A Multi-wavelength View of the Star Formation Activity at z~3

Magdis, G; Elbaz, D; Daddi, E; Morrison, G; Dickinson, M; Rigopoulou, D; Gobat, R; Hwang, H

Journal article

A Multi-wavelength View of the Star Formation Activity at z~3

Abstract:: We present a multi-wavelength, UV-to-radio analysis for a sample of massive (M$_{\ast}$ $\sim$ 10$^{10}$ M$_\odot$) IRAC- and MIPS 24$\mu$m-detected Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) with spectroscopic redshifts z$\sim$3 in the GOODS-North field (L$_{\rm UV}$$>1.8\times$L$^{\ast}_{z=3}$). For LBGs without individual 24$\mu$m detections, we employ stacking techniques at 24$\mu$m, 1.1mm and 1.4GHz, to construct the average UV-to-radio spectral energy distribution and find it to be consistent with that of a Luminous Infrared Galaxy (LIRG) with L$\rm_{IR}$=4.5$^{+1.1}_{-2.3}$$\times 10^{11}$ L$_{\odot}$ and a specific star formation rate (SSFR) of 4.3 Gyr$^{-1}$ that corresponds to a mass doubling time $\sim$230 Myrs. On the other hand, when considering the 24$\mu$m-detected LBGs we find among them galaxies with L$\rm_{IR}> 10^{12}$ L$_{\odot}$, indicating that the space density of $z\sim$3 UV-selected Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs) is $\sim$(1.5$\pm$0.5)$\times 10^{-5}$ Mpc$^{-3}$. We compare measurements of star formation rates (SFRs) from data at different wavelengths and find that there is tight correlation (Kendall's $\tau >$ 99.7%) and excellent agreement between the values derived from dust-corrected UV, mid-IR, mm and radio data for the whole range of L$\rm_{IR}$ up to L$\rm_{IR}$ $\sim$ 10$^{13}$ L$_{\odot}$. This range is greater than that for which the correlation is known to hold at z$\sim$2, possibly due to the lack of significant contribution from PAHs to the 24$\mu$m flux at $z\sim$3. The fact that this agreement is observed for galaxies with L$\rm_{IR}$ $>$ 10$^{12}$ L$_{\odot}$ suggests that star-formation in UV-selected ULIRGs, as well as the bulk of star-formation activity at this redshift, is not embedded in optically thick regions as seen in local ULIRGs and submillimeter-selected galaxies at $z=2$.

Publication status:: Published

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APA Style

Magdis, G., Elbaz, D., Daddi, E., Morrison, G., Dickinson, M., Rigopoulou, D., Gobat, R., & Hwang, H. (2010). A Multi-wavelength View of the Star Formation Activity at z~3. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 714(2), 1740–1745.

MLA Style

Magdis, G, et al. “A Multi-Wavelength View of the Star Formation Activity at z~3.” ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, vol. 714, no. 2, 2010, pp. 1740–45.

Chicago Style

Magdis, G, D Elbaz, E Daddi, et al. 2010. “A Multi-Wavelength View of the Star Formation Activity at z~3.” ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 714 (2): 1740–45.
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