paper

An extreme proto-cluster of luminous dusty starbursts in the early Universe

arXiv:1709.02809 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaa1f1

Abstract

We report the identification of an extreme proto-cluster of galaxies in the early Universe whose core (nicknamed Distant Red Core, DRC) is formed by at least ten dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs), confirmed to lie at via detection of [CI](1-0), CO(6-5), CO(4-3), CO(2-1) and emission lines, detected using ALMA and ATCA. The spectroscopically-confirmed components of the proto-cluster are distributed over a region and have a collective obscured star-formation rate (SFR) of , considerably higher than has been seen before in any proto-cluster of galaxies or over-densities of DSFGs at . Most of the star formation is taking place in luminous DSFGs since no Ly emitters are detected in the proto-cluster core, apart from a Ly blob located next to one of the DRC dusty components and extending over . The total obscured SFR of the proto-cluster could rise to if all the members of an over-density of bright DSFGs discovered around DRC in a wide-field LABOCA 870-m image are part of the same structure. The total halo mass of DRC could be as high as and could be the progenitor of a Coma-like cluster at . The relatively short gas-depletion times of the DRC components suggest either the presence of a mechanism able to trigger extreme star formation simultaneously in galaxies spread over a few hundred kpc or the presence of gas flows from the cosmic web able to sustain star formation over several hundred million years.

arXiv commentSubmitted to ApJ. Minor updates added, including a change of the source name. Comments welcome

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