The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: the submillimetre properties of Lyman break galaxies at z=3-5

Abstract

We present statistically significant detections at 850um of the Lyman Break Galaxy (LBG) population at z=3, 4, and 5 using data from the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA-2) Cosmology Legacy Survey (S2CLS) in the United Kingdom Infrared Deep Sky Survey Ultra Deep Survey (UKIDSS-UDS) field. We employ a stacking technique to probe beneath the survey limit to measure the average 850um flux density of LBGs at z=3, 4, and 5 with typical ultraviolet luminosities of L(1700A)~10^29 erg/s/Hz. We measure 850um flux densities of (0.25 +/- 0.03, (0.41 +/- 0.06), and (0.88 +/- 0.23) mJy respectively, and find that they contribute at most 20 per cent to the cosmic far-infrared background at 850um. Fitting an appropriate range of spectral energy distributions to the z=3, 4, and 5 LBG stacked 24-850um fluxes, we derive infrared (IR) luminosities of L(8-1000um)~3.2, 5.5, and 11.0x10^11 Lsun (corresponding to star formation rates of ~50-200 Msun/yr) respectively. We find that the evolution in the IR luminosity density of LBGs is broadly consistent with model predictions for the expected contribution of luminous IR galaxy (LIRG) to ultraluminous IR galaxy (ULIRG) type systems at these epochs. We also see a strong positive correlation between stellar mass and IR luminosity. Our data are consistent with the main sequence of star formation showing little or no evolution from z=3 to 5. We have also confirmed that, for a fixed mass, the reddest LBGs (UV slope Beta -> 0) are indeed redder due to dust extinction, with SFR(IR)/SFR(UV) increasing by approximately an order of magnitude over -2<Beta<0 such that SFR(IR)/SFR(UV)~20 for the reddest LBGs. Furthermore, the most massive LBGs also tend to have higher obscured-to-unobscured ratio, hinting at a variation in the obscuration properties across the mass range.

12 pages, 8 figures, submitted to MNRAS

References in corpus (19)

• The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS)
• Star Formation in AEGIS Field Galaxies since z=1.1 : The Dominance of Gradually Declining Star Formation, and the Main Sequence of Star-Forming Galaxies
• EAZY: A Fast, Public Photometric Redshift Code
• Dust Masses, PAH Abundances, and Starlight Intensities in the SINGS Galaxy Sample
• UV Luminosity Functions at z~4, 5, and 6 from the HUDF and other Deep HST ACS Fields: Evolution and Star Formation History
• Subaru Deep Survey V. A Census of Lyman Break Galaxies at z=4 and 5 in the Subaru Deep Fields: Photometric Properties
• SCUBA-2: iterative map-making with the Sub-Millimetre User Reduction Facility
• The Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS) - II. Optical Imaging and Photometric Catalogs
• Vigorous star formation with low efficiency in massive disk galaxies at z=1.5
• Radio imaging of the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Field - I. The 100-microJy catalogue, optical identifications, and the nature of the faint radio source population
• The Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS): III. X-Ray Data
• Over half of the far-infrared background light comes from galaxies at z >= 1.2
• The luminosity function, halo masses and stellar masses of luminous Lyman-break galaxies at redshifts 5<z<6
• Lyman-break galaxies at z~5 -I. First significant stellar mass assembly in galaxies that are not simply z~3 LBGs at higher redshift
• Direct Measurements of the Stellar Continua and Balmer/4000 Angstrom Breaks of Red z>2 Galaxies: Redshifts and Improved Constraints on Stellar Populations
• The X-ray emission of Lyman break galaxies
• SPITZER Observations of z~3 Lyman Break Galaxies: stellar masses and mid-infrared properties
• AEGIS: Infrared Spectroscopy of An Infrared Luminous Lyman Break Galaxy at z=3.01
• IRAC Photometric Analysis and the Mid-IR Photometric Properties of Lyman Break Galaxies

Cited by in corpus (20)

• The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: 850um maps, catalogues and number counts
• Are high redshift Galaxies hot? - Temperature of z > 5 Galaxies and Implications on their Dust Properties
• Galaxy Evolution in the Radio Band: The Role of Starforming Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei
• Dissecting the IRX - $\beta$ dust attenuation relation: exploring the physical origin of observed variations in galaxies
• Evolution of cosmic star formation in the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey
• An ALMA survey of submillimetre galaxies in the COSMOS field: Physical properties derived from energy balance spectral energy distribution modelling
• Dust and Gas in Star Forming Galaxies at z~3 - Extending Galaxy Uniformity to 11.5 Billion Years
• Significant Dust-Obscured Star Formation in Luminous Lyman-break Galaxies at $z$$\sim$$7$$-$$8$
• The Dust Attenuation of Star-forming Galaxies at $z\sim 3$ and Beyond: New Insights from ALMA Observations
• Evolution of Galaxy Star Formation and Metallicity: Impact on Double Compact Objects Mergers
• Exploring galaxies-gravitational waves cross-correlations as an astrophysical probe
• A gravitationally-boosted MUSE survey for emission-line galaxies at z>~5 behind the massive cluster RCS 0224
• A resolved map of the infrared excess in a Lyman Break Galaxy at z=3
• An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey UKIDSS/UDS field: Dust attenuation in high-redshift Lyman break Galaxies
• The UV spectral slope beta and stellar population of most active star-forming galaxies at z~4
• ALMA 26 arcmin${}^2$ survey of GOODS-S at one-millimeter (ASAGAO): millimeter properties of stellar mass selected galaxies
• The ALMA Frontier Fields survey V: ALMA Stacking of Lyman-Break Galaxies in Abell 2744, Abell 370, Abell S1063, MACSJ0416.1-2403 and MACSJ1149.5+2223
• The case for a 'sub-millimeter SDSS': a 3D map of galaxy evolution to z~10
• ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey: average dust, gas, and star formation properties of cluster and field galaxies from stacking analysis
• Theoretical clues about dust accumulation and galaxy obscuration at high and low redshift