1. Constraints on the [C ii] luminosity of a proto-globular cluster at z ∼ 6 obtained with ALMA.
- Author
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Calura, Francesco, Vanzella, Eros, Carniani, Stefano, Gilli, Roberto, Rosati, Piero, Meneghetti, Massimo, Paladino, Rosita, Decarli, Roberto, Brusa, Marcella, Lupi, Alessandro, D'Amato, Quirino, Bergamini, Pietro, and Caminha, Gabriel B
- Subjects
STELLAR mass ,LUMINOSITY ,GALAXY clusters ,STAR formation ,UNCERTAINTY ,GLOBULAR clusters - Abstract
We report on ALMA observations of D1, a system at z ∼ 6.15 with stellar mass |$M_{*} \sim 10^7 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$| containing globular cluster (GC) precursors, strongly magnified by the galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403. Since the discovery of GC progenitors at high redshift, ours is the first attempt to probe directly the physical properties of their neutral gas through infrared observations. A careful analysis of our data set, performed with a suitable procedure designed to identify faint narrow lines and which can test various possible values for the unknown linewidth value, allowed us to identify a 4 σ tentative detection of [C ii ] emission with intrinsic luminosity |$L_{\rm [C\, \rm {\small II}]}=(2.9 \pm 1.4)~10^6 \, {\it L}_{\odot }$| , one of the lowest values ever detected at high redshift. This study offers a first insight on previously uncharted regions of the |$L_{\rm [C\, \rm {\small II}]}{-}{\rm SFR}$| relation. Despite large uncertainties affecting our measure of the star formation rate, if taken at face value our estimate lies more than ∼1 dex below the values observed in local and high redshift systems. Our weak detection indicates a deficiency of [C ii ] emission, possibly ascribed to various explanations, such as a low-density gas and/or a strong radiation field caused by intense stellar feedback, and a low metal content. From the non-detection in the continuum, we derive constraints on the dust mass, with 3 σ upper limit values as low as ∼ a few 10
4 M⊙ , consistent with the values measured in local metal-poor galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2021
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