Infrared luminous Lyman break galaxies: A population that bridges LBGs and scuba galaxies

Journal article

A deep mid- and far-infrared survey in the extended Groth strip (EGS) area gives 3.6 to 8 μm flux densities or upper limits for 253 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). The LBGs are a diverse population but with properties correlated with luminosity. The LBGs show a factor of 30 range in indicated stellar mass and a factor of 10 range in apparent dust content relative to stellar mass. About 5% of LBGs are luminous at all wavelengths, with powerful emission at rest 6 μm. In the rest 0.9 to 2 μm spectral range these galaxies have stellar spectral slopes with no sign of an AGN power-law component, suggesting that their emission is mainly powered by intensive star formation. Galaxies in this luminous population share the infrared properties of cold Submillimeter Common-User Bolometric Array (SCUBA) sources: both are massive and dusty starburst galaxies at 2 < z < 3; their stellar mass is larger than 10 11 M⊙. We suggest that these galaxies are the progenitors of present-day giant elliptical galaxies, with a substantial fraction of their stars already formed at z ≈ 3. © 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Authors: Huang, J; Rigopoulou, D; Willner, S; Papovich, C; Shu, C

• Publisher: Institute of Physics Publishing
• Journal: Astrophysical Journal
• Volume: 634
• Issue: 1 I
• Pages: 137-141
• Publication date: 2005-11-20
• DOI: 10.1086/491697
• EISSN: 1538-4357
• ISSN: 0004-637X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Surveys; Infrared: galaxies; Cosmology: observations; Galaxies: high-redshift