Galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract:

We present first insights into the far-IR properties for a sample of IRAC and MIPS 24 μm detected Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at z ∼ 3, as derived from observations in the northern field of the Great Observatories Origins Survey (GOODS-N) carried out with the PACS instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory. Although none of our galaxies are detected by Herschel, we employ a stacking technique to construct, for the first time, the average spectral energy distribution (SED) of infrared luminous LBGs from UV to radio wavelengths. We derive a median IR luminosity of LIR = 1.6 × 1012 L⊙, placing the population in the class of ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). Complementing our study with existing multi-wavelength data, we put constraints on the dust temperature of the population and find that for their LIR, MIPS-LBGs are warmer than submillimeter-luminous galaxies while they fall in the locus of the L IR-Td relation of the local ULIRGs. This, along with estimates based on the average SED, explains the marginal detection of LBGs in current submillimeter surveys and suggests that these latter studies introduce a bias toward the detection of colder ULIRGs in the high-z universe, while missing high-z ULIRGS with warmer dust. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

The GalICS (Galaxies in Cosmological Simulations) semi-analytical model of hierar- chical galaxy formation is used to investigate the effects of different galactic properties, including star formation rate (SFR) and outflows, on the shape of the mass metallic- ity relation and to predict the relation for galaxies at redshift z=2.27 and z=3.54. Our version of GalICS has the chemical evolution implemented in great detail and is less heavily reliant on approximations such as instantaneous recycling. We vary the model parameters controlling both the efficiency and redshift dependence of the SFR as well as the efficiency of supernova feedback. We find that the factors controlling the SFR influence the relation significantly at all redshifts and require a strong redshift dependence, proportional to 1+z, in order to reproduce the observed relation at the low mass end. Indeed, at any redshift, the predicted relation flattens out at the high mass end resulting in a poorer agreement with observations in this regime. We also find that variation of the parameters associated with outflows has a minimal effect on the relation at high redshift but does serve to alter its shape in the more recent past. We thus conclude that the relation is one between SFR and mass and that outflows are only important in shaping the relation at late times. When the relation is stratified by SFR it is apparent that the predicted galaxies with increasing stellar masses have higher SFRs, supporting the view that galaxy downsizing is the origin of the relation. Attempting to reproduce the observed relation, we vary the parameters controlling the efficiency of star formation and its redshift dependence and compare the predicted relations with Erb et al. (2006) at z=2.27 and Maiolino et al. (2008) at z=3.54 in order to find the best-fitting parameters. (Abridged)