arXiv subjects

I. Labbé

Publications and source records attributed to I. Labbé.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

The origin of large emission line widths in massive galaxies at redshifts $z\sim 3-4$

We present a sample of 22 massive galaxies with stellar masses $>10^{10} M_{\odot}$ at $3<z<4$ with deep H and K-band high resolution spectra (R=3500-3000) from Keck/MOSFIRE and VLT/KMOS near-infrared spectrographs. We find a large fraction have strong [OIII]5007 and H$β$ emission lines with large line widths ($σ$ 100 -- 450 km/s). We measure the sizes of our galaxies from Hubble Space Telescope images and consider the potential kinematic scaling relations of our sample; and rule out an explanation for these broad lines in terms of galaxy-wide kinematics. Based on consideration of the [OIII]5007 $/$ H$β$ flux ratios, their location in the Mass--Excitation diagram, and the derived bolometric luminosities, we conclude that Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and their Narrow Line Regions most likely give rise to this emission. At redshifts $3<z<4$, we find significantly high AGN fractions in massive galaxies, ranging from 60--70\% for the mass range $10<\log(M_{\star}/M_{\odot})<11$, with a lower limit 30\% for all galaxies within that redshift range when we apply our most stringent AGN criteria. We also find a considerably lower AGN fraction in massive quiescent galaxies, ranging from 20-30\%. These fractions of AGN point to the period between $3<z<4$ being a time of heightened activity for the development of supermassive black holes in the massive end of the galaxy population and provide evidence for their role in the emergence of the first massive quenched galaxies at this epoch.

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arXiv2022

The REBELS ALMA Survey: cosmic dust temperature evolution out to z $\sim$ 7

ALMA observations have revealed the presence of dust in the first generations of galaxies in the Universe. However, the dust temperature $T_d$ remains mostly unconstrained due to the few available FIR continuum data at redshift $z>5$. This introduces large uncertainties in several properties of high-$z$ galaxies, namely their dust masses, infrared luminosities, and obscured fraction of star formation. Using a new method based on simultaneous [CII] 158$μ$m line and underlying dust continuum measurements, we derive $T_ d$ in the continuum and [CII] detected $z\approx 7$ galaxies in the ALMA Large Project REBELS sample. We find $39\ \mathrm{K} < T_d < 58\ \mathrm{K}$, and dust masses in the narrow range $M_d = (0.9-3.6)\times 10^7 M_{\odot}$. These results allow us to extend for the first time the reported $T_d(z)$ relation into the Epoch of Reionization. We produce a new physical model that explains the increasing $T_ d(z)$ trend with the decrease of gas depletion time, $t_{dep}=M_g/\mathrm{SFR}$, induced by the higher cosmological accretion rate at early times; this hypothesis yields $T_d \propto (1+z)^{0.4}$. The model also explains the observed $T_d$ scatter at a fixed redshift. We find that dust is warmer in obscured sources, as a larger obscuration results in more efficient dust heating. For UV-transparent (obscured) galaxies, $T_d$ only depends on the gas column density (metallicity), $T_d \propto N_H^{1/6}$ ($T_d \propto Z^{-1/6}$). REBELS galaxies are on average relatively transparent, with effective gas column densities around $N_H \simeq (0.03-1)\times 10^{21} \mathrm{cm}^{-2}$. We predict that other high-$z$ galaxies (e.g. MACS0416-Y1, A2744-YD4), with estimated $T_d \gg 60$ K, are significantly obscured, low-metallicity systems. In fact $T_d$ is higher in metal-poor systems due to their smaller dust content, which for fixed $L_{ IR}$ results in warmer temperatures.

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arXiv2019

The GREATS H$β$+[OIII] Luminosity Function and Galaxy Properties at $\mathbf{z\sim8}$: Walking the Way of JWST

The James Webb Space Telescope will allow to spectroscopically study an unprecedented number of galaxies deep into the reionization era, notably by detecting [OIII] and H$β$ nebular emission lines. To efficiently prepare such observations, we photometrically select a large sample of galaxies at $z\sim8$ and study their rest-frame optical emission lines. Combining data from the GOODS Re-ionization Era wide-Area Treasury from Spitzer (GREATS) survey and from HST, we perform spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, using synthetic SEDs from a large grid of photoionization models. The deep Spitzer/IRAC data combined with our models exploring a large parameter space enables to constrain the [OIII]+H$β$ fluxes and equivalent widths for our sample, as well as the average physical properties of $z\sim8$ galaxies, such as the ionizing photon production efficiency with $\log(ξ_\mathrm{ion}/\mathrm{erg}^{-1}\hspace{1mm}\mathrm{Hz})\geq25.77$. We find a relatively tight correlation between the [OIII]+H$β$ and UV luminosity, which we use to derive for the first time the [OIII]+H$β$ luminosity function (LF) at $z\sim8$. The $z\sim8$ [OIII]+H$β$ LF is higher at all luminosities compared to lower redshift, as opposed to the UV LF, due to an increase of the [OIII]+H$β$ luminosity at a given UV luminosity from $z\sim3$ to $z\sim8$. Finally, using the [OIII]+H$β$ LF, we make predictions for JWST/NIRSpec number counts of $z\sim8$ galaxies. We find that the current wide-area extragalactic legacy fields are too shallow to use JWST at maximal efficiency for $z\sim8$ spectroscopy even at 1hr depth and JWST pre-imaging to $\gtrsim30$ mag will be required.

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arXiv2017

The ALMA Redshift 4 Survey (AR4S): I. The massive end of the z=4 main sequence of galaxies

We introduce the ALMA Redshift 4 Survey (AR4S), a systematic ALMA survey of all the known galaxies with stellar mass (M*) larger than 5e10 Msun at 3.5<z<5 in the GOODS--south, UDS and COSMOS CANDELS fields. The sample we have analyzed in this paper is composed of 96 galaxies observed with ALMA at 890um (180um rest-frame) with an on-source integration time of 1.3 min per galaxy. We detected 32% of the sample at more than 3 sigma significance. Using the stacked ALMA and Herschel photometry, we derived an average dust temperature of 40+/-2 K for the whole sample, and extrapolate the Lir and SFR for all our galaxies based on their ALMA flux. We then used a forward modeling approach to estimate their intrinsic sSFR distribution, deconvolved of measurement errors and selection effects: we find a linear relation between SFR and M*, with a median sSFR=2.8+/-0.8 Gyr and a dispersion around that relation of 0.28+/-0.13 dex. This latter value is consistent with that measured at lower redshifts, which is proof that the main sequence of star-forming galaxies was already in place at z=4, at least among massive galaxies. These new constraints on the properties of the main sequence are in good agreement with the latest predictions from numerical simulations, and suggest that the bulk of star formation in galaxies is driven by the same mechanism from z=4 to the present day, that is, over at least 90% of the cosmic history. We also discuss the consequences of our results on the population of early quiescent galaxies. This paper is part of a series that will employ these new ALMA observations to explore the star formation and dust properties of the massive end of the z=4 galaxy population.

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arXiv2014

ZFOURGE/CANDELS: On the Evolution of M* Galaxy Progenitors from z=3 to 0.5

Galaxies with stellar masses near M* contain the majority of stellar mass in the universe, and are therefore of special interest in the study of galaxy evolution. The Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) have present day stellar masses near M*, at 5x10^10 Msol (MW-mass) and 10^11 Msol (M31-mass). We study the typical progenitors of these galaxies using ZFOURGE, a deep medium-band near-IR imaging survey, which is sensitive to the progenitors of these galaxies out to z~3. We use abundance-matching techniques to identify the main progenitors of these galaxies at higher redshifts. We measure the evolution in the stellar mass, rest-frame colors, morphologies, far-IR luminosities, and star-formation rates combining our deep multiwavelength imaging with near-IR HST imaging from CANDELS, and far-IR imaging from GOODS-H and CANDELS-H. The typical MW-mass and M31-mass progenitors passed through the same evolution stages, evolving from blue, star-forming disk galaxies at the earliest stages, to redder dust-obscured IR-luminous galaxies in intermediate stages, and to red, more quiescent galaxies at their latest stages. The progenitors of the MW-mass galaxies reached each evolutionary stage at later times (lower redshifts) and with stellar masses that are a factor of 2-3 lower than the progenitors of the M31-mass galaxies. The process driving this evolution, including the suppression of star-formation in present-day M* galaxies requires an evolving stellar-mass/halo-mass ratio and/or evolving halo-mass threshold for quiescent galaxies. The effective size and star-formation rates imply that the baryonic cold-gas fractions drop as galaxies evolve from high redshift to z~0 and are strongly anticorrelated with an increase in the Sérsic index. Therefore, the growth of galaxy bulges in M* galaxies corresponds to a rapid decline in the galaxy gas fractions and/or a decrease in the star-formation efficiency.

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