Bibcode
Simpson, J. M.; Smail, Ian; Wang, Wei-Hao; Riechers, D.; Dunlop, J. S.; Ao, Y.; Bourne, N.; Bunker, A.; Chapman, S. C.; Chen, Chian-Chou; Dannerbauer, H.; Geach, J. E.; Goto, T.; Harrison, C. M.; Hwang, H. S.; Ivison, R. J.; Kodama, Tadayuki; Lee, C.-H.; Lee, H.-M.; Lee, M.; Lim, C.-F.; Michałowski, M. J.; Rosario, D. J.; Shim, H.; Shu, X. W.; Swinbank, A. M.; Tee, W.-L.; Toba, Y.; Valiante, E.; Wang, Junxian; Zheng, X. Z.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 844, Issue 1, article id. L10, 5 pp. (2017).
Advertised on:
7
2017
Citations
44
Refereed citations
40
Description
The identification of high-redshift, massive galaxies with old stellar
populations may pose challenges to some models of galaxy formation.
However, to securely classify a galaxy as quiescent, it is necessary to
exclude significant ongoing star formation, something that can be
challenging to achieve at high redshifts. In this Letter, we analyze
deep ALMA/870 μm and SCUBA-2/450 μm imaging of the claimed
“post-starburst” galaxy ZF 20115 at z = 3.717 that exhibits
a strong Balmer break and absorption lines. The rest-frame far-infrared
imaging identifies a luminous starburst 0.″4 ± 0.″1
(˜3 kpc in projection) from the position of the ultraviolet/optical
emission and is consistent with lying at the redshift of ZF 20115. The
star-forming component, with an obscured star formation rate of
{100}-70+15 {M}⊙
{{yr}}-1, is undetected in the rest-frame ultraviolet but
contributes significantly to the lower angular resolution photometry at
rest-frame wavelengths ≳3500 Å. This contribution from the
obscured starburst, especially in the Spitzer/IRAC wavebands,
significantly complicates the determination of a reliable stellar mass
for the ZF 20015 system, and we conclude that this source does not pose
a challenge to current models of galaxy formation. The multi-wavelength
observations of ZF 20115 unveil a complex system with an intricate and
spatially varying star formation history. ZF 20115 demonstrates that
understanding high-redshift obscured starbursts will only be possible
with multi-wavelength studies that include high-resolution observations,
available with the James Webb Space Telescope, at mid-infrared
wavelengths.
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