Starburst to quiescent from HST/ALMA: Stars and dust unveil minor mergers in submillimeter galaxies at $z\sim 4.5$

Abstract

Dust-enshrouded, starbursting, submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) at $z\ge 3$ have been proposed as progenitors of $z\ge 2$ compact quiescent galaxies (cQGs). To test this connection, we present a detailed spatially resolved study of the stars, dust and stellar mass in a sample of six submillimeter-bright starburst galaxies at $z\sim 4.5$. The stellar UV emission probed by HST is extended, irregular and shows evidence of multiple components. Informed by HST, we deblend Spitzer/IRAC data at rest-frame optical finding that the systems are undergoing minor mergers, with a typical stellar mass ratio of 1:6.5. The FIR dust continuum emission traced by ALMA locates the bulk of star formation in extremely compact regions (median $r_{\mathrm{e}}=0.70\pm 0.29$ kpc) and it is in all cases associated with the most massive component of the mergers (median $\log (M_{\ast }/M_{\odot })=10.49\pm 0.32$). We compare spatially resolved UV slope ($\beta$) maps with the FIR dust continuum to study the infrared excess ($\mathrm{IRX}={\mathrm{L}}_{\mathrm{IR}}/{\mathrm{L}}_{\mathrm{UV}}$)-$\beta$ relation. The SMGs display systematically higher $\mathrm{IRX}$ values than expected from the nominal trend, demonstrating that the FIR and UV emissions are spatially disconnected. Finally, we show that the SMGs fall on the mass-size plane at smaller stellar masses and sizes than cQGs at $z=2$. Taking into account the expected evolution in stellar mass and size between $z=4.5$ and $z=2$ due to the ongoing starburst and mergers with minor companions, this is in agreement with a direct evolutionary connection between the two populations.

arXiv commentAccepted by ApJ. 25 pages, 6 figures

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