Molecular gas in AzTEC/C159: a star-forming disk galaxy 1.3 Gyr after the Big Bang

Jiménez-Andrade, E.F.; Magnelli, B.; Karim, A.; Jones, G.C.; Carilli, C.L.; Romano-Díaz, E.; Gómez-Guijarro, C.; Toft, S.; Bertoldi, F.; Riechers, D.A.; Schinnerer, E.; Sargent, M.; Michałowski, M.J.; Fraternali, F.; Staguhn, J.G.; Smolčić, V.; Aravena, M.; Harrington, K.C.; Sheth, K.; Capak, P.L.; Koekemoer, A.M.; van Kampen, E.; Swinbank, M.; Zirm, A.; Magdis, G.E.; Navarrete, F.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201732186

Molecular gas in AzTEC/C159: a star-forming disk galaxy 1.3 Gyr after the Big Bang

Jiménez-Andrade, E.F.; Magnelli, B.; Karim, A.; Jones, G.C.; Carilli, C.L.; Romano-Díaz, E.; Gómez-Guijarro, C.; Toft, S.; Bertoldi, F.; Riechers, D.A.; Schinnerer, E.; Sargent, M.; Michałowski, M.J.; Fraternali, F.; Staguhn, J.G.; Smolčić, V.; Aravena, M.; Harrington, K.C.; Sheth, K.; Capak, P.L.; Koekemoer, A.M.; van Kampen, E.; Swinbank, M.; Zirm, A.; Magdis, G.E.; Navarrete, F.

Authors

E.F. Jiménez-Andrade

B. Magnelli

A. Karim

G.C. Jones

C.L. Carilli

E. Romano-Díaz

C. Gómez-Guijarro

S. Toft

F. Bertoldi

D.A. Riechers

E. Schinnerer

M. Sargent

M.J. Michałowski

F. Fraternali

J.G. Staguhn

V. Smolčić

M. Aravena

K.C. Harrington

K. Sheth

P.L. Capak

A.M. Koekemoer

E. van Kampen

Professor Mark Swinbank a.m.swinbank@durham.ac.uk
Professor

A. Zirm

G.E. Magdis

F. Navarrete

Abstract

We studied the molecular gas properties of AzTEC/C159, a star-forming disk galaxy at z = 4.567, in order to better constrain the nature of the high-redshift end of the submillimeter-selected galaxy (SMG) population. We secured 12CO molecular line detections for the J = 2 →1 and J = 5 →4 transitions using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) interferometer. The broad (FWHM ~ 750 km s−1) and tentative double-peaked profiles of the two 12CO lines are consistent with an extended molecular gas reservoir, which is distributed in a rotating disk, as previously revealed from [CII] 158 μm line observations. Based on the 12CO(2 →1) emission line, we derived L′CO=(3.4±0.6)×1010 K km s−1 pc2, which yields a molecular gas mass of MH2(αCO/4.3)=(1.5±0.3)×1011 M⊙ and unveils a gas-rich system with μgas(αCO/4.3)≡MH2/M⋆=3.3±0.7. The extreme star formation efficiency of AzTEC/C159, parametrized by the ratio LIR/L′CO=(216±80) L⊙ (K km s−1 pc2)−1, is comparable to merger-driven starbursts such as local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies and SMGs. Likewise, the 12CO(5 →4)/CO(2 →1) line brightness temperature ratio of r52 = 0.55 ± 0.15 is consistent with high-excitation conditions as observed in SMGs. Based on mass budget considerations, we constrained the value for the L′CO – H2 mass conversion factor in AzTEC/C159, that is, αCO=3.9−1.3+2.7 M⊙ K−1 km−1 s pc−2, which is consistent with a self-gravitating molecular gas distribution as observed in local star-forming disk galaxies. Cold gas streams from cosmological filaments might be fueling a gravitationally unstable gas-rich disk in AzTEC/C159, which breaks into giant clumps and forms stars as efficiently as in merger-driven systems and generates high gas excitation. These results support the evolutionary connection between AzTEC/C159-like systems and massive quiescent disk galaxies at z ~ 2.

Citation

Jiménez-Andrade, E., Magnelli, B., Karim, A., Jones, G., Carilli, C., Romano-Díaz, E., …Navarrete, F. (2018). Molecular gas in AzTEC/C159: a star-forming disk galaxy 1.3 Gyr after the Big Bang. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 615, Article A25. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732186

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Feb 9, 2018
Online Publication Date	Jul 5, 2018
Publication Date	Jul 5, 2018
Deposit Date	Jul 20, 2018
Publicly Available Date	Jul 20, 2018
Journal	Astronomy and astrophysics.
Print ISSN	0004-6361
Electronic ISSN	1432-0746
Publisher	EDP Sciences
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	615
Article Number	A25
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732186