Dust and Gas in Star Forming Galaxies at z~3 - Extending Galaxy Uniformity to 11.5 Billion Years

Abstract

We present millimetre dust emission measurements of two Lyman Break Galaxies at z~3 and construct for the first time fully sampled infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs), from mid-IR to the Rayleigh-Jeans tail, of individually detected, unlensed, UV-selected, main sequence (MS) galaxies at $z=3$. The SED modelling of the two sources confirms previous findings, based on stacked ensembles, of an increasing mean radiation field <U> with redshift, consistent with a rapidly decreasing gas metallicity in z > 2 galaxies. Complementing our study with CO[3-2] emission line observations, we measure the molecular gas mass (M_H2) reservoir of the systems using three independent approaches: 1) CO line observations, 2) the dust to gas mass ratio vs metallicity relation and 3) a single band, dust emission flux on the Rayleigh-Jeans side of the SED. All techniques return consistent M_H2 estimates within a factor of ~2 or less, yielding gas depletion time-scales (tau_dep ~ 0.35 Gyrs) and gas-to-stellar mass ratios (M_H2/M* ~ 0.5-1) for our z~3 massive MS galaxies. The overall properties of our galaxies are consistent with trends and relations established at lower redshifts, extending the apparent uniformity of star-forming galaxies over the last 11.5 billion years.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication at A&A

References in corpus (60)

• Galactic Stellar and Substellar Initial Mass Function
• Detailed Structural Decomposition of Galaxy Images
• The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) on the Herschel Space Observatory
• The Herschel-SPIRE instrument and its in-flight performance
• 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
• The Star Formation Law in Nearby Galaxies on Sub-Kpc Scales
• The reversal of the star formation-density relation in the distant universe
• Multiwavelength study of massive galaxies at z~2. I. Star formation and galaxy growth
• Rest-Frame Ultraviolet Spectra of z~3 Lyman Break Galaxies
• Cool Gas in High Redshift Galaxies
• A fundamental relation between mass, SFR and metallicity in local and high redshift galaxies
• High molecular gas fractions in normal massive star forming galaxies in the young Universe
• Very High Gas Fractions and Extended Gas Reservoirs in z=1.5 Disk Galaxies
• Gas-regulation of galaxies: the evolution of the cosmic sSFR, the metallicity-mass-SFR relation and the stellar content of haloes
• The Herschel view of the dominant mode of galaxy growth from z=4 to the present day
• The Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey: HerMES
• Different star formation laws for disks versus starbursts at low and high redshifts
• Lyman Break Galaxies at Redshift z~3: Survey Description and Full Data Set
• Identifying Luminous AGN in Deep Surveys: Revised IRAC Selection Criteria
• Combined CO & Dust Scaling Relations of Depletion Time and Molecular Gas Fractions with Cosmic Time, Specific Star Formation Rate and Stellar Mass
• The Role of Pressure in GMC Formation II: The H_2 - Pressure Relation
• Strong Nebular Line Ratios in the Spectra of z~2-3 Star-forming Galaxies: First Results from KBSS-MOSFIRE
• The CO-to-H2 Conversion Factor From Infrared Dust Emission Across the Local Group
• The Evolving Interstellar Medium of Star Forming Galaxies Since z=2 as Probed by Their Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions
• ISM masses and the star formation law at Z = 1 to 6 // ALMA observations of dust continuum in 145 galaxies in the COSMOS survey field
• PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) - A Herschel Key Program
• A survey of molecular gas in luminous sub-millimetre galaxies
• Regularity underlying complexity: a redshift-independent description of the continuous variation of galaxy-scale molecular gas properties in the mass-star formation rate plane
• Evolution of Interstellar Medium, Star Formation, and Accretion at High Redshift
• Evolution of the dust emission of massive galaxies up to z=4 and constraints on their dominant mode of star formation
• The metallicity dependence of the CO {\rightarrow} H_2 conversion factor in z>1 star forming galaxies
• The evolution of the dust and gas content in galaxies
• CO excitation of normal star forming galaxies out to z=1.5 as regulated by the properties of their interstellar medium
• The Evolution of ISM Mass Probed by Dust Emission -- ALMA Observations at z = 0.3 to 2
• Validation of the equilibrium model for galaxy evolution to z~3 through molecular gas and dust observations of lensed star-forming galaxies
• The evolution of the dust temperatures of galaxies in the SFR$-M_{\ast }$ plane up to $z$$\sim$$2$
• Metallicity evolution, metallicity gradients and gas fractions at z~3.4
• A Turnover in the Galaxy Main Sequence of Star Formation at $M_{\ast }\sim 10^{10}{M}_{\odot }$ for Redshifts $z<1.3$
• On the evolution of the molecular gas fraction of star forming galaxies
• Dust Spectral Energy Distributions of Nearby Galaxies: an Insight from the Herschel Reference Survey
• Star formation relations and CO SLEDs across the J-ladder and redshift
• A survey of the cold molecular gas in gravitationally lensed star-forming galaxies at z>2
• Low, Milky-Way like, Molecular Gas Excitation of Massive Disk Galaxies at z~1.5
• GOODS-Herschel~: Gas-to-dust mass ratios and CO-to-H_2 conversion factors in normal and starbursting galaxies at high-z
• On the Stellar Masses of IRAC detected Lyman Break Galaxies at z~3
• Dust continuum emission as a tracer of gas mass in galaxies
• A higher efficiency of converting gas to stars push galaxies at z ~ 1.6 well above the star-forming main sequence
• The Cosmic Decline in the H2/HI-Ratio in Galaxies
• The Molecular Gas Content of z = 3 Lyman Break Galaxies; Evidence of a non Evolving Gas Fraction in Main Sequence Galaxies at z > 2
• Gas Fraction and Depletion Time of Massive Star Forming Galaxies at z~3.2: No Change in Global Star Formation Process out to z>3
• Molecular gas content in strongly-lensed z~1.5-3 star-forming galaxies with low IR luminosities
• Dust and gas in luminous proto-cluster galaxies at z=4.05: the case for different cosmic dust evolution in normal and starburst galaxies
• Measures of galaxy dust and gas mass with Herschel photometry and prospects for ALMA
• A Multi-wavelength View of the Star Formation Activity at z~3
• A Total Molecular Gas Mass Census in z~2-3 Star-forming Galaxies: Low-J CO Excitation Probes of Galaxies' Evolutionary States
• The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: the submillimetre properties of Lyman break galaxies at z=3-5
• Mid- to far infrared properties of star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei
• A First Glimpse into the far-IR properties of high-z UV-selected Galaxies: Herschel/PACS observations of z~3 LBGs
• Evidence of very low metallicity and high ionization state in a strongly lensed, star-forming dwarf galaxy at z=3.417
• HerMES: Herschel-SPIRE observations of Lyman Break Galaxies

Cited by in corpus (50)

• The Evolution of the Star-forming Interstellar Medium across Cosmic Time
• The Evolution of the IR Luminosity Function and Dust-obscured Star Formation in the Last 13 Billion Years
• On the dust temperatures of high redshift galaxies
• Automated Mining of the ALMA Archive in the COSMOS Field (A3COSMOS): II. Cold Molecular Gas Evolution out to Redshift 6
• A Survey of Atomic Carbon [C I] in High-redshift Main-Sequence Galaxies
• The ALPINE-ALMA [CII] survey: Molecular gas budget in the Early Universe as traced by [CII]
• On the Gas Content and Efficiency of AGN Feedback in Low-redshift Quasars
• Discovery of four apparently cold dusty galaxies at z=3.62-5.85 in the COSMOS field: direct evidence of CMB impact on high-redshift galaxy observables
• Automated Mining of the ALMA Archive in the COSMOS Field (A3COSMOS): I. Robust ALMA Continuum Photometry Catalogs and Stellar Mass and Star Formation Properties for ~700 Galaxies at z=0.5-6
• The ALMA view of the high-redshift relation between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies
• The properties of the interstellar medium of galaxies across time as traced by the neutral atomic carbon [CI]
• Starburst to quiescent from HST/ALMA: Stars and dust unveil minor mergers in submillimeter galaxies at $z\sim 4.5$
• The ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: Evolution of the molecular gas in CO-selected galaxies
• Deceptively cold dust in the massive starburst galaxy GN20 at $z\sim 4$
• Confirming Herschel candidate protoclusters from ALMA/VLA CO observations
• CO emission in distant galaxies on and above the main sequence
• The molecular gas content and fuel efficiency of starbursts at z ~ 1.6 with ALMA
• GOODS-ALMA: The slow downfall of star-formation in $z$ = 2-3 massive galaxies
• The molecular gas content in obscured AGN at z > 1
• The Interstellar Medium of Quiescent Galaxies and its Evolution With Time
• CO excitation, molecular gas density and interstellar radiation field in local and high-redshift galaxies
• Sub-millimetre compactness as a critical dimension to understand the Main Sequence of star-forming galaxies
• The Evolving Interstellar Medium of Star-Forming Galaxies, as traced by $\text{Stardust}$
• GOODS-ALMA 2.0: Starbursts in the main sequence reveal compact star formation regulating galaxy evolution prequenching
• Testing Feedback Regulated Star Formation in Gas Rich, Turbulent Disk Galaxies
• High gas fraction in a CO-selected main-sequence galaxy at $z>3$
• Spatially resolved dust properties and quasar-galaxy decomposition of a HyLIRG at z = 4.4
• Implications of a Temperature Dependent IMF I: Photometric Template Fitting
• Compact Star-Forming Galaxies as Old Starbursts Becoming Quiescent
• Implications of a Temperature Dependent IMF II: An Updated View of the Star-Forming Main Sequence
• Resolving the Interstellar Medium in Ultraluminous Infrared QSO Hosts with ALMA
• A photo-z cautionary tale: Redshift confirmation of COSBO-7 at z=2.625
• The effect of active galactic nuclei on the cold interstellar medium in distant star-forming galaxies
• Concurrent starbursts in molecular gas disks within a pair of colliding galaxies at z = 1.52
• Dust, gas, and metal content in star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 3.3$ revealed with ALMA and Near-IR spectroscopy
• Probing the High-Redshift Universe with SPICA: Toward the Epoch of Reionization and Beyond
• Measuring the average molecular gas content of star-forming galaxies at $z=3-4$
• High resolution spectral imaging of CO(7-6), [CI](2-1) and continuum of three high-z lensed dusty star-forming galaxies using ALMA
• JWST's PEARLS: resolved study of the stellar and dust components in starburst galaxies at cosmic noon
• Molecular gas properties of Planck-selected protocluster candidates at z~1.3-3
• The nature of H{\sc i}-absorption-selected galaxies at $z\approx 4$
• Systematic errors in dust mass determinations: Insights from laboratory opacity measurements
• The Strong Gravitationally Lensed Herschel Galaxy HLock01: Optical Spectroscopy Reveals a Close Galaxy Merger with Evidence of Inflowing Gas
• Variation of dust properties with cosmic time implied by radiative torque disruption
• AGN in Dusty Starbursts at Z=2: Feedback Still To Kick In
• Thermal Regulation and the Star-Forming Main Sequence
• ALMA Observations for CO Emission from Luminous Lyman-break Galaxies at $z=6.0293$-$6.2037$
• Molecular gas content and high excitation of a massive main-sequence galaxy at z = 3
• Theoretical clues about dust accumulation and galaxy obscuration at high and low redshift
• Noema formIng Cluster survEy (NICE): A Census of Star Formation and Cold Gas Properties in Massive protoclusters at 1.5<z<4