The Radio Spectral Energy Distribution and Star Formation Calibration in MIGHTEE-COSMOS Highly Star-Forming Galaxies at 1.5 < z < 3.5

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Tabatabaei, Fatemeh, Khademi, Maryam, Jarvis, Matt J., Taylor, Russ, Whittam, Imogen H., An, Fangxia, Javadi, Reihaneh, Murphy, Eric J., Vaccari, Mattia
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Tabatabaei, Fatemeh
Khademi, Maryam
Jarvis, Matt J.
Taylor, Russ
Whittam, Imogen H.
An, Fangxia
Javadi, Reihaneh
Murphy, Eric J.
Vaccari, Mattia
author_facet Tabatabaei, Fatemeh
Khademi, Maryam
Jarvis, Matt J.
Taylor, Russ
Whittam, Imogen H.
An, Fangxia
Javadi, Reihaneh
Murphy, Eric J.
Vaccari, Mattia
contents Studying the radio spectral energy distribution (SED) of distant galaxies is essential for understanding their assembly and evolution over cosmic time. We present rest-frame radio SEDs of a sample of 160 starburst galaxies at redshifts 1.5 to 3.5 in the COSMOS field, as part of the MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) project. MeerKAT observations, combined with archival VLA and GMRT data, allow us to determine the integrated mid-radio (1-10 GHz) continuum (MRC) luminosity and magnetic field strength. A Bayesian method is used to model the SEDs and separate free-free and synchrotron emission. We calibrate the star formation rate (SFR) in radio both directly through SED analysis and indirectly via the infrared-radio correlation (IRRC). With a mean synchrotron spectral index of approximately 0.7, we find that the index flattens with redshift and specific SFR, suggesting that cosmic rays are more energetic in the early universe due to higher star formation activity. The magnetic field strength increases with redshift (B is proportional to (1 + z)^0.7) and with star formation rate (B is proportional to SFR^0.3), indicating a small-scale dynamo as the dominant amplification mechanism. Accounting for SED evolution, the IRRC remains redshift-invariant and does not vary with stellar mass at 1.5 < z < 3.5, though the correlation deviates from linearity. Similarly, we show that SFR estimates based on integrated MRC luminosity are also redshift-invariant.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_16275
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Radio Spectral Energy Distribution and Star Formation Calibration in MIGHTEE-COSMOS Highly Star-Forming Galaxies at 1.5 < z < 3.5
Tabatabaei, Fatemeh
Khademi, Maryam
Jarvis, Matt J.
Taylor, Russ
Whittam, Imogen H.
An, Fangxia
Javadi, Reihaneh
Murphy, Eric J.
Vaccari, Mattia
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Studying the radio spectral energy distribution (SED) of distant galaxies is essential for understanding their assembly and evolution over cosmic time. We present rest-frame radio SEDs of a sample of 160 starburst galaxies at redshifts 1.5 to 3.5 in the COSMOS field, as part of the MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) project. MeerKAT observations, combined with archival VLA and GMRT data, allow us to determine the integrated mid-radio (1-10 GHz) continuum (MRC) luminosity and magnetic field strength. A Bayesian method is used to model the SEDs and separate free-free and synchrotron emission. We calibrate the star formation rate (SFR) in radio both directly through SED analysis and indirectly via the infrared-radio correlation (IRRC). With a mean synchrotron spectral index of approximately 0.7, we find that the index flattens with redshift and specific SFR, suggesting that cosmic rays are more energetic in the early universe due to higher star formation activity. The magnetic field strength increases with redshift (B is proportional to (1 + z)^0.7) and with star formation rate (B is proportional to SFR^0.3), indicating a small-scale dynamo as the dominant amplification mechanism. Accounting for SED evolution, the IRRC remains redshift-invariant and does not vary with stellar mass at 1.5 < z < 3.5, though the correlation deviates from linearity. Similarly, we show that SFR estimates based on integrated MRC luminosity are also redshift-invariant.
title The Radio Spectral Energy Distribution and Star Formation Calibration in MIGHTEE-COSMOS Highly Star-Forming Galaxies at 1.5 < z < 3.5
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.16275