Far-infrared lines hidden in archival deep multi-wavelength surveys: Limits on [CII]-158$\mu$m at $z\sim 0.3-2.9$

Abstract

Singly-ionized carbon is theorized to be the brightest emission line feature in star-forming galaxies, and hence an excellent tracer of the evolution of cosmic star formation. Archival maps from far-infrared and sub-millimeter surveys potentially contain the redshifted [CII]-158$\mu$m, hidden in the much brighter continuum emission. We present a search for aggregate [CII]-158$\mu$m line emission across the predicted peak of star formation history by tomographically stacking a high-completeness galaxy catalog on broadband deep maps of the COSMOS field and constraining residual excess emission after subtracting the continuum spectral energy distribution (SED). We obtain constraints on the sky-averaged [CII]-158$\mu$m signal from the three Herschel/SPIRE maps: $11.8\pm 10.2$, $11.0\pm 8.7$, $9.6\pm 9.8$, and $9.2\pm 6.6$ $k$Jy/sr at redshifts $z\sim 0.65$, $\sim 1.3$, $\sim 2.1$, and $\sim 2.6$ respectively, corresponding to $1-1.4\sigma$ significance in each bin. Our $3\sigma$ upper limits are in tension with past $z\sim 2.6$ results from cross-correlating SDSS-BOSS quasars with high-frequency Planck maps, and indicate a much less dramatic evolution ($\sim \times 7.5$) of mean [CII] intensity across the peak of star formation history than collisional excitation models or frameworks calibrated to the tentative PlanckxBOSS measurement. We discuss this tension, particularly in the context of in-development surveys (TIM, EXCLAIM) that will map this [CII] at high redshift resolution. Having demonstrated stacking in broadband deep surveys as a complementary methodology to next-generation spectrometers for line intensity mapping, our novel methods can be extended to upcoming galaxy surveys such as Euclid, as well as to place upper limits on fainter atomic and molecular lines.

Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics on November 2, 2025

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