A New Population of High-z, Dusty Lyα Emitters and Blobs Discovered by WISE: Feedback Caught in the Act?

Date
2013-06Author
Bridge, C. R.
Blain, A.
Borys, C. J. K.
Petty, S.
Benford, D.
Eisenhardt, P.
Farrah, D.
Griffith, R. L.
Jarrett, T.
Lonsdale, C.
Stanford, S. A.
Stern, D.
Tsai, C. W.
Wright, E. L.
Wu, J. W.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
By combining data from the NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission with optical spectroscopy from the W. M. Keck telescope, we discover a mid-IR color criterion that yields a 78% success rate in identifying rare, typically radio-quiet, 1.6 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 4.6 dusty Ly alpha emitters (LAEs). Of these, at least 37% have emission extended on scales of 30-100 kpc and are considered Ly alpha "blobs" (LABs). The objects have a surface density of only similar to 0.1 deg(-2), making them rare enough that they have been largely missed in deep, small area surveys. We measured spectroscopic redshifts for 92 of these galaxies, and find that the LAEs (LABs) have a median redshift of 2.3 (2.5). The WISE photometry coupled with data from Herschel (Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA) reveals that these galaxies are in the Hyper Luminous IR galaxy regime (L-IR greater than or similar to 10(13)-10(14) L-circle dot) and have warm colors. They are typically more luminous and warmer than other dusty, z similar to 2 populations such as submillimeter-selected galaxies and dust-obscured galaxies. These traits are commonly associated with the dust being illuminated by intense active galactic nucleus activity. We hypothesize that the combination of spatially extended Ly alpha, large amounts of warm IR-luminous dust, and rarity (implying a short-lived phase) can be explained if the galaxies are undergoing brief, intense "feedback" transforming them from an extreme dusty starburst/QSO into a mature galaxy.
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
A Population of z > 2 Far-Infrared Herschel-Spire-Selected Starbursts
Casey, C. M.; Berta, S.; Bethermin, M.; Bock, J.; Bridge, C. R.; Burgarella, D.; Chapin, E.; Chapman, S. C.; Clements, D. L.; Conley, A.; Conselice, C. J.; Cooray, A.; Farrah, D.; Hatziminaoglou, E.; Ivison, R. J.; Le Floc'h, E.; Lutz, D.; Magdis, G. E.; Magnelli, B.; Oliver, S. J.; Page, M. J.; Pozzi, F.; Rigopoulou, D.; Riguccini, L.; Roseboom, I. G.; Sanders, D. B.; Scott, D.; Seymour, N.; Valtchanov, I.; Vieira, J. D.; Viero, M.; Wardlow, J. (IOP Publishing Ltd., 2012-12)We present spectroscopic observations for a sample of 36 Herschel-Spire 250-500 mu m selected galaxies (HSGs) at 2 < z < 5 from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey. Redshifts are confirmed as part of a large ... -
Herschel-ATLAS: A binary HyLirg pinpointing a cluster of starbursting protoellipticals
Ivison, R. J.; Swinbank, A. M.; Smail, I.; Harris, A. I.; Bussmann, R. S.; Cooray, A.; Cox, P.; Fu, H.; Kovacs, A.; Krips, M.; Narayanan, D.; Negrello, M.; Neri, R.; Penarrubia, J.; Richard, J.; Riechers, D. A.; Rowlands, K.; Staguhn, J. G.; Targett, T. A.; Amber, S.; Baker, A. J.; Bourne, N.; Bertoldi, F.; Bremer, M.; Calanog, J. A.; Clements, D. L.; Dannerbauer, H.; Dariush, A.; De Zotti, G.; Dunne, L.; Eales, S. A.; Farrah, D.; Fleuren, S.; Franceschini, A.; Geach, J. E.; George, R. D.; Helly, J. C.; Hopwood, R.; Ibar, E.; Jarvis, M. J.; Kneib, J. P.; Maddox, S.; Omont, A.; Scott, D.; Serjeant, S.; Smith, M. W. L.; Thompson, M. A.; Valiante, E.; Valtchanov, I.; Vieira, J.; van der Werf, P. (IOP PUBLISHING LTD, 2013-08)Panchromatic observations of the best candidate hyperluminous infrared galaxies from the widest Herschel extragalactic imaging survey have led to the discovery of at least four intrinsically luminous z = 2.41 galaxies ... -
The evolution of the dust and gas content in galaxies
Santini, P.; Maiolino, R.; Magnelli, B.; Lutz, D.; Lamastra, A.; Causi, G. L.; Eales, S.; Andreani, P.; Berta, S.; Buat, V.; Cooray, A.; Cresci, G.; Daddi, E.; Farrah, D.; Fontana, A.; Franceschini, A.; Genzel, R.; Granato, G.; Grazian, A.; Le Floc'h, E.; Magdis, G. E.; Magliocchetti, M.; Mannucci, F.; Menci, N.; Nordon, R.; Oliver, S.; Popesso, P.; Pozzi, F.; Riguccini, L.; Rodighiero, G.; Rosario, D. J.; Salvato, M.; Scott, D.; Silva, L.; Tacconi, L.; Viero, M.; Wang, L.; Wuyts, S.; Xu, K. (EDP SCIENCES, 2014-02)We use deep Herschel observations taken with both PACS and SPIRE imaging cameras to estimate the dust mass of a sample of galaxies extracted from the GOODS-S, GOODS-N and the COSMOS fields. We divide the redshift-stellar ...