A Far-Infrared Spectroscopic Survey of Intermediate Redshift (Ultra) Luminous Infrared Galaxies

Abstract

We present Herschel far-IR photometry and spectroscopy as well as ground based CO observations of an intermediate redshift (0.21 < z < 0.88) sample of Herschel-selected (ultra)-luminous infrared galaxies (L_IR > 10^11.5L_sun). With these measurements we trace the dust continuum, far-IR atomic line emission, in particular [CII]\,157.7microns, as well as the molecular gas of z~0.3 (U)LIRGs and perform a detailed investigation of the interstellar medium of the population. We find that the majority of Herschel-selected intermediate redshift (U)LIRGs have L_CII/L_FIR ratios that are a factor of about 10 higher than that of local ULIRGs and comparable to that of local normal and high-$z$ star forming galaxies. Using our sample to bridge local and high-z [CII] observations, we find that the majority of galaxies at all redshifts and all luminosities follow a L_CII-L_FIR relation with a slope of unity, from which local ULIRGs and high-z AGN dominated sources are clear outliers. We also confirm that the strong anti-correlation between the L_CII/L_FIR ratio and the far-IR color L_60/L_100 observed in the local Universe holds over a broad range of redshifts and luminosities, in the sense that warmer sources exhibit lower L_CII/L_FIR at any epoch. Intermediate redshift ULIRGs are also characterised by large molecular gas reservoirs and by lower star formation efficiencies compared to that of local ULIRGs. The high L_CII/L_FIR ratios, the moderate star formation efficiencies (L_LIR/L_CO or L_IR/M_gas) and the relatively low dust temperatures of our sample (which are also common characteristics of high-z star forming galaxies with ULIRG-like luminosities) indicate that the evolution of the physical properties of (U)LIRGs between the present day and z > 1 is already significant by z ~ 0.3.

Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (23)

• Infrared Emission from Interstellar Dust. IV. The Silicate-Graphite-PAH Model in the Post-Spitzer Era
• 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
• Cold streams in early massive hot haloes as the main mode of galaxy formation
• A Dust-Obscured Massive Maximum-Starburst Galaxy at a Redshift of 6.34
• The Resolved Properties of Extragalactic Giant Molecular Clouds
• COLD GASS, an IRAM legacy survey of molecular gas in massive galaxies: I. Relations between H2, HI, stellar content and structural properties
• Mid-IR Galaxy Classification Based on Silicate Obscuration and PAH Equivalent Width
• Diagnostics of irradiated dense gas in galaxy nuclei. II. A grid of XDR and PDR models
• Mid-Infrared Spectral Diagnosis of Submillimeter Galaxies
• A Kiloparsec-Scale Hyper-Starburst in a Quasar Host Less than 1 Gigayear after the Big Bang
• Deep ATLAS radio observations of the CDFS-SWIRE field
• The nature of star formation in distant ultraluminous infrared galaxies selected in a remarkably narrow redshift range
• Detection of the 205 um [NII] Line from the Carina Nebula
• PAH Emission from Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies
• A Detection of [CII] line emission in the z=4.7 QSO BR1202-0725
• Physical conditions of the interstellar medium of high-redshift, strongly lensed submillimetre galaxies from the Herschel-ATLAS
• Extended [CII] Emission in Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies
• CO(1-0) line imaging of massive star-forming disc galaxies at z=1.5-2.2
• Calibration of the Herschel SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer
• Spitzer Spectra of a 10 mJy Galaxy Sample and the Star Formation Rate in the Local Universe
• The Most Luminous Starbursts in the Universe
• The ~0.9 mJy sample: A mid-infrared spectroscopic catalog of 150 infrared-luminous, 24 micron selected galaxies at 0.3<z<3.5
• MAMBO 1.2mm observations of luminous starbursts at z~2 in the SWIRE fields

Cited by in corpus (36)

• Star formation and the interstellar medium in z>6 UV-luminous Lyman-break galaxies
• Star formation rate and dynamical mass of 10^8 solar mass black hole host galaxies at redshift 6
• Automated Mining of the ALMA Archive in the COSMOS Field (A3COSMOS): II. Cold Molecular Gas Evolution out to Redshift 6
• The main sequence of star forming galaxies I. The local relation and its bending
• The Spatially Resolved [CII] Cooling Line Deficit in Galaxies
• The Origins of [CII] Emission in Local Star-forming Galaxies
• Molecular gas content in strongly-lensed z~1.5-3 star-forming galaxies with low IR luminosities
• The interstellar medium in high-redshift submillimeter galaxies as probed by infrared spectroscopy
• Tracing Molecular Gas in z $\simeq$ 6 Galaxies with [C$\mathrm{II}$]
• On the far-infrared metallicity diagnostics: applications to high-redshift galaxies
• Extreme star formation events in quasar hosts over $0.5<\text{z}<4$
• A new look at the infrared properties of z $\sim$ 5 galaxies
• VALES: I. The molecular gas content in star-forming dusty H-ATLAS galaxies up to z=0.35
• Measuring Star-formation Rate and Far-Infrared Color in High-redshift Galaxies Using the CO (7-6) and [NII] 205 micron Lines
• FLASH Early Science -- Discovery of an intervening HI 21-cm absorber from an ASKAP survey of the GAMA 23 field
• Studying high-z galaxies with [CII] intensity mapping
• HERUS: A CO Atlas from SPIRE Spectroscopy of local ULIRGs
• The Fine Line Between Normal and Starburst Galaxies
• ALMA detection of [CII] 158 micron emission from a strongly lensed z=2 star-forming galaxy
• Gas Content and Kinematics in Clumpy, Turbulent Star-forming Disks
• A controlled study of cold dust content in galaxies from $z=0-2$
• SPIRE Spectroscopy of Early Type Galaxies
• [CII] $158\mu \mathrm{m}$ line emission from Orion A. I. A template for extragalactic studies?
• Atomic and molecular gas as traced by [C II] emission
• ISM conditions in z~0.2 Lyman-Break Analogs
• Origins Space Telescope: predictions for far-IR spectroscopic surveys
• Diagnosing the interstellar medium of galaxies with far-infrared emission lines II. [C II], [O I], [O III], [N II] and [N III] up to z=6
• Discovery of a protocluster core associated with an enormous Ly$\alpha$ Nebula at $z=2.3$
• Optical integral field spectroscopy of intermediate redshift infrared bright galaxies
• Ionized Carbon in Galaxies: The [C II] 158 $\mu$m Line as a Total Molecular Gas Mass Tracer Revisited
• Molecular gas in a gravitationally lensed galaxy group at $z=2.9$
• The unusual ISM in Blue and Dusty Gas Rich Galaxies (BADGRS)
• Unveiling the Main Sequence to Starburst Transition Region with a Sample of Intermediate Redshift Luminous Infrared Galaxies
• Direct detection of cool molecular gas in a star-forming galaxy at $z=7.31$
• A scaling relation in [C II]-detected galaxies and its likely application in cosmology
• Uncovering the absorbed atomic Universe with the [OI]63um line