1. Molecular gas properties of Planck-selected protocluster candidates at z ≃ 1.3-3
- Author
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M. Polletta, H. Dole, C. Martinache, M. D. Lehnert, B. L. Frye, R. Kneissl, Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
submillimeter: galaxies ,[SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies ,Space and Planetary Science ,galaxies: high-redshift ,[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] ,Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) ,galaxies: star formation ,submillimeter: ISM ,large-scale structure of Universe ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,ISM: general - Abstract
We report on IRAM-30m/EMIR observations of 38 red Herschel sources in 18 Planck-selected protocluster candidates (PHz). We detect 40 CO lines on a total of 24 bright Herschel sources in 14 of the 18 PHz fields. The measured average redshift is =2.25. We measure redshifts for multiple Herschel sources in eight PHz fields. In half of those fields we detect from two to three objects at similar redshifts, supporting the idea that they contain high-z protoclusters. The detection of sources at different redshifts demonstrates that foreground and background sources also contribute to the total sub-mm emission. We compare the properties of the molecular gas, and of the star formation activity of our sources with samples of normal star-forming galaxies (SFGs), sub-mm galaxies, and CO-detected cluster and protocluster galaxies at similar redshifts. We find that the PHz-IRAM sources are mainly normal SFGs, with only ~20% undergoing a starburst phase. The PHz-IRAM sources are characterized by star formation rates and gas masses that are, on average, eight and five times higher than those typical of normal SFGs at similar redshifts. Their dust temperatures, and depletion timescales are instead consistent with those of normal SFGs. The analysis of the CO spectral line energy distribution, available for ten sources, peaks at Jup=3 in most of the cases, implying low gas excitation. These properties imply that a significant fraction of the PHz-IRAM sources contains extended, and cold molecular gas reservoirs at low excitation, and that their star-formation is driven by secular processes. Multiplicity and moderate gravitational lensing might also play a role in producing the observed properties. We find that the highest star-forming protoclusters drawn from the large volume simulations, have similar SFRs as the PHz protoclusters, but separate out into a larger number of SFGs. (Abridged), Comment: 26 pages (+19 pages Appendix), A&A accepted
- Published
- 2022