Abstract Radio free–free emission is considered to be one of the most reliable tracers of star formation in galaxies. However, as it constitutes the faintest part of the radio spectrum—being roughly an order of magnitude less luminous than radio synchrotron emission at the GHz frequencies typically targeted in radio surveys—the usage of free–free emission as a star formation rate tracer has mostly remained limited to the local universe. Here, we perform a multifrequency radio stacking analysis using deep Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array observations at 1.4, 3, 5, 10, and 34 GHz in the COSMOS and GOODS-North fields to probe free–free emission in typical galaxies at the peak of cosmic star formation. We find that z ∼ 0.5–3 star-forming galaxies exhibit radio emission at rest-frame frequencies of ∼65–90 GHz that is ∼1.5–2 times fainter than would be expected from a simple combination of free–free and synchrotron emission, as in the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. We interpret this as a deficit in high-frequency synchrotron emission, while the level of free–free emission is as expected from M82. We additionally provide the first constraints on the cosmic star formation history using free–free emission at 0.5 ≲ z ≲ 3, which are in good agreement with more established tracers at high redshift. In the future, deep multifrequency radio surveys will be crucial in order to accurately determine the shape of the radio spectrum of faint star-forming galaxies, and to further establish radio free–free emission as a tracer of high-redshift star formation.
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COLDz: Deep 34 GHz Continuum Observations and Free–Free Emission in High-redshift Star-forming Galaxies
Abstract The high-frequency radio sky has historically remained largely unexplored due to the typical faintness of sources in this regime, and the modest survey speed compared to observations at lower frequencies. However, high-frequency radio surveys offer an invaluable tracer of high-redshift star formation, as they directly target the faint radio free–free emission. We present deep continuum observations at 34 GHz in the COSMOS and GOODS-North fields from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), as part of the COLD z survey. The deep COSMOS mosaic spans down to σ = 1.3 μ Jy beam −1 , while the wider GOODS-N observations cover to σ = 5.3 μ Jy beam −1 . We detect a total of 18 galaxies at 34 GHz, of which nine show radio emission consistent with being powered by star formation; although for two sources, this is likely due to thermal emission from dust. Utilizing deep ancillary radio data at 1.4, 3, 5, and 10 GHz, we decompose the spectra of the remaining seven star-forming galaxies into their synchrotron and thermal free–free components, and find typical thermal fractions and synchrotron spectral indices comparable to those observed in local star-forming galaxies. We further determine free–free star formation rates (SFRs), and show that these are in agreement with SFRs from spectral energy distribution-fitting and the far-infrared/radio correlation. Our observations place strong constraints on the high-frequency radio emission in typical galaxies at high redshift, and provide some of the first insights into what is set to become a key area of study with future radio facilities, such as the Square Kilometer Array Phase 1 and next-generation VLA.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1910107
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10330881
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 912
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 73
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abe6a5
