[CII] 158 Micron Emission from z~4 HI Absorption-Selected Galaxies

Abstract

We report on a search for the [CII] 158 micron emission line from galaxies associated with four high-metallicity damped Ly-alpha absorbers (DLAs) at z ~ 4 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA). We detect [CII] 158 micron emission from galaxies at the DLA redshift in three fields, with one field showing two [CII] emitters. Combined with previous results, we now have detected [CII] 158 micron emission from five of six galaxies associated with targeted high-metallicity DLAs at z ~ 4. The galaxies have relatively large impact parameters, ~16 - 45 kpc, [CII] 158 micron line luminosities of (0.36 - 30) x 10^8 Lsun, and rest-frame far-infrared properties similar to those of luminous Lyman-break galaxies, with star-formation rates of ~7 - 110 Msun yr-1. Comparing the absorption and emission line profiles yields a remarkable agreement between the line centroids, indicating that the DLA traces gas at velocities similar to that of the [CII] 158 micron emission. This disfavors a scenario where the DLA arises from gas in a companion galaxy. These observations highlight ALMA's unique ability to uncover a high redshift galaxy population that has largely eluded detection for decades.

Accepted for publication in ApJL, 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

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