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Abstract We have observed thez= 4.3 protocluster SPT2349−56 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) with the aim of detecting radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) among the ∼30 submillimeter (submm) galaxies (SMGs) identified in the structure. We detect the central complex of submm sources at 2.2 GHz with a luminosity ofL_2.2= (4.42 ± 0.56) × 10²⁵W Hz⁻¹. MeerKAT and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder also detect the source at 816 MHz and 888 MHz, respectively, constraining the radio spectral index toα= −1.45 ± 0.16, implyingL_1.4,rest= (2.2 ± 0.2) × 10²⁶W Hz⁻¹. The radio observations do not have sufficient spatial resolution to uniquely identify one of the three Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) galaxies as the AGN, however the ALMA source properties themselves suggest a likely host. This radio luminosity is ∼100× higher than expected from star formation, assuming the usual far-infrared–radio correlation, indicating an AGN driven by a forming brightest cluster galaxy. None of the SMGs in SPT2349−56 show signs of AGNs in any other diagnostics available to us, highlighting the radio continuum as a powerful probe of obscured AGNs. We compare these results to field samples of radio sources and SMGs, along with the 22 gravitationally lensed SPT-SMGs also observed in the ATCA program, as well as powerful radio galaxies at high redshifts. The (3.3 ± 0.7) × 10³⁸W of power from the radio-loud AGN sustained over 100 Myr is comparable to the binding energy of the gas mass of the central halo, and similar to the instantaneous energy injection from supernova feedback from the SMGs in the core region. The SPT2349−56 radio-loud AGNs may be providing strong feedback on a nascent intracluster medium. 

ABSTRACT The protocluster SPT2349−56 at $z = 4.3$ contains one of the most actively star-forming cores known, yet constraints on the total stellar mass of this system are highly uncertain. We have therefore carried out deep optical and infrared observations of this system, probing rest-frame ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths. Using the positions of the spectroscopically confirmed protocluster members, we identify counterparts and perform detailed source deblending, allowing us to fit spectral energy distributions in order to estimate stellar masses. We show that the galaxies in SPT2349−56 have stellar masses proportional to their high star formation rates, consistent with other protocluster galaxies and field submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) around redshift 4. The galaxies in SPT2349−56 have on average lower molecular gas-to-stellar mass fractions and depletion time-scales than field SMGs, although with considerable scatter. We construct the stellar-mass function for SPT2349−56 and compare it to the stellar-mass function of $z = 1$ galaxy clusters, finding consistent shapes between the two. We measure rest-frame galaxy ultraviolet half-light radii from our HST-F160W imaging, finding that on average the galaxies in our sample are similar in size to typical star-forming galaxies at these redshifts. However, the brightest HST-detected galaxy in our sample, found near the luminosity-weighted centre of the protocluster core, remains unresolved at this wavelength. Hydrodynamical simulations predict that the core galaxies will quickly merge into a brightest cluster galaxy, thus our observations provide a direct view of the early formation mechanisms of this class of object.