We report the detection of [C II] λ158 μm emission from a system of three closely separated sources in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field at z ∼ 4.56, as part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Large Program to INvestigate C II at Early times (ALPINE). The two most luminous sources are closely associated, both spatially (1.6 arcsec ∼ 11 kpc) and in velocity (∼100 km s−1), while the third source is slightly more distant (2.8 arcsec ∼ 18 kpc, ∼300 km s−1). The second most luminous source features a slight velocity gradient, while no significant velocity gradient is seen in the other two sources. Using the observed [C II] luminosities, we derive a total log10(SFR[C II] [M☉ yr−1]) = 2.8 ± 0.2, which may be split into contributions of 59, 31, and 10 per cent from the central, east, and west sources, respectively. Comparison of these [C II] detections to recent zoom-in cosmological simulations suggests an ongoing major merger. We are thus witnessing a system in a major phase of mass build-up by merging, including an ongoing major merger and an upcoming minor merger, which is expected to end up in a single massive galaxy by z ∼ 2.5.

The ALPINE-ALMA [C II] survey : a triple merger at z ∼ 4.56

Vallini L.;
2020

Abstract

We report the detection of [C II] λ158 μm emission from a system of three closely separated sources in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field at z ∼ 4.56, as part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Large Program to INvestigate C II at Early times (ALPINE). The two most luminous sources are closely associated, both spatially (1.6 arcsec ∼ 11 kpc) and in velocity (∼100 km s−1), while the third source is slightly more distant (2.8 arcsec ∼ 18 kpc, ∼300 km s−1). The second most luminous source features a slight velocity gradient, while no significant velocity gradient is seen in the other two sources. Using the observed [C II] luminosities, we derive a total log10(SFR[C II] [M☉ yr−1]) = 2.8 ± 0.2, which may be split into contributions of 59, 31, and 10 per cent from the central, east, and west sources, respectively. Comparison of these [C II] detections to recent zoom-in cosmological simulations suggests an ongoing major merger. We are thus witnessing a system in a major phase of mass build-up by merging, including an ongoing major merger and an upcoming minor merger, which is expected to end up in a single massive galaxy by z ∼ 2.5.
2020
Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica
Dynamics; Galaxies: evolution; Galaxies: high-redshift; Galaxies: interactions; Galaxies: kinematics
   Horizon 2020
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11384/119894
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