arXiv subjects

Chian-Chou Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Chian-Chou Chen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

ALMA/SCUBA-2 COSMOS Survey: Properties of X-ray- and SED-selected AGNs in Bright Submillimeter Galaxies

We investigate the properties of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the brightest submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) in the COSMOS field. We utilize the bright sample of ALMA/SCUBA-2 COSMOS Survey (AS2COSMOS), which consists of 260 SMGs with $S_{\mathrm{870}\, μ\mathrm{m}}=0.7\text{--}19.2\,\mathrm{mJy}$ at $z=0\text{--}6$. We perform optical to millimeter spectral energy distribution (SED) modeling for the whole sample. We identify 24 AGN-host galaxies from the SEDs. Supplemented by 23 X-ray detected AGNs (X-ray AGNs), we construct an overall sample of 40 AGN-host galaxies. The X-ray luminosity upper bounds indicate that the X-ray undetected SED-identified AGNs are likely to be nearly Compton thick or have unusually suppressed X-ray emission. From visual classification, we identify $25^{+6}_{-5}$\% of the SMGs without AGNs as major merger candidates. This fraction is almost consistent with the general galaxy population at $z\sim2$, suggesting that major mergers are not necessarily required for the enhanced star formation in SMGs. We also identify $47^{+16}_{-15}$\% of the AGN hosts as major merger candidates, which is about twice as high as that in the SMGs without AGNs. This suggests that major mergers play a key role in triggering AGN activity in bright SMGs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Identification of $>$40 gravitationally magnified stars in a galaxy at redshift of 0.725

Strong gravitational magnifications enable to detect faint background sources, resolve their internal structures, and even identify individual stars in distant galaxies. Highly magnified individual stars allow various applications, including studies of stellar populations in distant galaxies and constraining dark matter structures in the lensing plane. However, these applications have been hampered by the small number of individual stars observed, as typically one or a few stars are identified from each distant galaxy. Here, we report the discovery of more than 40 microlensed stars in a single galaxy behind Abell 370 at redshift of 0.725 when the Universe was half of its current age (dubbed ``the Dragon arc''), using James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations with the time-domain technique. These events are found near the expected lensing critical curves, suggesting that these are magnified stars that appear as transients from intracluster stellar microlenses. Through multi-wavelength photometry, we constrain stellar types and find that many of them are consistent with red giants/supergiants magnified by factors of hundreds. This finding reveals an unprecedented high occurrence of microlensing events in the Dragon arc, and proves that {\it JWST}'s time-domain observations open up the possibility of conducting statistical studies of high-redshift stars.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Behind the dust veil: A panchromatic view of an optically dark galaxy at z=4.82

Optically dark dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) play an essential role in massive galaxy formation at early cosmic time, however their nature remains elusive. Here we present a detailed case study of all the baryonic components of a $z=4.821$ DSFG, XS55. Selected from the ultra-deep COSMOS-XS 3GHz map with a red SCUBA-2 450$μ$m/850$μ$m colour, XS55 was followed up with ALMA 3mm line scans and spectroscopically confirmed to be at $z=4.821$ via detections of the CO(5-4) and [CI](1-0) lines. JWST/NIRCam imaging reveals that XS55 is a F150W-dropout with red F277W/F444W colour, and a complex morphology: a compact central component embedded in an extended structure with a likely companion. XS55 is tentatively detected in X-rays with both Chandra and XMM-Newton, suggesting an active galactic nucleus (AGN) nature. By fitting a panchromatic SED spanning NIR to radio wavelengths, we revealed that XS55 is a massive main-sequence galaxy with a stellar mass of $M_\ast=(5\pm1)\times10^{10}\,{\rm M_\odot}$ and a star formation rate of ${\rm SFR}=540\pm177~{\rm M_\odot\,yr^{-1}}$. The dust of XS55 is optically thick in the far infrared (FIR) with a surprisingly cold dust temperature of $T_{\rm dust}=33\pm2\,{\rm K}$, making XS55 one of the coldest DSFGs at $z>4$ known to date. This work unveils the nature of a radio-selected F150W-dropout, suggesting the existence of a population of DSFGs hosting active black holes embedded in optically thick dust.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The properties of the interstellar medium in dusty, star-forming galaxies at $z \sim 2-4$: The shape of the CO spectral line energy distributions

The molecular gas in the interstellar medium (ISM) of star-forming galaxy populations exhibits diverse physical properties. We investigate the $^{12}$CO excitation of twelve dusty, luminous star-forming galaxies at $z \sim 2-4$ by combining observations of the $^{12}$CO from $J_{\rm up} = 1$ to $J_{\rm up} = 8$. The spectral line energy distribution (SLED) has a similar shape to NGC 253, M82, and local ULIRGs, with much stronger excitation than the Milky Way inner disc. By combining with resolved dust continuum sizes from high-resolution $870$-$μ$m ALMA observations and dust mass measurements determined from multi-wavelength SED fitting, we measure the relationship between the $^{12}$CO SLED and probable physical drivers of excitation: star-formation efficiency, the average intensity of the radiation field $\langle U\rangle$, and the star-formation rate surface density. The primary driver of high-$J_{\rm up}$ $^{12}$CO excitation in star-forming galaxies is star-formation rate surface density. We use the ratio of the CO($3-2$) and CO($6-5$) line fluxes to infer the CO excitation in each source and find that the average ratios for our sample are elevated compared to observations of low-redshift, less actively star-forming galaxies and agree well with predictions from numerical models that relate the ISM excitation to the star-formation rate surface density. The significant scatter in the line ratios of a factor $\approx 3$ within our sample likely reflects intrinsic variations in the ISM properties which may be caused by other effects on the excitation of the molecular gas, such as cosmic ray ionization rates and mechanical heating through turbulence dissipation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The Structure of Massive Star-Forming Galaxies from JWST and ALMA: Dusty, High Redshift Disk Galaxies

We present an analysis of the JWST NIRCam and MIRI morphological properties of 80 massive ($\log_{10}(M_\ast[M_{\odot}])$=11.2$\pm$0.1) dusty star-forming galaxies at $z$$=$2.7$^{+1.2}_{-0.7}$, identified as sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) by ALMA, that have been observed as part of the JWST PRIMER project. To compare the structure of these massive, active galaxies to more typical less actively star-forming galaxies, we define two comparison samples. The first of 850 field galaxies matched in specific star-formation rate and redshift and the second of 80 field galaxies matched in stellar mass. We identify 20$\pm$5% of the SMGs as candidate late-stage major mergers, a further 40$\pm$10% as potential minor mergers and 40$\pm$10% which have comparatively undisturbed disk-like morphologies, with no obvious massive neighbours. These rates are comparable to those for the field samples and indicate that the majority of the sub-millimetre-detected galaxies are not late-stage major mergers, but have interaction rates similar to the less-active population at $z$$\sim$2-3. We establish that SMGs have comparable near-infrared sizes to the less active populations, but exhibit lower Sérsic indices, consistent with bulge-less disks and have more structured morphologies at 2$μ$m relative to 4$μ$m. We find evidence for dust reddening as the origin of the morphological differences between the populations, identifying a strong correlation between the F200W$-$F444W pixel colour and the 870$μ$m surface brightness. We conclude that SMGs and less active galaxies at the same epochs share a common disk-like structure, but the weaker bulge components of the SMGs results in a lower dynamical stability. Consequently, instabilities triggered either secularly or by minor external perturbations result in higher levels of activity (and dust content) in SMGs compared to typical star-forming galaxies. [Abridged]

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The Radio Galaxy Environment Reference Survey (RAGERS): a submillimetre study of the environments of massive radio-quiet galaxies at $z = 1{\rm -}3$

Measuring the environments of massive galaxies at high redshift is crucial to understanding galaxy evolution and the conditions that gave rise to the distribution of matter we see in the Universe today. While high-$z$ radio galaxies (H$z$RGs) and quasars tend to reside in protocluster-like systems, the environments of their radio-quiet counterparts are relatively unexplored, particularly in the submillimetre, which traces dust-obscured star formation. In this study we search for 850 $μ$m-selected submillimetre galaxies in the environments of massive ($M_{\star} > 10^{11} M_{\odot}$), radio-quiet ($L_{500 {\rm MHz}} \lesssim 10^{25}$ W Hz$^{-1}$) galaxies at $z \sim 1\text{--}3$ using S2COSMOS data. By constructing number counts in circular regions of radius 1--6 arcmin and comparing with blank-field measurements, we find no significant overdensities of SMGs around massive radio-quiet galaxies at any of these scales, despite being sensitive down to overdensities of $δ\sim 0.4$. To probe deeper than the catalogue we also examine the distribution of peaks in the SCUBA-2 SNR map, which reveals only tentative signs of any difference in the SMG densities of the radio-quiet galaxy environments compared to the blank field, and only on smaller scales (1$^{\prime}$ radii, corresponding to $\sim0.5$ Mpc) and higher SNR thresholds. We conclude that massive, radio-quiet galaxies at cosmic noon are typically in environments with $δ\lesssim0.4$, which are either consistent with the blank field or contain only weak overdensities spanning sub-Mpc scales. The contrast between our results and studies of H$z$RGs with similar stellar masses and redshifts implies an intrinsic link between the wide-field environment and radio AGN luminosity at high redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

JWST view of four infant galaxies at z=8.31-8.49 in the MACS0416 field and implications for reionization

New JWST/NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy provides redshifts for four z>8 galaxies located behind the lensing cluster MACS J0416.1-2403. Two of them, "Y1" and "JD", have previously reported spectroscopic redshifts based on ALMA measurements of [OIII] 88 $μ$m and/or [CII] 157.7 $μ$m lines. Y1 is a merging system of three components, and the existing redshift z=8.31 is confirmed. However, JD is at z=8.34 instead of the previously claimed z=9.28. JD's close companion, "JD-N", which was a previously discovered z>8 candidate, is now identified at the same redshift as JD. JD and JD-N form an interacting pair. A new candidate at z>8, "f090d_018", is also confirmed and is at z=8.49. These four objects are likely part of an overdensity that signposts a large structure extending ~165 kpc in projected distance and ~48.7 Mpc in radial distance. They are magnified by less than one magnitude and have intrinsic $M_{UV}$ ranging from -19.57 to -20.83 mag. Their spectral energy distributions show that the galaxies are all very young with ages ~ 4-18 Myr and stellar masses about $10^{7-8}$ ${\rm M_\odot}$. These infant galaxies have very different star formation rates ranging from a few to over a hundred $\rm{M_\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, but only two of them (JD and f090d_018) have blue rest-frame UV slopes $β<-2.0$ indicative of a high Lyman-continuum photon escape fraction that could contribute significantly to the cosmic hydrogen-reionizing background. Interestingly, these two galaxies are the least massive and least active ones among the four. The other two systems have much flatter UV slopes largely because of their high dust extinction ($A_{\rm V}$=0.9-1.0 mag). Their much lower indicated escape fractions show that even very young, actively star-forming galaxies can have negligible contribution to reionization when they quickly form dust throughout their bodies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

AtLAST Science Overview Report

Submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths provide a unique view of the Universe, from the gas and dust that fills and surrounds galaxies to the chromosphere of our own Sun. Current single-dish facilities have presented a tantalising view of the brightest (sub-)mm sources, and interferometers have provided the exquisite resolution necessary to analyse the details in small fields, but there are still many open questions that cannot be answered with current facilities. In this report we summarise the science that is guiding the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST). We demonstrate how tranformational advances in topics including star formation in high redshift galaxies, the diffuse circumgalactic medium, Galactic ecology, cometary compositions and solar flares motivate the need for a 50m, single-dish telescope with a 1-2 degree field of view and a new generation of highly multiplexed continuum and spectral cameras. AtLAST will have the resolution to drastically lower the confusion limit compared to current single-dish facilities, whilst also being able to rapidly map large areas of the sky and detect extended, diffuse structures. Its high sensitivity and large field of view will open up the field of submillimeter transient science by increasing the probability of serendipitous detections. Finally, the science cases listed here motivate the need for a highly flexible operations model capable of short observations of individual targets, large surveys, monitoring programmes, target of opportunity observations and coordinated observations with other observatories. AtLAST aims to be a sustainable, upgradeable, multipurpose facility that will deliver orders of magnitude increases in sensitivity and mapping speeds over current and planned submillimeter observatories.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2024

The RAdio Galaxy Environment Reference Survey (RAGERS): Evidence of an anisotropic distribution of submillimeter galaxies in the 4C 23.56 protocluster at z=2.48

High-redshift radio(-loud) galaxies (H$z$RGs) are massive galaxies with powerful radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and serve as beacons for protocluster identification. However, the interplay between H$z$RGs and the large-scale environment remains unclear. To understand the connection between H$z$RGs and the surrounding obscured star formation, we investigated the overdensity and spatial distribution of submillimeter-bright galaxies (SMGs) in the field of 4C\,23.56, a well-known H$z$RG at $z=2.48$. We used SCUBA-2 data ($σ\,{\sim}\,0.6$\,mJy) to estimate the $850\,{\rm μm}$ source number counts and examine the radial and azimuthal overdensities of the $850\,{\rm μm}$ sources in the vicinity of the H$z$RG. The angular distribution of SMGs is inhomogeneous around the H$z$RG 4C\,23.56, with fewer sources oriented along the radio jet. We also find a significant overdensity of bright SMGs (${\rm S}_{850\rm\,μm}\geq5\,$mJy). Faint and bright SMGs exhibit different spatial distributions. The former are concentrated in the core region, while the latter prefer the outskirts of the H$z$RG field. High-resolution observations show that the seven brightest SMGs in our sample are intrinsically bright, suggesting that the overdensity of bright SMGs is less likely due to the source multiplicity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

ALESS-JWST: Joint (sub-)kiloparsec JWST and ALMA imaging of $z\sim3$ submillimeter galaxies reveals heavily obscured bulge formation events

We present JWST NIRCam imaging targeting 13 $z\sim3$ infrared-luminous ($L_{\rm IR}\sim5\times10^{12}L_{\odot}$) galaxies from the ALESS survey with uniquely deep, high-resolution (0.08$''$$-$0.16$''$) ALMA 870$μ$m imaging. The 2.0$-$4.4$μ$m (observed frame) NIRCam imaging reveals the rest-frame near-infrared stellar emission in these submillimeter-selected galaxies (SMGs) at the same (sub-)kpc resolution as the 870$μ$m dust continuum. The newly revealed stellar morphologies show striking similarities with the dust continuum morphologies at 870$μ$m, with the centers and position angles agreeing for most sources, clearly illustrating that the spatial offsets reported previously between the 870$μ$m and HST morphologies were due to strong differential dust obscuration. The F444W sizes are 78$\pm$21% larger than those measured at 870$μ$m, in contrast to recent results from hydrodynamical simulations that predict larger 870$μ$m sizes. We report evidence for significant dust obscuration in F444W for the highest-redshift sources, emphasizing the importance of longer-wavelength MIRI imaging. The majority of the sources show evidence that they are undergoing mergers/interactions, including tidal tails/plumes -- some of which are also detected at 870$μ$m. We find a clear correlation between NIRCam colors and 870$μ$m surface brightness on $\sim$1 kpc scales, indicating that the galaxies are primarily red due to dust -- not stellar age -- and we show that the dust structure on $\sim$kpc-scales is broadly similar to that in nearby galaxies. Finally, we find no strong stellar bars in the rest-frame near-infrared, suggesting the extended bar-like features seen at 870$μ$m are highly obscured and/or gas-dominated structures that are likely early precursors to significant bulge growth.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES). V. Confusion-limited Submillimeter Galaxy Number Counts at 450 $μ$m and Data Release for the COSMOS Field

We present confusion-limited SCUBA-2 450-$μ$m observations in the COSMOS-CANDELS region as part of the JCMT Large Program, SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES). Our maps at 450 and 850 $μ$m cover an area of 450 arcmin$^2$. We achieved instrumental noise levels of $σ_{\mathrm{450}}=$ 0.59 mJy beam$^{-1}$ and $σ_{\mathrm{850}}=$ 0.09 mJy beam$^{-1}$ in the deepest area of each map. The corresponding confusion noise levels are estimated to be 0.65 and 0.36 mJy beam$^{-1}$. Above the 4 (3.5) $σ$ threshold, we detected 360 (479) sources at 450 $μ$m and 237 (314) sources at 850 $μ$m. We derive the deepest blank-field number counts at 450 $μ$m, covering the flux-density range of 2 to 43 mJy. These are in agreement with other SCUBA-2 blank-field and lensing-cluster observations, but are lower than various model counts. We compare the counts with those in other fields and find that the field-to-field variance observed at 450 $μ$m at the $R=6^\prime$ scale is consistent with Poisson noise, so there is no evidence of strong 2-D clustering at this scale. Additionally, we derive the integrated surface brightness at 450 $μ$m down to 2.1 mJy to be $57.3^{+1.0}_{-6.2}$~Jy deg$^{-2}$, contributing to (41$\pm$4)\% of the 450-$μ$m extragalactic background light (EBL) measured by COBE and Planck. Our results suggest that the 450-$μ$m EBL may be fully resolved at $0.08^{+0.09}_{-0.08}$~mJy, which extremely deep lensing-cluster observations and next-generation submillimeter instruments with large aperture sizes may be able to achieve.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

KAOSS: turbulent, but disc-like kinematics in dust-obscured star-forming galaxies at $z\sim$1.3-2.6

We present spatially resolved kinematics of 27 ALMA-identified dust-obscured star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) at $z\sim$1.3-2.6, as traced by H$α$ emission using VLT/KMOS near-infrared integral field spectroscopy from the "KMOS-ALMA Observations of Submillimetre Sources" (KAOSS) Large Programme. We derive H$α$ rotation curves and velocity dispersion profiles for the DSFGs, and find that among the 27 sources with bright, spatially extended H$α$ emission, 24 display evidence for disc-like kinematics. We measure a median inclination-corrected velocity at 2.2$R_{\rm d}$ of $v_{\rm rot}=$190$\pm$40kms$^{-1}$ and intrinsic velocity dispersion of $σ_0=$87$\pm$6kms$^{-1}$ for these disc-like sources. The kinematics yield median circular velocities of $v_{\rm circ}=$230$\pm$20kms$^{-1}$ and dynamical masses within 2$R_{\rm e}$ ($\sim$7kpc radius) of $M_{\rm dyn}=$(1.1$\pm$0.2)$\times$10$^{11}$M$_\odot$. Compared to less actively star-forming galaxies, KAOSS DSFGs are both faster rotating with higher intrinsic velocity dispersions, but have similar $v_{\rm rot}/σ_0$ ratios, median $v/σ_0=$2.5$\pm$0.5. We suggest that the kinematics of the DSFGs are primarily rotation supported but with a non-negligible contribution from pressure support, which may be driven by star formation or mergers/interactions. We estimate the normalisation of the stellar mass Tully-Fisher relation (sTFR) for the disc-like DSFGs and compare it with local studies, finding no evolution at fixed slope between $z\sim$2 and $z\sim$0. Finally, we show that the kinematic properties of the DSFG population are consistent with them evolving into massive early-type galaxies, the dominant $z\sim$0 population at these masses.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A Comparative Study of the Ground State Transitions of CO and [C I] as Molecular Gas Tracers at High Redshift

The CO(1--0) and [\ion{C}{1}](1--0) emission lines are well-established tracers of cold molecular gas mass in local galaxies. At high redshift, where the interstellar medium (ISM) is likely to be denser, there have been limited direct comparisons of both ground state transitions. Here we present a study of CO(1--0) and [\ion{C}{1}](1--0) emission in a sample of 20 unlensed dusty, star-forming galaxies at $z=2-5$. The CO(1--0)/[\ion{C}{1}](1--0) ratio is constant up to at least $z=5$, supporting the use of [CI](1-0) as a gas mass tracer. PDR modelling of the available data indicates a median H$_2$ density of log$(n~[$cm$^{-3}])=4.7\pm0.2$, and UV radiation field log$(G_{\mathrm{UV}} [G$_0$])=3.2\pm0.2$. We use the CO(1--0), [\ion{C}{1}](1--0) and 3mm dust continuum measurements to cross--calibrate the respective gas mass conversion factors, finding no dependence of these factors on either redshift or infrared luminosity. Assuming a variable CO conversion factor then implies [\ion{C}{1}] and dust conversion factors that differ from canonically assumed values but are consistent with the solar/super-solar metallicities expected for our sources. Radiative transfer modelling shows that the warmer CMB at high redshift can significantly affect the [\ion{C}{1}] as well as CO emission, which can change the derived molecular gas masses by up to 70\% for the coldest kinetic gas temperatures expected. Nevertheless, we show that the magnitude of the effect on the ratio of the tracers is within the known scatter of the $L'_\mathrm{CO}-L'_\mathrm{[CI]}$ relation. Further determining the absolute decrease of individual line intensities will require well-sampled spectral line energy distributions (SLEDs) to model the gas excitation conditions in more detail.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A Full Resolution of the 450 μm Extragalactic Background Light

The extragalactic background light (EBL) is the cumulative radiation outside the Milky Way. The determination of its corresponding primary emitting sources as well as its total energy level across the entire electromagnetic spectrum has profound implications for both cosmology and galaxy formation. However, the detailed origin of the EBL at far-infrared wavelengths, particularly those close to the peak of the cosmic infrared background, remains unclear. Here we report the results of our ongoing SCUBA-2 450 $μ$m survey of 10 massive galaxy cluster fields. By exploiting the strong gravitational lensing offered by these clusters, we obtain significant counts down to an unprecedented depth of $\sim$0.1 mJy at this wavelength, about ten times deeper than that reached by any other previous survey. The cumulative energy density based on the counts is 138.1$^{+23.9}_{-19.3}$ Jy degree$^{-2}$, or 0.45$^{+0.08}_{-0.06}$ MJy sr$^{-1}$. Comparing our measurements to those made by the COBE and Planck satellites, we find that at this flux density level, the 450 $μ$m EBL is entirely resolved by our SCUBA-2 observations. Thus, we find for the first time that discrete sources produce fully to the 450 $μ$m EBL, and that about half of it comes from sources with sub-mJy flux densities. Our deep number counts provide strong constraints on galaxy formation models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Surveying the distant Universe

During the most active period of star formation in galaxies, which occurs in the redshift range 1<z<3, strong bursts of star formation result in significant quantities of dust, which obscures new stars being formed as their UV/optical light is absorbed and then re-emitted in the infrared, which redshifts into the mm/sub-mm bands for these early times. To get a complete picture of the high-z galaxy population, we need to survey a large patch of the sky in the sub-mm with sufficient angular resolution to resolve all galaxies, but we also need the depth to fully sample their cosmic evolution, and therefore obtain their redshifts using direct mm spectroscopy with a very wide frequency coverage. This requires a large single-dish sub-mm telescope with fast mapping speeds at high sensitivity and angular resolution, a large bandwidth with good spectral resolution and multiplex spectroscopic capabilities. The proposed 50-m Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) will deliver these specifications. We discuss how AtLAST allows us to study the whole population of high-z galaxies, including the dusty star-forming ones which can only be detected and studied in the sub-mm, and obtain a wealth of information for each of these up to z~7: gas content, cooling budget, star formation rate, dust mass, and dust temperature. We present worked examples of surveys that AtLAST can perform, both deep and wide, and also focused on galaxies in proto-clusters. In addition we show how such surveys with AtLAST can measure the growth rate and the Hubble constant with high accuracy, and demonstrate the power of the line-intensity mapping method in the mm/sub-mm wavebands to constrain the cosmic expansion history at high redshifts, as good examples of what can uniquely be done by AtLAST in this research field.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: The hidden circumgalactic medium

Our knowledge of galaxy formation and evolution has incredibly progressed through multi-wavelength observational constraints of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies at all cosmic epochs. However, little is known about the physical properties of the more diffuse and lower surface brightness reservoir of gas and dust that extends beyond ISM scales and fills dark matter haloes of galaxies up to their virial radii, the circumgalactic medium (CGM). New theoretical studies increasingly stress the relevance of the latter for understanding the feedback and feeding mechanisms that shape galaxies across cosmic times, whose cumulative effects leave clear imprints into the CGM. Recent studies are showing that a -- so far unconstrained -- fraction of the CGM mass may reside in the cold (T < 1e4 K) molecular and atomic phase, especially in high-redshift dense environments. These gas phases, together with the warmer ionised phase, can be studied in galaxies from z ~ 0 to z ~ 10 through bright far-infrared and sub-millimeter emission lines such as [C II] 158$μ$m, [O III] 88 $μ$m, [C I] 609$μ$m, [C I] 370$μ$m, and the rotational transitions of CO. Imaging such hidden cold CGM can lead to a breakthrough in galaxy evolution studies but requires a new facility with the specifications of the proposed Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST). In this paper, we use theoretical and empirical arguments to motivate future ambitious CGM observations with AtLAST and describe the technical requirements needed for the telescope and its instrumentation to perform such science.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

An ALMA Spectroscopic Survey of the Brightest Submillimeter Galaxies in the SCUBA-2-COSMOS Field (AS2COSPEC): Physical Properties of z=2-5 Ultra- and Hyperluminous Infrared Galaxies

We report physical properties of the brightest ($S_{870\,μ\rm m}=12.4$-$19.2\,$mJy) and not strongly lensed 18 870$\,μ$m selected dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs), also known as submillimeter galaxies (SMGs), in the COSMOS field. This sample is part of an ALMA band$\,$3 spectroscopic survey (AS2COSPEC), and spectroscopic redshifts are measured in 17 of them at $z=2$-$5$. We perform spectral energy distribution analyses and deduce a median total infrared luminosity of $L_{\rm IR}=(1.3\pm0.1)\times10^{13}\,L_{\odot}$, infrared-based star-formation rate of ${\rm SFR}_{\rm IR}=1390\pm150~M_{\odot}\,\rm yr^{-1}$, stellar mass of $M_\ast=(1.4\pm0.6)\times10^{11}\,M_\odot$, dust mass of $M_{\rm dust}=(3.7\pm0.5)\times10^9\,M_\odot$, and molecular gas mass of $M_{\rm gas}= (α_{\rm CO}/0.8)(1.2\pm0.1)\times10^{11}\,M_\odot$, suggesting that they are one of the most massive, ISM-enriched, and actively star-forming systems at $z=2$-$5$. In addition, compared to less massive and less active galaxies at similar epochs, SMGs have comparable gas fractions; however, they have much shorter depletion time, possibly caused by more active dynamical interactions. We determine a median dust emissivity index of $β=2.1\pm0.1$ for our sample, and by combining our results with those from other DSFG samples, we find no correlation of $β$ with redshift or infrared luminosity, indicating similar dust grain compositions across cosmic time for infrared luminous galaxies. We also find that AS2COSPEC SMGs have one of the highest dust-to-stellar mass ratios, with a median of $0.02\pm0.01$, significantly higher than model predictions, possibly due to too strong of a AGN feedback implemented in the model. Finally, our complete and uniform survey enables us to put constraints on the most massive end of the dust and molecular gas mass functions.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A large population of strongly lensed faint submillimetre galaxies in future dark energy surveys inferred from JWST imaging

Bright galaxies at sub-millimetre wavelengths from Herschel are now well known to be predominantly strongly gravitationally lensed. The same models that successfully predicted this strongly lensed population also predict about one percent of faint $450μ$m-selected galaxies from deep James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) surveys will also be strongly lensed. Follow-up ALMA campaigns have so far found one potential lens candidate, but without clear compelling evidence e.g. from lensing arcs. Here we report the discovery of a compelling gravitational lens system confirming the lensing population predictions, with a $z_{s} = 3.4 {\pm} 0.4$ submm source lensed by a $z_{spec} = 0.360$ foreground galaxy within the COSMOS field, identified through public JWST imaging of a $450μ$m source in the SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES) catalogue. These systems will typically be well within the detectable range of future wide-field surveys such as Euclid and Roman, and since sub-millimetre galaxies are predominantly very red at optical/near-infrared wavelengths, they will tend to appear in near-infrared channels only. Extrapolating to the Euclid-Wide survey, we predict tens of thousands of strongly lensed near-infrared galaxies. This will be transformative for the study of dusty star-forming galaxies at cosmic noon, but will be a contaminant population in searches for strongly lensed ultra-high-redshift galaxies in Euclid and Roman.

astro-ph.GA↗