WISE J044232.92+322734.9: A star-forming galaxy at redshift 1.1 seen through a Galactic dust clump?

Abstract

Physically unassociated background or foreground objects seen towards submillimetre sources are potential contaminants of both the studies of young stellar objects embedded in Galactic dust clumps and multiwavelength counterparts of submillimetre galaxies (SMGs). We employed the near-infrared and mid-infrared data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and the submillimetre data from the Planck satellite, and uncovered a source, namely WISE J044232.92+322734.9, whose WISE infrared colours suggest that it is a star-forming galaxy (SFG), and which is seen in projection towards the Planck-detected dust clump PGCC G169.20-8.96. We used the MAGPHYS+photo-$z$ spectral energy distribution code to derive the photometric redshift and physical properties of J044232.92. The redshift was derived to be $z_{\mathrm{phot}}=1.132_{-0.165}^{+0.280}$, while, for example, the stellar mass, IR (8-1 000 $\mu$m) luminosity, and star formation rate were derived to be $M_{\star }=4.6_{-2.5}^{+4.7}\times 10^{11}$ M${}_{\odot }$, $L_{\mathrm{IR}}=2.8_{-1.5}^{+5.7}\times 10^{12}$ L${}_{\odot }$, and $\mathrm{SFR}=191_{-146}^{+580}$ ${\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ yr${}^{-1}$. The derived value of $L_{\mathrm{IR}}$ suggests that J044232.92 could be an ultraluminous infrared galaxy, and we found that it is consistent with a main sequence SFG at a redshift of 1.132. Moreover, the estimated physical properties of J044232.92 are comparable to those of SMGs. Further observations, in particular high-resolution (sub-)millimetre and radio continuum imaging, are needed to better constrain the redshift and physical properties of J044232.92 and to see if the source really is a galaxy seen through a Galactic dust clump, in particular an SMG population member at $z\sim 1.1$.

7 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&A, abstract abridged for arXiv

References in corpus (12)

• The Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) -- Overview
• A Highly Consistent Framework for the Evolution of the Star-Forming "Main Sequence" from z~0-6
• A simple model to interpret the ultraviolet, optical and infrared emission from galaxies
• MAMBO Mapping of Spitzer c2d Small Clouds and Cores
• An ALMA survey of Sub-millimeter Galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South: Physical properties derived from ultraviolet-to-radio modelling
• Spitzer Observations of NGC 1333: A Study of Structure and Evolution in a Nearby Embedded Cluster
• The Mass Distribution and Lifetime of Prestellar Cores in Perseus, Serpens, and Ophiuchus
• The Large APEX Bolometer Camera LABOCA
• AzTEC Millimetre Survey of the COSMOS Field: I. Data Reduction and Source Catalogue
• Current Star Formation in the Perseus Molecular Cloud: Constraints from Unbiased Submillimeter and Mid-Infrared Surveys
• An ALMA survey of submillimeter galaxies in the COSMOS field: Multiwavelength counterparts and redshift distribution
• An ALMA survey of submillimetre galaxies in the COSMOS field: Physical properties derived from energy balance spectral energy distribution modelling