominated the quenching of galaxies at early times, while a slower process has become more common since $z\sim2$.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

Bridging Star-Forming Galaxy and AGN Ultraviolet Luminosity Functions at $z=4$ with the SHELA Wide-Field Survey

We present a joint analysis of the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) luminosity functions of continuum-selected star-forming galaxies and galaxies dominated by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at $z \sim$ 4. These 3,740 $z \sim$ 4 galaxies are selected from broad-band imaging in nine photometric bands over 18 deg$^2$ in the \textit{Spitzer}/HETDEX Exploratory Large Area Survey (SHELA) field. The large area and moderate depth of our survey provide a unique view of the intersection between the bright end of the galaxy UV luminosity function (M$_{AB}<-$22) and the faint end of the AGN UV luminosity function. We do not separate AGN-dominated galaxies from star-formation-dominated galaxies, but rather fit both luminosity functions simultaneously. These functions are best fit with a double power-law (DPL) for both the galaxy and AGN components, where the galaxy bright-end slope has a power-law index of $-3.80\pm0.10$, and the corresponding AGN faint-end slope is $α_{AGN} = -1.49^{+0.30}_{-0.21}$. We cannot rule out a Schechter-like exponential decline for the galaxy UV luminosity function, and in this scenario the AGN luminosity function has a steeper faint-end slope of $-2.08^{+0.18}_{-0.11}$. Comparison of our galaxy luminosity function results with a representative cosmological model of galaxy formation suggests that the molecular gas depletion time must be shorter, implying that star formation is more efficient in bright galaxies at $z=4$ than at the present day. If the galaxy luminosity function does indeed have a power-law shape at the bright end, the implied ionizing emissivity from AGNs is not inconsistent with previous observations. However, if the underlying galaxy distribution is Schechter, it implies a significantly higher ionizing emissivity from AGNs at this epoch.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

Texas Spectroscopic Search for Ly$α$ Emission at the End of Reionization I. Constraining the Ly$α$ Equivalent Width Distribution at 6.0 < $z$ < 7.0

The distribution of Ly$α$ emission is an presently accessible method for studying the state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) into the reionization era. We carried out deep spectroscopic observations in order to search for Ly$α$ emission from galaxies with photometric redshifts $z$ = 5.5 - 8.3 selected from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). Utilizing data from the Keck/DEIMOS spectrograph, we explore a wavelength coverage of Ly$α$ emission at $z$ ~ 5 - 7 with four nights of spectroscopic observations for 118 galaxies, detecting five emission lines with ~ 5$σ$ significance: three in the GOODS-N and two in the GOODS-S field. We constrain the equivalent width (EW) distribution of Ly$α$ emission by comparing the number of detected objects with the expected number constructed from detailed simulations of mock emission lines that account for the observational conditions (e.g., exposure time, wavelength coverage, and sky emission) and galaxy photometric redshift probability distribution functions. The Ly$α$ EW distribution is well described by an exponential form, $\text{dN/dEW}\propto \text{exp(-EW/}W_0)$, characterized by the $e$-folding scale ($W_0$) of ~ 60 - 100$Å$ at 0.3 < $z$ < 6. By contrast, our measure of the Ly$α$ EW distribution at 6.0 < $z$ < 7.0 rejects a Ly$α$ EW distribution with $W_0$ > 36.4$Å$ (125.3$Å$) at 1$σ$ (2$σ$) significance. This provides additional evidence that the EW distribution of Ly$α$ declines at $z$ > 6, suggesting an increasing fraction of neutral hydrogen in the IGM at that epoch.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

The Effects of Environment on the Evolution of the Galaxy Stellar Mass Function

We study the effects of galaxy environment on the evolution of the stellar-mass function (SMF) over 0.2 < z < 2.0 using the FourStar Galaxy Evolution (ZFOURGE) survey and NEWFIRM Medium-Band Survey (NMBS) down to the stellar-mass completeness limit, log M / Msun > 9.0 (9.5) at z = 1.0 (2.0). We compare the SMFs for quiescent and star-forming galaxies in the highest and lowest environments using a density estimator based on the distance to the galaxies' third-nearest neighbors. For star-forming galaxies, at all redshifts there are only minor differences with environment in the shape of the SMF. For quiescent galaxies, the SMF in the lowest densities shows no evolution with redshift, other than an overall increase in number density (phi*) with time. This suggests that the stellar-mass dependence of quenching in relatively isolated galaxies is both universal and does not evolve strongly. While at z >~ 1.5 the SMF of quiescent galaxies is indistinguishable in the highest and lowest densities, at lower redshifts it shows a rapidly increasing number density of lower-mass galaxies, log M / Msun ~= 9-10. We argue this evolution can account for all the redshift evolution in the shape of the total quiescent-galaxy SMF. This evolution in the quiescent-galaxy SMF at higher redshift (z > 1) requires an environmental-quenching efficiency that decreases with decreasing stellar mass at 0.5 < z < 1.5 or it would overproduce the number of lower-mass quiescent galaxies in denser environments. This requires a dominant environment process such as starvation combined with rapid gas depletion and ejection at z > 0.5 - 1.0 for galaxies in our mass range. The efficiency of this process decreases with redshift allowing other processes (such as galaxy interactions and ram-pressure stripping) to become more important at later times, z < 0.5.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2017

Jekyll & Hyde: quiescence and extreme obscuration in a pair of massive galaxies 1.5 Gyr after the Big Bang

We obtained ALMA spectroscopy and imaging to investigate the origin of the unexpected sub-mm emission toward the most distant quiescent galaxy known to date, ZF-COSMOS-20115 at z=3.717. We show here that this sub-mm emission is produced by another massive, compact and extremely obscured galaxy, located only 3.1 kpc away from the quiescent galaxy. We dub the quiescent and dusty galaxies Jekyll and Hyde, respectively. No dust emission is detected at the location of Jekyll, implying SFR < 13 Msun/yr, which is the most stringent upper limit ever obtained for a quiescent galaxy at these redshifts. The two sources are confirmed to lie at the same redshift thanks to the detection of [CII]158 in Hyde, which provides one the few robust redshifts for an "H-dropout" galaxy. The line has a rotating-disk velocity profile blueshifted from Jekyll by 549+/-60 km/s, demonstrating that it is produced by another galaxy. Careful de-blending of the Spitzer imaging confirms the existence of Hyde, and its non-detection with Hubble requires extreme attenuation by dust. Modeling the photometry of both galaxies shows that Jekyll has fully quenched >200 Myr prior to observation and still presents a challenge for models, while Hyde only harbors moderate star-formation (SFR<120 Msun/yr) and is located at least a factor 1.4 below the z~4 main sequence. Hyde could also have stopped forming stars <200 Myr before being observed, which would be consistent with its hight compactness similar to z~4 quiescent galaxies and its low [CII]/FIR ratio, but significant SF cannot be ruled out. Finally, we show that Hyde hosts a dense reservoir of gas comparable to that of extreme starbursts, suggesting that its SFR was reduced without expelling the gas outside of the galaxy. We argue that Jekyll and Hyde can be seen as two stages of quenching, and provide a unique laboratory to study this poorly understood phenomenon. [abridged]

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2017

A massive, quiescent galaxy at redshift of z=3.717

In the early Universe finding massive galaxies that have stopped forming stars present an observational challenge as their rest-frame ultraviolet emission is negligible and they can only be reliably identified by extremely deep near-infrared surveys. These have revealed the presence of massive, quiescent early-type galaxies appearing in the universe as early as z$\sim$2, an epoch 3 Gyr after the Big Bang. Their age and formation processes have now been explained by an improved generation of galaxy formation models where they form rapidly at z$\sim$3-4, consistent with the typical masses and ages derived from their observations. Deeper surveys have now reported evidence for populations of massive, quiescent galaxies at even higher redshifts and earlier times, however the evidence for their existence, and redshift, has relied entirely on coarsely sampled photometry. These early massive, quiescent galaxies are not predicted by the latest generation of theoretical models. Here, we report the spectroscopic confirmation of one of these galaxies at redshift z=3.717 with a stellar mass of 1.7$\times$10$^{11}$ M$_\odot$ whose absorption line spectrum shows no current star-formation and which has a derived age of nearly half the age of the Universe at this redshift. The observations demonstrates that the galaxy must have quickly formed the majority of its stars within the first billion years of cosmic history in an extreme and short starburst. This ancestral event is similar to those starting to be found by sub-mm wavelength surveys pointing to a possible connection between these two populations. Early formation of such massive systems is likely to require significant revisions to our picture of early galaxy assembly.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2017

Decoupled Black Hole Accretion and Quenching: The Relationship Between BHAR, SFR, and Quenching in Milky Way and Andromeda-mass Progenitors Since z = 2.5

We investigate the relationship between the black hole accretion rate (BHAR) and star-formation rate (SFR) for Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31)-mass progenitors from z = 0.2 - 2.5. We source galaxies from the Ks-band selected ZFOURGE survey, which includes multi-wavelenth data spanning 0.3 - 160um. We use decomposition software to split the observed SEDs of our galaxies into their active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star-forming components, which allows us to estimate BHARs and SFRs from the infrared (IR). We perform tests to check the robustness of these estimates, including a comparison to BHARs and SFRs derived from X-ray stacking and far-IR analysis, respectively. We find as the progenit- ors evolve, their relative black hole-galaxy growth (i.e. their BHAR/SFR ratio) increases from low to high redshift. The MW-mass progenitors exhibit a log-log slope of 0.64 +/- 0.11, while the M31-mass progenitors are 0.39 +/- 0.08. This result contrasts with previous studies that find an almost flat slope when adopting X-ray/AGN-selected or mass-limited samples and is likely due to their use of a broad mixture of galaxies with different evolutionary histories. Our use of progenitor-matched samples highlights the potential importance of carefully selecting progenitors when searching for evolutionary relationships between BHAR/SFRs. Additionally, our finding that BHAR/SFR ratios do not track the rate at which progenitors quench casts doubts over the idea that the suppression of star-formation is predominantly driven by luminous AGN feedback (i.e. high BHARs).

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2017

Deep CO(1-0) Observations of z=1.62 Cluster Galaxies with Substantial Molecular Gas Reservoirs and Normal Star Formation Efficiencies

We present an extremely deep CO(1-0) observation of a confirmed $z=1.62$ galaxy cluster. We detect two spectroscopically confirmed cluster members in CO(1-0) with $S/N>5$. Both galaxies have log(${\cal M_{\star}}$/\msol)$>11$ and are gas rich, with ${\cal M}_{\rm mol}$/(${\cal M_{\star}}+{\cal M}_{\rm mol}$)$\sim 0.17-0.45$. One of these galaxies lies on the star formation rate (SFR)-${\cal M_{\star}}$ sequence while the other lies an order of magnitude below. We compare the cluster galaxies to other SFR-selected galaxies with CO measurements and find that they have CO luminosities consistent with expectations given their infrared luminosities. We also find that they have comparable gas fractions and star formation efficiencies (SFE) to what is expected from published field galaxy scaling relations. The galaxies are compact in their stellar light distribution, at the extreme end for all high redshift star-forming galaxies. However, their SFE is consistent with other field galaxies at comparable compactness. This is similar to two other sources selected in a blind CO survey of the HDF-N. Despite living in a highly quenched proto-cluster core, the molecular gas properties of these two galaxies, one of which may be in the processes of quenching, appear entirely consistent with field scaling relations between the molecular gas content, stellar mass, star formation rate, and redshift. We speculate that these cluster galaxies cannot have any further substantive gas accretion if they are to become members of the dominant passive population in $z<1$ clusters.

astro-ph.GA↗