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Star formation rate (SFR) measurements at z  > 4 have relied mostly on the rest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations. The corrections for dust attenuation based on the IRX- β relation are highly uncertain and are still debated in the literature. Hence, rest-frame far-infrared (FIR) observations are necessary to constrain the dust-obscured component of the SFR. In this paper, we exploit the rest-frame FIR continuum observations collected by the ALMA Large Program to INvestigate [CII] at Early times (ALPINE) to directly constrain the obscured SFR in galaxies at 4.4 <  z  < 5.9. We used stacks of continuum images to measure average infrared luminosities taking both detected and undetected sources into account. Based on these measurements, we measured the position of the main sequence of star-forming galaxies and the specific SFR (sSFR) at z  ∼ 4.5 and z  ∼ 5.5. We find that the main sequence and sSFR do not significantly evolve between z  ∼ 4.5 and z  ∼ 5.5, as opposed to lower redshifts. We developed a method to derive the obscured SFR density (SFRD) using the stellar masses or FUV-magnitudes as a proxy of FIR fluxes measured on the stacks and combining them with the galaxy stellar mass functions and FUV luminosity functions from the literature. We obtain consistent results independent of the chosen proxy. We find that the obscured fraction of SFRD is decreasing with increasing redshift, but even at z  ∼ 5.5 it constitutes around 61% of the total SFRD. 

We present ALMA observations of a merging system at z  ∼ 4.57, observed as a part of the ALMA Large Program to INvestigate [CII] at Early times (ALPINE) survey. Combining ALMA [CII]158  μ m and far-infrared continuum data with multi-wavelength ancillary data, we find that the system is composed of two massive ( M ⋆  ≳ 10 10   M ⊙ ) star-forming galaxies experiencing a major merger (stellar mass ratio r mass  ≳ 0.9) at close spatial (∼13 kpc; projected) and velocity (Δ v  <  300 km s −1 ) separations, and two additional faint narrow [CII]-emitting satellites. The overall system belongs to a larger scale protocluster environment and is coincident to one of its overdensity peaks. Additionally, ALMA reveals the presence of [CII] emission arising from a circumgalactic gas structure, extending up to a diameter-scale of ∼30 kpc. Our morpho-spectral decomposition analysis shows that about 50% of the total flux resides between the individual galaxy components, in a metal-enriched gaseous envelope characterised by a disturbed morphology and complex kinematics. Similarly to observations of shock-excited [CII] emitted from tidal tails in local groups, our results can be interpreted as a possible signature of interstellar gas stripped by strong gravitational interactions, with a possible contribution from material ejected by galactic outflows and emission triggered by star formation in small faint satellites. Our findings suggest that mergers could be an efficient mechanism of gas mixing in the circumgalactic medium around high- z galaxies, and thus play a key role in the galaxy baryon cycle at early epochs. 

Abstract The Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) has become a cornerstone of extragalactic astronomy. Since the last public catalog in 2015, a wealth of new imaging and spectroscopic data have been collected in the COSMOS field. This paper describes the collection, processing, and analysis of these new imaging data to produce a new reference photometric redshift catalog. Source detection and multiwavelength photometry are performed for 1.7 million sources across the 2 deg 2 of the COSMOS field, ∼966,000 of which are measured with all available broadband data using both traditional aperture photometric methods and a new profile-fitting photometric extraction tool, The Farmer , which we have developed. A detailed comparison of the two resulting photometric catalogs is presented. Photometric redshifts are computed for all sources in each catalog utilizing two independent photometric redshift codes. Finally, a comparison is made between the performance of the photometric methodologies and of the redshift codes to demonstrate an exceptional degree of self-consistency in the resulting photometric redshifts. The i < 21 sources have subpercent photometric redshift accuracy and even the faintest sources at 25 < i < 27 reach a precision of 5%. Finally, these results are discussed in the context of previous, current, and future surveys in the COSMOS field. Compared to COSMOS2015, it reaches the same photometric redshift precision at almost one magnitude deeper. Both photometric catalogs and their photometric redshift solutions and physical parameters will be made available through the usual astronomical archive systems (ESO Phase 3, IPAC-IRSA, and CDS). 

The [C  II ] 158 μ m line is one of the strongest IR emission lines, which has been shown to trace the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies in the nearby Universe, and up to z  ∼ 2. Whether this is also the case at higher redshift and in the early Universe remains debated. The ALPINE survey, which targeted 118 star-forming galaxies at 4.4 <   z  <  5.9, provides a new opportunity to examine this question with the first statistical dataset. Using the ALPINE data and earlier measurements from the literature, we examine the relation between the [C  II ] luminosity and the SFR over the entire redshift range from z  ∼ 4 − 8. ALPINE galaxies, which are both detected in [C  II ] and in dust continuum, show good agreement with the local L ([CII])–SFR relation. Galaxies undetected in the continuum by ALMA are found to be over-luminous in [C  II ] when the UV SFR is used. After accounting for dust-obscured star formation, by an amount of SFR(IR) ≈ SFR(UV) on average, which results from two different stacking methods and SED fitting, the ALPINE galaxies show an L ([CII])–SFR relation comparable to the local one. When [C  II ] non-detections are taken into account, the slope may be marginally steeper at high- z , although this is still somewhat uncertain. When compared homogeneously, the z  >  6 [C  II ] measurements (detections and upper limits) do not behave very differently to the z  ∼ 4 − 6 data. We find a weak dependence of L ([CII])/SFR on the Ly α equivalent width. Finally, we find that the ratio L ([CII])/ L IR ∼ (1 − 3) × 10 −3 for the ALPINE sources, comparable to that of “normal” galaxies at lower redshift. Our analysis, which includes the largest sample (∼150 galaxies) of [C  II ] measurements at z  > 4 available so far, suggests no or little evolution of the [C  II ]–SFR relation over the last 13 Gyr of cosmic time. 

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Large Program to INvestigate [CII] at Early times (ALPINE) targets the [CII] 158 μ m line and the far-infrared continuum in 118 spectroscopically confirmed star-forming galaxies between z  = 4.4 and z  = 5.9. It represents the first large [CII] statistical sample built in this redshift range. We present details regarding the data processing and the construction of the catalogs. We detected 23 of our targets in the continuum. To derive accurate infrared luminosities and obscured star formation rates (SFRs), we measured the conversion factor from the ALMA 158 μ m rest-frame dust continuum luminosity to the total infrared luminosity ( L IR ) after constraining the dust spectral energy distribution by stacking a photometric sample similar to ALPINE in ancillary single-dish far-infrared data. We found that our continuum detections have a median L IR of 4.4 × 10 11 L ⊙ . We also detected 57 additional continuum sources in our ALMA pointings. They are at a lower redshift than the ALPINE targets, with a mean photometric redshift of 2.5 ± 0.2. We measured the 850 μ m number counts between 0.35 and 3.5 mJy, thus improving the current interferometric constraints in this flux density range. We found a slope break in the number counts around 3 mJy with a shallower slope below this value. More than 40% of the cosmic infrared background is emitted by sources brighter than 0.35 mJy. Finally, we detected the [CII] line in 75 of our targets. Their median [CII] luminosity is 4.8 × 10 8 L ⊙ and their median full width at half maximum is 252 km s −1 . After measuring the mean obscured SFR in various [CII] luminosity bins by stacking ALPINE continuum data, we find a good agreement between our data and the local and predicted SFR– L [CII] relations. 

The ALMA-ALPINE [CII] survey is aimed at characterizing the properties of a sample of normal star-forming galaxies (SFGs). The ALMA Large Program to INvestigate (ALPINE) features 118 galaxies observed in the [CII]-158 μ m line and far infrared (FIR) continuum emission during the period of rapid mass assembly, right after the end of the HI reionization, at redshifts of 4 <   z  <  6. We present the survey science goals, the observational strategy, and the sample selection of the 118 galaxies observed with ALMA, with an average beam minor axis of about 0.85″, or ∼5 kpc at the median redshift of the survey. The properties of the sample are described, including spectroscopic redshifts derived from the UV-rest frame, stellar masses, and star-formation rates obtained from a spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. The observed properties derived from the ALMA data are presented and discussed in terms of the overall detection rate in [CII] and FIR continuum, with the observed signal-to-noise distribution. The sample is representative of the SFG population in the main sequence at these redshifts. The overall detection rate in [CII] is 64% for a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) threshold larger than 3.5 corresponding to a 95% purity (40% detection rate for S / N  >  5). Based on a visual inspection of the [CII] data cubes together with the large wealth of ancillary data, we find a surprisingly wide range of galaxy types, including 40% that are mergers, 20% extended and dispersion-dominated, 13% compact, and 11% rotating discs, with the remaining 16% too faint to be classified. This diversity indicates that a wide array of physical processes must be at work at this epoch, first and foremost, those of galaxy mergers. This paper sets a reference sample for the gas distribution in normal SFGs at 4 <   z  <  6, a key epoch in galaxy assembly, which is ideally suited for studies with future facilities, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). 

We report the detection of [C ii] λ158 $\mu$m emission from a system of three closely separated sources in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field at z ∼ 4.56 , as part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Large Program to INvestigate C ii at Early times (ALPINE). The two most luminous sources are closely associated, both spatially (1.6 arcsec ∼ 11 kpc) and in velocity (∼100 km s−1), while the third source is slightly more distant (2.8 arcsec ∼ 18 kpc, ∼300 km s−1). The second most luminous source features a slight velocity gradient, while no significant velocity gradient is seen in the other two sources. Using the observed [C ii] luminosities, we derive a total log$_{10}(\rm SFR_{[C\,{\small II}]}\, [M_{\odot }\, yr^{-1}])=2.8\pm 0.2$, which may be split into contributions of 59, 31, and 10 per cent from the central, east, and west sources, respectively. Comparison of these [C ii] detections to recent zoom-in cosmological simulations suggests an ongoing major merger. We are thus witnessing a system in a major phase of mass build-up by merging, including an ongoing major merger and an upcoming minor merger, which is expected to end up in a single massive galaxy by z ∼ 2.5.