Deep CO(1–0) Observations of z = 1.62 Cluster Galaxies with Substantial Molecular Gas Reservoirs and Normal Star Formation Efficiencies

View/ Open
Issue Date
2017-11-01Author
Rudnick, Gregory H.
Hodge, Jacqueline
Walter, Fabian
Momcheva, Ivelina
Tran, Kim-Vy H.
Papovich, Casey J.
da Cunha, Elisabete
Decarli, Roberto
Saintonge, Amelie
Willmer, Christopher
Lotz, Jennifer
Lentati, Lindley
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Rights
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We present an extremely deep CO(1–0) observation of a confirmed z = 1.62 galaxy cluster. We detect two spectroscopically confirmed cluster members in CO(1–0) with signal-to-noise ratio $\gt 5$. Both galaxies have log(${{ \mathcal M }}_{\star }$/${{ \mathcal M }}_{\odot }$) > 11 and are gas rich, with ${{ \mathcal M }}_{\mathrm{mol}}$/(${{ \mathcal M }}_{\star }$+${{ \mathcal M }}_{\mathrm{mol}}$) ~ 0.17–0.45. One of these galaxies lies on the star formation rate (SFR)–${{ \mathcal M }}_{\star }$ sequence, while the other lies an order of magnitude below. We compare the cluster galaxies to other SFR-selected galaxies with CO measurements and find that they have CO luminosities consistent with expectations given their infrared luminosities. We also find that they have gas fractions and star formation efficiencies (SFE) comparable to what is expected from published field galaxy scaling relations. The galaxies are compact in their stellar light distribution, at the extreme end for all high-redshift star-forming galaxies. However, their SFE is consistent with other field galaxies at comparable compactness. This is similar to two other sources selected in a blind CO survey of the HDF-N. Despite living in a highly quenched protocluster core, the molecular gas properties of these two galaxies, one of which may be in the process of quenching, appear entirely consistent with field scaling relations between the molecular gas content, stellar mass, star formation rate, and redshift. We speculate that these cluster galaxies cannot have any further substantive gas accretion if they are to become members of the dominant passive population in $z\lt 1$ clusters.
Collections
Citation
Rudnick, G., Hodge, J., Walter, F., Momcheva, I., Tran, K. V., Papovich, C., ... & Lotz, J. (2017). Deep CO (1–0) Observations of z= 1.62 Cluster Galaxies with Substantial Molecular Gas Reservoirs and Normal Star Formation Efficiencies. The Astrophysical Journal, 849(1), 27.
Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
ALMA Observations of Gas-rich Galaxies in z ~ 1.6 Galaxy Clusters: Evidence for Higher Gas Fractions in High-density Environments
Noble, Allison; McDonald, Michael; Muzzin, Adam; Nantais, J.; Rudnick, Gregory H.; van Kampen, Eelco; Webb, T. M. A.; Wilson, G.; Yee, H. K. C.; Boone, Kyle; Cooper, Michael C.; DeGroot, A.; Delahaye, A.; Demarco, Ricardo; Foltz, R.; Hayden, Brian; Lidman, Chris; Manilla-Robles, A.; Perlmutter, S. (American Astronomical Society, 2017-06-20)We present ALMA CO (2–1) detections in 11 gas-rich cluster galaxies at z ~ 1.6, constituting the largest sample of molecular gas measurements in z > 1.5 clusters to date. The observations span three galaxy clusters, derived ... -
Unveiling the Nature of Submillimeter Galaxy SXDF 850.6
Hatsukade, B.; Iono, D.; Akiyama, Toru; Yoshikawa, M.; Dunlop, J. S.; Ivison, R. J.; Peck, A. B.; Ikarashi, S.; Biggs, A. D.; Ezawa, H.; Hanami, H.; Ho, P.; Hughes, D. H.; Kawabe, R.; Kohno, K.; Matsushita, S.; Nakanishi, K.; Padilla, N.; Petitpas, G.; Tamura, Y.; Wagg, J.; Wilner, D. J.; Wilson, Graham Wallace; Yamada, T.; Yun, M. S. (American Astronomical Society, 2010-03-10)We present an 880 μm Submillimeter Array (SMA) detection of the submillimeter galaxy SXDF 850.6. SXDF 850.6 is a bright source (S 850 μm = 8 mJy) detected in the SCUBA Half Degree Extragalactic Survey and has multiple ... -
The effect of the environment on the structure, morphology and star formation history of intermediate-redshift galaxies
Kelkar, Kshitija; Gray, Meghan E.; Aragón-Salamanca, Alfonso; Rudnick, Gregory H.; Milvang-Jensen, Bo; Jablonka, Pascale; Schrabback, Tim (Oxford University Press, 2017-05-11)With the aim of understanding the effect of the environment on the star formation history and morphological transformation of galaxies, we present a detailed analysis of the colour, morphology and internal structure of ...