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Abstract We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the [CI] 492 and 806 GHz fine-structure lines in 25 dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) atz= 4.3 in the core of the SPT2349–56 protocluster. The protocluster galaxies exhibit a median $L_{\left[\text{C}\mathrm{I}\right](2-1)}^{\prime }/L_{\left[\text{C}\mathrm{I}\right](1-0)}^{\prime }$ratio of 0.94, with an interquartile range of 0.81–1.24. These ratios are markedly different to those observed in DSFGs in the field (across a comparable redshift and 850μm flux density range), where the median is 0.55, with an interquartile range of 0.50–0.76, and we show that this difference is driven by an excess of [Ci](2–1) in the protocluster galaxies for a given 850μm flux density. Assuming local thermal equilibrium, we estimate gas excitation temperatures of $T_{\mathrm{ex}}=59.1_{-6.8}^{+8.1}$K for our protocluster sample and $T_{\mathrm{ex}}=33.9_{-2.2}^{+2.4}$K for the field sample. Our main interpretation of this result is that the protocluster galaxies have had their cold gas driven to their cores via close-by interactions within the dense environment, leading to an overall increase in the average gas density and excitation temperature, as well as an elevated [Ci](2–1) luminosity-to-far-infrared-luminosity ratio. 

Abstract We present Atacama Compact Array (ACA) Band-3 observations of the protocluster SPT2349−56, an extreme system hosting >10 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs;L_IR ≳  10¹²L_⊙) in a 200 kpc diameter region atz =  4.3, to study its integrated molecular gas content via CO(4–3) and the long-wavelength dust continuum. The ∼30 hr integration represents one of the longest exposures yet taken on a single pointing with the ACA 7 m. The low-resolution ACA data (21 $\stackrel{\text{″}}{.}$0  ×  12 $\stackrel{\text{″}}{.}$2) reveal a 75% excess CO(4–3) flux compared to the sum of individual sources detected in higher-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) data (1 $\stackrel{\text{″}}{.}$0  ×  0 $\stackrel{\text{″}}{.}$8). Our work also reveals a similar result by tapering the ALMA data to 10″. In contrast, the 3.2 mm dust continuum shows little discrepancy between ACA and ALMA. A single-dish [Cii] spectrum obtained by APEX/FLASH supports the ACA CO(4–3) result, revealing a large excess in [Cii] emission relative to ALMA. The missing flux is unlikely due to undetected faint sources but instead suggests that high-resolution ALMA observations might miss extended and low-surface-brightness gas. Such emission could originate from the circumgalactic medium or the preheated protointracluster medium (proto-ICM). If this molecular gas reservoir replenishes the star formation fuel, the overall depletion timescale will exceed 400 Myr, reducing the requirement for the simultaneous ULIRG activity in SPT2349−56. Our results highlight the role of an extended gas reservoir in sustaining a high star formation rate in SPT2349−56 and potentially establishing the ICM during the transition phase to a mature cluster. 

Abstract We present the first spatially resolved maps of gas-phase metallicity for two dust-obscured star-forming galaxies atz∼ 4, from the JWST TEMPLATES Early Release Science program, derived from NIRSpec integral field unit spectroscopy of the Hαand [Nii] emission lines. Empirical optical line calibrations are used to determine that the sources are globally enriched to near-solar levels. While one source shows elevated [N ii]/Hαratios and broad Hαemission consistent with the presence of an active galactic nucleus in a ≳1 kpc region, we argue that both systems have already undergone significant metal enrichment as a result of their extremely high star formation rates. Utilizing Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array rest-frame 380μm continuum and [Ci](³P₂–³P₁) line maps we compare the spatial variation of the metallicity and gas-to-dust ratio in the two galaxies, finding the two properties to be anticorrelated on highly resolved spatial scales, consistent with various literature studies ofz∼ 0 galaxies. The data are indicative of the enormous potential of JWST to probe the enrichment of the interstellar medium on ∼kpc scales in extremely dust-obscured systems atz∼ 4 and beyond. 

Abstract We present JWST and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) imaging for the lensing system SPT0418−47, which includes a strongly lensed, dusty, star-forming galaxy at redshiftz= 4.225 and an associated multiply imaged companion. The JWST NIRCam and MIRI imaging observations presented in this paper were acquired as part of the Early Release Science program Targeting Extremely Magnified Panchromatic Lensed Arcs and Their Extended Star formation (TEMPLATES). This data set provides robust mutiwavelength detections of stellar light in both the main (SPT0418A) and companion (SPT0418B) galaxies, while the ALMA detection of [Cii] emission confirms that SPT0418B lies at the same redshift as SPT0418A. We infer that the projected physical separation of the two galaxies is 4.42 ± 0.05 kpc. We derive total magnifications ofμ= 29 ± 1 andμ= 4.1 ± 0.7 for SPT0418A and SPT0418B, respectively. We use bothprospectorandcigaleto derive stellar masses. We find that SPT0418A has a stellar mass of $M_{*}={3.4}_{-0.6}^{+1.1}\times {10}^{10}{M}_{\odot }$fromprospector orM_*= 1.5 ± 0.3 × 10¹⁰M_⊙fromcigale. The stellar mass ratio of SPT0418A and SPT0418B is roughly between 4 and 7 ( ${4.2}_{-1.6}^{+1.9}$forprospectorand 7.5 ± 3.7 forcigale). We see evidence of extended structure associated with SPT0418A that is suggestive of a tidal feature. These features, along with the close projected proximity, imply that the system is interacting. Interestingly, the star formation rates and stellar masses of both galaxies are consistent with the main sequence of star-forming galaxies at this epoch, indicating that this ongoing interaction has not noticeably elevated the star formation levels. 

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 SPT0311-58, a system of two interacting galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization, exists in one of the rarest, most massive dark matter halos theoretically possible in that era. Studying the interstellar medium (ISM) in these galaxies can illuminate the process of galaxy formation in the early Universe. In this work, we explore the multiphase ISM in this system, using ALMA observations of the [Cii] 158, [Oi] 146, [Nii] 122, and [Oiii] 88 fine-structure lines and dust continuum. We find wide variations in line ratios between the eastern and western galaxies, as well as across the western galaxy. Continuum colors indicate that SPT0311-58 E has a higher ionization parameter ( $\log U\approx -2.8$) than SPT0311-58 W ( $\log U\approx -3.1$). The ratio of [Oiii] 88–[Nii] 122 and the ionization parameter constraints combine to demonstrate near-solar metallicity in these objects just 800 Myr after the Big Bang. 

Abstract With Σ_SFR∼ 4200M_⊙yr⁻¹kpc⁻², SPT 0346–52 (z= 5.7) is the most intensely star-forming galaxy discovered by the South Pole Telescope. In this paper, we expand on previous spatially resolved studies, using ALMA observations of dust continuum, [Nii] 205μm, [Cii] 158μm, [Oi] 146μm, and undetected [Nii] 122μm and [Oi] 63μm emission to study the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) in SPT 0346–52. We use pixelated, visibility-based lens modeling to reconstruct the source-plane emission. We also model the source-plane emission using the photoionization codecloudyand find a supersolar metallicity system. We calculateT_dust= 48.3 K andλ_peak= 80μm and see line deficits in all five lines. The ionized gas is less dense than comparable galaxies, withn_e< 32 cm⁻³, while ∼20% of the [Cii] 158μm emission originates from the ionized phase of the ISM. We also calculate the masses of several phases of the ISM. We find that molecular gas dominates the mass of the ISM in SPT 0346–52, with the molecular gas mass ∼4× higher than the neutral atomic gas mass and ∼100× higher than the ionized gas mass. 

ABSTRACT We present APEX-LABOCA 870-μm observations of the fields surrounding the nine brightest high-redshift unlensed objects discovered in the South Pole Telescope’s (SPT) 2500 deg2 survey. Initially seen as point sources by SPT’s 1-arcmin beam, the 19-arcsec resolution of our new data enables us to deblend these objects and search for submillimetre (submm) sources in the surrounding fields. We find a total of 98 sources above a threshold of 3.7σ in the observed area of 1300 arcmin2, where the bright central cores resolve into multiple components. After applying a radial cut to our LABOCA sources to achieve uniform sensitivity and angular size across each of the nine fields, we compute the cumulative and differential number counts and compare them to estimates of the background, finding a significant overdensity of $$\delta \, {\approx }\,$$10 at $$S_{870}= 14$$ mJy. The large overdensities of bright submm sources surrounding these fields suggest that they could be candidate protoclusters undergoing massive star formation events. Photometric and spectroscopic redshifts of the unlensed central objects range from $z= $3 to 7, implying a volume density of star-forming protoclusters of approximately 0.1 Gpc−3. If the surrounding submm sources in these fields are at the same redshifts as the central objects, then the total star formation rates of these candidate protoclusters reach 10 000 M⊙ yr−1, making them much more active at these redshifts than seen so far in either simulations or observations. 

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.