The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: the submillimetre properties of Lyman-break galaxies at z=3-5
Journal article, 2015

We present detections at 850 mu m of the Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) population at z approximate to 3, 4, and 5 using data from the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array 2 Cosmology Legacy Survey in the United Kingdom Infrared Deep Sky Survey 'Ultra Deep Survey' field. We employ stacking to probe beneath the survey limit, measuring the average 850 mu m flux density of LBGs at z approximate to 3, 4, and 5 with typical ultraviolet luminosities of L-1700 approximate to 10(29) erg s(-1) Hz(-1). We measure 850 mu m flux densities of (0.25 +/- 0.03), (0.41 +/- 0.06), and (0.88 +/- 0.23) mJy, respectively, finding that they contribute at most 20 per cent to the cosmic far-infrared (IR) background at 850 mu m. Fitting an appropriate range of spectral energy distributions to the z similar to 3, 4, and 5 LBG stacked 24-850 mu m fluxes, we derive IR luminosities of L8-1000 (mu m) approximate to 3.2, 5.5, and 11.0 x 10(11) L-circle dot [and star formation rates (SFRs) of approximate to 50-200M(circle dot) yr(-1)], respectively. We find that the evolution in the IR luminosity density of LBGs is broadly consistent with model predictions for the expected contribution of luminous-to-ultraluminous IR galaxies at these epochs. We observe a positive correlation between stellar mass and IR luminosity and confirm that, for a fixed mass, the reddest LBGs (UV slope beta -> 0) are redder due to dust extinction, with SFR (IR)/SFR (UV) increasing by about an order of magnitude over -2 < beta < 0 with SFR (IR)/SFR (UV) similar to 20 for the reddest LBGs. Furthermore, the most massive LBGs tend to have higher obscured-to-unobscured ratios, hinting at a variation in the obscuration properties across the mass range.

Deep Field-South

Ultraviolet-Selected Galaxies

Stellar Masses

Similar-To 3

Luminosity Function

Number Counts

High-Redshift

Extragalactic Survey

Star-Forming Galaxies

Dust Emission

Author

K. E. K. Coppin

University of Hertfordshire

J.E. Geach

University of Hertfordshire

O. Almaini

University of Nottingham

V. Arumugam

University of Edinburgh

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

J.S. Dunlop

University of Edinburgh

W. G. Hartley

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

R. J. Ivison

University of Edinburgh

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

C. J. Simpson

Liverpool John Moores University

D. J. B. Smith

University of Hertfordshire

A. M. Swinbank

Durham University

A.W. Blain

University Of Leicester

N. Bourne

University of Edinburgh

M. Bremer

University of Bristol

C. Conselice

University of Nottingham

C. M. Harrison

Durham University

A. Mortlock

University of Edinburgh

S. C. Chapman

Dalhousie University

L. J. M. Davies

University of Western Australia

D. Farrah

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

A. Gibb

University of British Columbia (UBC)

T. Jenness

Cornell University

Joint Astronomy Centre

A. Karim

University of Bonn

Kirsten Kraiberg Knudsen

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics

E. Ibar

University of Valparaíso

M. J. Michalowski

University of Edinburgh

J. A. Peacock

University of Edinburgh

D. Rigopoulou

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

University of Oxford

I. Robson

University of Edinburgh

Royal Observatory

D. Scott

University of British Columbia (UBC)

J. Stevens

University of Hertfordshire

P.P. van der Werf

Leiden University

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

0035-8711 (ISSN) 1365-2966 (eISSN)

Vol. 446 2 1293-1304

Subject Categories

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Roots

Basic sciences

DOI

10.1093/mnras/stu2185

More information

Latest update

5/20/2021