Resolving the ISM at the peak of cosmic star formation with ALMA - The distribution of CO and dust continuum in z~2.5 sub-millimetre galaxies

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Autores principales: Calistro-Rivera, Gabriela, Hodge, J. A., Smail, Ian, Swinbank, A. M., Weiß, A., Wardlow, J. L., Walter, F., Rybak, M., Chen, Chian-Chou, Brandt, W. N., Coppin, K., da Cunha, E., Dannerbauer, H., Greve, T. R., Karim, A., Knudsen, K. K., Schinnerer, E., Simpson, J. M., Venemans, B., van der Werf, P. P.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2018
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author Calistro-Rivera, Gabriela
Hodge, J. A.
Smail, Ian
Swinbank, A. M.
Weiß, A.
Wardlow, J. L.
Walter, F.
Rybak, M.
Chen, Chian-Chou
Brandt, W. N.
Coppin, K.
da Cunha, E.
Dannerbauer, H.
Greve, T. R.
Karim, A.
Knudsen, K. K.
Schinnerer, E.
Simpson, J. M.
Venemans, B.
van der Werf, P. P.
author_facet Calistro-Rivera, Gabriela
Hodge, J. A.
Smail, Ian
Swinbank, A. M.
Weiß, A.
Wardlow, J. L.
Walter, F.
Rybak, M.
Chen, Chian-Chou
Brandt, W. N.
Coppin, K.
da Cunha, E.
Dannerbauer, H.
Greve, T. R.
Karim, A.
Knudsen, K. K.
Schinnerer, E.
Simpson, J. M.
Venemans, B.
van der Werf, P. P.
contents We use ALMA observations of four sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) at $z\sim2-3$ to investigate the spatially resolved properties of the inter-stellar medium (ISM) at scales of 1--5 kpc (0.1--0.6$''$). The velocity fields of our sources, traced by the $^{12}$CO($J$=3-2) emission, are consistent with disk rotation to first order, implying average dynamical masses of $\sim$3$\times10^{11}$M$_{\odot}$ within two half-light radii. Through a Bayesian approach we investigate the uncertainties inherent to dynamically constraining total gas masses. We explore the covariance between the stellar mass-to-light ratio and CO-to-H$_{2}$ conversion factor, $α_{\rm CO}$, finding values of $α_{\rm CO}=1.1^{+0.8}_{-0.7}$ for dark matter fractions of 15 \%. We show that the resolved spatial distribution of the gas and dust continuum can be uncorrelated to the stellar emission, challenging energy balance assumptions in global SED fitting. Through a stacking analysis of the resolved radial profiles of the CO(3-2), stellar and dust continuum emission in SMG samples, we find that the cool molecular gas emission in these sources (radii $\sim$5--14 kpc) is clearly more extended than the rest-frame $\sim$250 $μ$m dust continuum by a factor $>2$. We propose that assuming a constant dust-to-gas ratio, this apparent difference in sizes can be explained by temperature and optical-depth gradients alone. Our results suggest that caution must be exercised when extrapolating morphological properties of dust continuum observations to conclusions about the molecular gas phase of the ISM.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_1804_06852
institution arXiv
publishDate 2018
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Resolving the ISM at the peak of cosmic star formation with ALMA - The distribution of CO and dust continuum in z~2.5 sub-millimetre galaxies
Calistro-Rivera, Gabriela
Hodge, J. A.
Smail, Ian
Swinbank, A. M.
Weiß, A.
Wardlow, J. L.
Walter, F.
Rybak, M.
Chen, Chian-Chou
Brandt, W. N.
Coppin, K.
da Cunha, E.
Dannerbauer, H.
Greve, T. R.
Karim, A.
Knudsen, K. K.
Schinnerer, E.
Simpson, J. M.
Venemans, B.
van der Werf, P. P.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We use ALMA observations of four sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) at $z\sim2-3$ to investigate the spatially resolved properties of the inter-stellar medium (ISM) at scales of 1--5 kpc (0.1--0.6$''$). The velocity fields of our sources, traced by the $^{12}$CO($J$=3-2) emission, are consistent with disk rotation to first order, implying average dynamical masses of $\sim$3$\times10^{11}$M$_{\odot}$ within two half-light radii. Through a Bayesian approach we investigate the uncertainties inherent to dynamically constraining total gas masses. We explore the covariance between the stellar mass-to-light ratio and CO-to-H$_{2}$ conversion factor, $α_{\rm CO}$, finding values of $α_{\rm CO}=1.1^{+0.8}_{-0.7}$ for dark matter fractions of 15 \%. We show that the resolved spatial distribution of the gas and dust continuum can be uncorrelated to the stellar emission, challenging energy balance assumptions in global SED fitting. Through a stacking analysis of the resolved radial profiles of the CO(3-2), stellar and dust continuum emission in SMG samples, we find that the cool molecular gas emission in these sources (radii $\sim$5--14 kpc) is clearly more extended than the rest-frame $\sim$250 $μ$m dust continuum by a factor $>2$. We propose that assuming a constant dust-to-gas ratio, this apparent difference in sizes can be explained by temperature and optical-depth gradients alone. Our results suggest that caution must be exercised when extrapolating morphological properties of dust continuum observations to conclusions about the molecular gas phase of the ISM.
title Resolving the ISM at the peak of cosmic star formation with ALMA - The distribution of CO and dust continuum in z~2.5 sub-millimetre galaxies
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.06852