1. A massive galaxy in its core formation phase three billion years after the Big Bang
- Author
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Elisabete da Cunha, Rachel Bezanson, Pieter van Dokkum, Joel Leja, Arjen van der Wel, Marijn Franx, Gabriel B. Brammer, Hans-Walter Rix, Allison Kirkpatrick, Katherine E. Whitaker, Linda J. Tacconi, Erica J. Nelson, Rosalind E. Skelton, Stijn Wuyts, Natascha M. Förster Schreiber, and Ivelina Momcheva
- Subjects
VELOCITY DISPERSIONS ,LARGE-SAMPLE ,FOS: Physical sciences ,COMPACT QUIESCENT GALAXIES ,Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics ,Astrophysics ,Galaxy merger ,Peculiar galaxy ,STAR-FORMING GALAXIES ,Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,NUGGETS ,Interacting galaxy ,Brightest cluster galaxy ,Lenticular galaxy ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,Dwarf galaxy ,Physics ,Multidisciplinary ,METALLICITY RELATION ,Astronomy ,HUBBLE-SPACE-TELESCOPE ,RED ,Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies ,SURVEY ,Galaxy ,GALAXIES ,Physics and Astronomy ,Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) ,Elliptical galaxy ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,HIGH-REDSHIFT ,SUBMILLIMETER ,EXTRAGALACTIC LEGACY - Abstract
Most massive galaxies are thought to have formed their dense stellar cores at early cosmic epochs. However, cores in their formation phase have not yet been observed. Previous studies have found galaxies with high gas velocity dispersions or small apparent sizes but so far no objects have been identified with both the stellar structure and the gas dynamics of a forming core. Here we present a candidate core in formation 11 billion years ago, at z=2.3. GOODS-N-774 has a stellar mass of 1.0x10^11 Msun, a half-light radius of 1.0 kpc, and a star formation rate of 90[+45-20]Msun/yr. The star forming gas has a velocity dispersion 317+-30 km/s, amongst the highest ever measured. It is similar to the stellar velocity dispersions of the putative descendants of GOODS-N-774, compact quiescent galaxies at z~2 and giant elliptical galaxies in the nearby Universe. Galaxies such as GOODS-N-774 appear to be rare; however, from the star formation rate and size of the galaxy we infer that many star forming cores may be heavily obscured, and could be missed in optical and near-infrared surveys., Comment: To appear in Nature
- Published
- 2014
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