Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Herschel-ATLAS: properties of dusty massive galaxies at low and high redshifts

Rowlands, K.; Dunne, L.; Dye, S.; Aragón-Salamanca, A.; Maddox, S.; da Cunha, E.; Smith, D.J.B.; Bourne, N.; Eales, S.; Gomez, H.L.; Smail, I.; Alpaslan, M.; Clark, C.J.R.; Driver, S.; Ibar, E.; Ivison, R.J.; Robotham, A.; Smith, M.W.L.; Valiante, E.

Herschel-ATLAS: properties of dusty massive galaxies at low and high redshifts Thumbnail


Authors

K. Rowlands

L. Dunne

S. Dye

A. Aragón-Salamanca

S. Maddox

E. da Cunha

D.J.B. Smith

N. Bourne

S. Eales

H.L. Gomez

M. Alpaslan

C.J.R. Clark

S. Driver

E. Ibar

R.J. Ivison

A. Robotham

M.W.L. Smith

E. Valiante



Abstract

We present a comparison of the physical properties of a rest-frame 250-μm-selected sample of massive, dusty galaxies from 0 < z < 5.3. Our sample comprises 29 high-redshift submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) from the literature and 843 dusty galaxies at z < 0.5 from the Herschel-Astrophysical TeraHertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS), selected to have a similar stellar mass to the SMGs. The z > 1 SMGs have an average star formation rate (SFR) of 390+80−70 M⊙ yr−1, which is 120 times that of the low-redshift sample matched in stellar mass to the SMGs (SFR = 3.3 ± 0.2 M⊙ yr−1). The SMGs harbour a substantial mass of dust (1.2+0.3−0.2×109 M⊙), compared to (1.6 ± 0.1) × 108  M⊙ for low-redshift dusty galaxies. At low redshifts, the dust luminosity is dominated by the diffuse interstellar medium, whereas a large fraction of the dust luminosity in SMGs originates from star-forming regions. At the same dust mass, SMGs are offset towards a higher SFR compared to the low-redshift H-ATLAS galaxies. This is not only due to the higher gas fraction in SMGs but also because they are undergoing a more efficient mode of star formation, which is consistent with their bursty star formation histories. The offset in SFR between SMGs and low-redshift galaxies is similar to that found in CO studies, suggesting that dust mass is as good a tracer of molecular gas as CO.

Citation

Rowlands, K., Dunne, L., Dye, S., Aragón-Salamanca, A., Maddox, S., da Cunha, E., …Valiante, E. (2014). Herschel-ATLAS: properties of dusty massive galaxies at low and high redshifts. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 441(2), 1017-1039. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu510

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jun 21, 2014
Deposit Date Nov 17, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 441
Issue 2
Pages 1017-1039
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu510
Keywords Dust, Extinction, Galaxies: evolution, Galaxies: fundamental parameters, Galaxies: high-redshift, Galaxies: ISM, Submillimetre: galaxies.

Files

Published Journal Article (5.7 Mb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.





You might also like



Downloadable Citations