A first [CII] view of high-z quiescent galaxies
Fuente:
arXiv
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| _version_ | 1866915930232061952 |
|---|---|
| author | D'Eugenio, C. Daddi, E. Gobat, R. Jin, S. Liu, D. Sun, H. Gentile, F. Bruckmann, F. Liu, Z. Delvecchio, I. Vallini, L. Magnelli, B. Zanella, A. |
| author_facet | D'Eugenio, C. Daddi, E. Gobat, R. Jin, S. Liu, D. Sun, H. Gentile, F. Bruckmann, F. Liu, Z. Delvecchio, I. Vallini, L. Magnelli, B. Zanella, A. |
| contents | We present ALMA detections (or stringent upper limits) of the [CII] 158 $μm$ emission line and underlying dust continuum from five massive quenched galaxies (QGs) at 2<z<4.7. We find extreme variations in the molecular gas fractions ($\rm{f_g=M_{mol}/M_{\star}}$), spanning 0.1%-25%, if a standard $\rm{α_{[CII]}}$ applies. We attempt a first empirical calibration of $\rm{α_{[CII]}}$ with respect to dust continuum in a $z=2$ lensed QG and with respect to CO(3-2) in a $z=3.1$ QG, finding no evidence of strong deviations from the standard value. Dust continuum measurements, coupled with JWST/MIRI fluxes, suggest higher dust temperatures compared to expectations from $z<2$ QGs, reaching $T_{d}\sim40-50 \,K$ in two galaxies. Coupled with remarkably high total infrared luminosities (LIR) not explained by observed JWST colors not by energy balance based on literature dust extinction measurements, and with [CII] deficits down to $\rm{[CII]/LIR\sim 2\times10^{-4}}$ typical of (Ultra)Luminous Infrared Galaxies, our findings point to additional dust-heating mechanisms other than dust-absorbed stellar radiation. Surprisingly, JWST/NIRCam and ALMA imaging reveal widespread disturbed stellar morphologies and offsets/tails in dust and gas, indicative of ongoing interactions. While larger samples are needed to assess how common these features are in high-z QGs, these findings support a merger-driven origin for the phenomenology observed in these systems, with key similarities with respect to local post-starburst galaxies where low-velocity shocks and turbulence also inject energy into the residual ISM. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_09347 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A first [CII] view of high-z quiescent galaxies D'Eugenio, C. Daddi, E. Gobat, R. Jin, S. Liu, D. Sun, H. Gentile, F. Bruckmann, F. Liu, Z. Delvecchio, I. Vallini, L. Magnelli, B. Zanella, A. Astrophysics of Galaxies We present ALMA detections (or stringent upper limits) of the [CII] 158 $μm$ emission line and underlying dust continuum from five massive quenched galaxies (QGs) at 2<z<4.7. We find extreme variations in the molecular gas fractions ($\rm{f_g=M_{mol}/M_{\star}}$), spanning 0.1%-25%, if a standard $\rm{α_{[CII]}}$ applies. We attempt a first empirical calibration of $\rm{α_{[CII]}}$ with respect to dust continuum in a $z=2$ lensed QG and with respect to CO(3-2) in a $z=3.1$ QG, finding no evidence of strong deviations from the standard value. Dust continuum measurements, coupled with JWST/MIRI fluxes, suggest higher dust temperatures compared to expectations from $z<2$ QGs, reaching $T_{d}\sim40-50 \,K$ in two galaxies. Coupled with remarkably high total infrared luminosities (LIR) not explained by observed JWST colors not by energy balance based on literature dust extinction measurements, and with [CII] deficits down to $\rm{[CII]/LIR\sim 2\times10^{-4}}$ typical of (Ultra)Luminous Infrared Galaxies, our findings point to additional dust-heating mechanisms other than dust-absorbed stellar radiation. Surprisingly, JWST/NIRCam and ALMA imaging reveal widespread disturbed stellar morphologies and offsets/tails in dust and gas, indicative of ongoing interactions. While larger samples are needed to assess how common these features are in high-z QGs, these findings support a merger-driven origin for the phenomenology observed in these systems, with key similarities with respect to local post-starburst galaxies where low-velocity shocks and turbulence also inject energy into the residual ISM. |
| title | A first [CII] view of high-z quiescent galaxies |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.09347 |