AN ALMA SURVEY OF SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES IN THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH: NEAR-INFRARED MORPHOLOGIES AND STELLAR SIZES
- Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
- European Southern Observatory, Karl Schwarzschild Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5 (Canada)
- Centre for Astrophysics Research, Science and Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom)
- Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Wien, Türkenschanzstraße 17, A-1180 Wien (Austria)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)
- Argelander-Institute for Astronomy, Bonn University, Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
- Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany)
- Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark)
We analyze Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/H {sub 160}-band observations of a sample of 48 Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detected submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South field, to study their stellar morphologies and sizes. We detect 79% ± 17% of the SMGs in the H {sub 160}-band imaging with a median sensitivity of 27.8 mag, and most (80%) of the nondetections are SMGs with 870 μm fluxes of S {sub 870} < 3 mJy. With a surface brightness limit of μ {sub H} ∼ 26 mag arcsec{sup –2}, we find that 82% ± 9% of the H {sub 160}-band-detected SMGs at z = 1-3 appear to have disturbed morphologies, meaning they are visually classified as either irregulars or interacting systems, or both. By determining a Sérsic fit to the H {sub 160} surface brightness profiles, we derive a median Sérsic index of n = 1.2 ± 0.3 and a median half-light radius of r{sub e} = 4.4{sub −0.5}{sup +1.1} kpc for our SMGs at z = 1-3. We also find significant displacements between the positions of the H {sub 160} component and 870 μm emission in these systems, suggesting that the dusty starburst regions and less-obscured stellar distribution are not colocated. We find significant differences in the sizes and the Sérsic index between our z = 2-3 SMGs and z ∼ 2 quiescent galaxies, suggesting that a major transformation of the stellar light profile is needed in the quenching processes if SMGs are progenitors of the red-and-dead z ∼ 2 galaxies. Given the short-lived nature of SMGs, we postulate that the majority of the z = 2-3 SMGs with S {sub 870} ≳ 2 mJy are early/mid-stage major mergers.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364322
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 799, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: Multi-wavelength Properties of ALMA-identified Submillimeter Galaxies in UKIDSS UDS
An ALMA Survey of Submillimeter Galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South: Spectroscopic Redshifts