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The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: the submillimetre properties of Lyman-break galaxies at z = 3-5

Coppin, K.E.K.; Geach, J.E.; Almaini, O.; Arumugam, V.; Dunlop, J.S.; Hartley, W.G.; Ivison, R.J.; Simpson, C.J.; Smith, D.J.B.; Swinbank, A.M.; Blain, A.W.; Bourne, N.; Bremer, M.; Conselice, C.; Harrison, C.M.; Mortlock, A.; Chapman, S.C.; Davies, L.J.M.; Farrah, D.; Gibb, A.; Jenness, T.; Karim, A.; Knudsen, K.K.; Ibar, E.; Michałowski, M.J.; Peacock, J.A.; Rigopoulou, D.; Robson, E.I.; Scott, D.; Stevens, J.; van der Werf, P.P.

The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: the submillimetre properties of Lyman-break galaxies at z = 3-5 Thumbnail


Authors

K.E.K. Coppin

J.E. Geach

O. Almaini

V. Arumugam

J.S. Dunlop

W.G. Hartley

R.J. Ivison

C.J. Simpson

D.J.B. Smith

A.W. Blain

N. Bourne

M. Bremer

C. Conselice

C.M. Harrison

A. Mortlock

S.C. Chapman

L.J.M. Davies

D. Farrah

A. Gibb

T. Jenness

A. Karim

K.K. Knudsen

E. Ibar

M.J. Michałowski

J.A. Peacock

D. Rigopoulou

E.I. Robson

D. Scott

J. Stevens

P.P. van der Werf



Abstract

We present detections at 850 μm of the Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) population at z ≈ 3, 4, and 5 using data from the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array 2 Cosmology Legacy Survey in the United Kingdom Infrared Deep Sky Survey ‘Ultra Deep Survey’ field. We employ stacking to probe beneath the survey limit, measuring the average 850 μm flux density of LBGs at z ≈ 3, 4, and 5 with typical ultraviolet luminosities of L1700 ≈ 1029 erg s−1 Hz−1. We measure 850 μm flux densities of (0.25 ± 0.03), (0.41 ± 0.06), and (0.88 ± 0.23) mJy, respectively, finding that they contribute at most 20 per cent to the cosmic far-infrared (IR) background at 850 μm. Fitting an appropriate range of spectral energy distributions to the z ∼ 3, 4, and 5 LBG stacked 24–850 μm fluxes, we derive IR luminosities of L8-1000 μm ≈ 3.2, 5.5, and 11.0 × 1011 L⊙ [and star formation rates (SFRs) of ≈50–200 M⊙ yr−1], respectively. We find that the evolution in the IR luminosity density of LBGs is broadly consistent with model predictions for the expected contribution of luminous-to-ultraluminous IR galaxies at these epochs. We observe a positive correlation between stellar mass and IR luminosity and confirm that, for a fixed mass, the reddest LBGs (UV slope β → 0) are redder due to dust extinction, with SFR(IR)/SFR(UV) increasing by about an order of magnitude over −2 < β < 0 with SFR(IR)/SFR(UV) ∼ 20 for the reddest LBGs. Furthermore, the most massive LBGs tend to have higher obscured-to-unobscured ratios, hinting at a variation in the obscuration properties across the mass range.

Citation

Coppin, K., Geach, J., Almaini, O., Arumugam, V., Dunlop, J., Hartley, W., …van der Werf, P. (2015). The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: the submillimetre properties of Lyman-break galaxies at z = 3-5. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 446(2), 1293-1304. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2185

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 17, 2014
Publication Date Jan 11, 2015
Deposit Date Apr 13, 2015
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 446
Issue 2
Pages 1293-1304
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2185
Keywords Galaxies: evolution – galaxies: formation, Galaxies: high-redshift, Galaxies: star formation, Submillimetre: galaxies, Ultraviolet: galaxies.

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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.





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