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  1. Abstract

    The SPT 0311–58 system atz= 6.900 is an extremely massive structure within the reionization epoch and offers a chance to understand the formation of galaxies at an extreme peak in the primordial density field. We present 70 mas Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the dust continuum and [Cii] 158μm emission in the central pair of galaxies and reach physical resolutions of ∼100–350 pc, among the most detailed views of any reionization-era system to date. The observations resolve the source into at least a dozen kiloparsec-size clumps. The global kinematics and high turbulent velocity dispersion within the galaxies present a striking contrast to recent claims of dynamically cold thin-disk kinematics in some dusty galaxies just 800 Myr later atz∼ 4. We speculate that both gravitational interactions and fragmentation from massive parent disks have likely played a role in the overall dynamics and formation of clumps in the system. Each clump individually is comparable in mass to other 6 <z< 8 galaxies identified in rest-UV/optical deep field surveys, but with star formation rates elevated by a factor of ~3-5. Internally, the clumps themselves bear close resemblance to greatly scaled-up versions of virialized cloud-scale structures identified in low-redshift galaxies. Our observations are qualitatively similar to the chaotic and clumpy assembly within massive halos seen in simulations of high-redshift galaxies.

     
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  2. Abstract

    With ΣSFR∼ 4200Myr−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 calculateTdust= 48.3 K andλpeak= 80μm and see line deficits in all five lines. The ionized gas is less dense than comparable galaxies, withne< 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.

     
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  3. 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.

     
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  8. ABSTRACT We present Atacama Compact Array and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment observations of the [N ii] 205 μm fine-structure line in 40 sub-millimetre galaxies lying at redshifts z = 3–6, drawn from the 2500 deg2 South Pole Telescope survey. This represents the largest uniformly selected sample of high-redshift [N ii] 205 μm measurements to date. 29 sources also have [C ii] 158 μm line observations allowing a characterization of the distribution of the [C ii] to [N ii] luminosity ratio for the first time at high redshift. The sample exhibits a median L$_{{\rm{[C\,{\small II}]}}}$/L$_{{\rm{[N\,{\small II}]}}}$ ≈ 11.0 and interquartile range of 5.0 –24.7. These ratios are similar to those observed in local (Ultra)luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), possibly indicating similarities in their interstellar medium. At the extremes, we find individual sub-millimetre galaxies with L$_{{\rm{[C\,{\small II}]}}}$/L$_{{\rm{[N\,{\small II}]}}}$ low enough to suggest a smaller contribution from neutral gas than ionized gas to the [C ii] flux and high enough to suggest strongly photon or X-ray region dominated flux. These results highlight a large range in this line luminosity ratio for sub-millimetre galaxies, which may be caused by variations in gas density, the relative abundances of carbon and nitrogen, ionization parameter, metallicity, and a variation in the fractional abundance of ionized and neutral interstellar medium. 
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