Unveiling the nature of 11 dusty star-forming galaxies at the peak of cosmic star formation history

Abstract

We present a panchromatic study of 11 (sub-)millimetre selected DSFGs with spectroscopically confirmed redshift ($1.5<z_{\mathrm{spec}}<3$) in the GOODS-S field, with the aim of constraining their astrophysical properties (e.g., age, stellar mass, dust and gas content) and characterizing their role in the context of galaxy evolution. The multi-wavelength coverage of GOODS-S, from X-rays to radio band, allow us to model galaxy SED by using CIGALE with a novel approach, based on a physical motivated modelling of stellar light attenuation by dust. Median stellar mass ($\simeq 6.5\times 10^{10}$ M${}_{\odot }$) and SFR ($\simeq 241$ M${}_{\odot }$ yr${}^{-1}$) are consistent with galaxy main-sequence at $z\sim 2$. The galaxies are experiencing an intense and dusty burst of star formation (median L${}_{\mathrm{IR}}\simeq 2\times 10^{12}$ L${}_{\odot }$), with a median age of $750$ Myr. The high median content of interstellar dust (M${}_{\mathrm{dust}}\simeq 5\times 10^8$ M${}_{\odot }$) suggests a rapid enrichment of the ISM (on timescales $\sim 10^8$ yr). We derived galaxy total and molecular gas content from CO spectroscopy and/or Rayleigh-Jeans dust continuum ($10^{10}\lesssim$ M${}_{\mathrm{gas}}/$M${}_{\odot }\lesssim 10^{11}$), depleted over a typical timescale ${\tau }_{\mathrm{depl}}\sim 200$ Myr. X-ray and radio luminosities suggest that most of the galaxies hosts an accreting radio silent/quiet SMBH. This evidence, along with their compact multi-wavelength sizes (median r${}_{\mathrm{ALMA}}\sim$ r${}_{\mathrm{VLA}}=1.8$ kpc, r${}_{\mathrm{HST}}=2.3$ kpc) measured from high-resolution imaging (${\theta }_{\mathrm{res}}\lesssim$ 1 arcsec), indicates these objects as the high-z star-forming counterparts of massive quiescent galaxies, as predicted e.g., by the in-situ scenario. Four objects show some signatures of a forthcoming/ongoing AGN feedback, that is thought to trigger the morphological transition from star-forming disks to ETGs.

23 pages, 6 figures, 13 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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• Bright Extragalactic ALMA Redshift Survey (BEARS) III: Detailed study of emission lines from 71 Herschel targets
• An ALMA view of 11 Dusty Star Forming Galaxies at the peak of Cosmic Star Formation History
• What powers galactic outflows: nuclear starbursts or AGN?
• Euclid view of dusty star forming galaxies at z>~1.5 detected in wide area submillimetre surveys
• Spatial disconnection between stellar and dust emissions: the test of the Antennae Galaxies (Arp 244)