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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The ALPINE–ALMA [C ii] Survey: The Infrared–Radio Correlation and Active Galactic Nucleus Fraction of Star-forming Galaxies at z ∼ 4.4–5.9
Abstract We present the radio properties of 66 spectroscopically confirmed normal star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 4.4 < z < 5.9 in the COSMOS field that were [C ii ]-detected in the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Large Program to INvestigate [C ii ] at Early times (ALPINE). We separate these galaxies (“C ii -detected-all”) into lower-redshift (“C ii -detected-lz”; 〈 z 〉 = 4.5) and higher-redshift (“C ii -detected-hz”; 〈 z 〉 = 5.6) subsamples, and stack multiwavelength imaging for each subsample from X-ray to radio bands. A radio signal is detected in the stacked 3 GHz images of the C ii -detected-all and lz samples at ≳3 σ . We find that the infrared–radio correlation of our sample, quantified by q TIR , is lower than the local relation for normal SFGs at a ∼3 σ significance level, and is instead broadly consistent with that of bright submillimeter galaxies at 2 < z < 5. Neither of these samples show evidence of dominant active galactic nucleus activity in their stacked spectral energy distributions (SEDs), UV spectra, or stacked X-ray images. Although we cannot rule out the possible effects of the assumed spectral index and applied infrared SED templates in causing these differences, at least partially, the lower obscured fraction of star formation than at lower redshift can alleviate the tension between our stacked q TIR s and those of local normal SFGs. It is possible that the dust buildup, which primarily governs the infrared emission, in addition to older stellar populations, has not had enough time to occur fully in these galaxies, whereas the radio emission can respond on a more rapid timescale. Therefore, we might expect a lower q TIR to be a general property of high-redshift SFGs.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1908422
- PAR ID:
- 10438254
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 935
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 177
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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