GOODS-ALMA: The slow downfall of star formation in z = 2-3 massive galaxies
Journal
Date Issued
2020
Author(s)
Franco, M.
•
Elbaz, D.
•
Zhou, L.
•
Magnelli, B.
•
Schreiber, C.
•
Ciesla, L.
•
Dickinson, M.
•
Nagar, N.
•
Magdis, G.
•
Alexander, D. M.
•
Béthermin, M.
•
Demarco, R.
•
Daddi, E.
•
Wang, T.
•
Mullaney, J.
•
Sargent, M.
•
Inami, H.
•
Shu, X.
•
Bournaud, F.
•
Chary, R.
•
Coogan, R. T.
•
Ferguson, H.
•
Finkelstein, S. L.
•
Giavalisco, M.
•
Gómez-Guijarro, C.
•
Iono, D.
•
Juneau, S.
•
Lagache, G.
•
Lin, L.
•
Motohara, K.
•
Okumura, K.
•
Papovich, C.
•
Pope, A.
•
Rujopakarn, W.
•
Silverman, J.
•
Xiao, M.
•
Abstract
We investigate the properties of a sample of 35 galaxies, detected with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) at 1.1 mm in the GOODS-ALMA field (area of 69 arcmin2, resolution = 0.60″, rms ≃ 0.18 mJy beam-1). Using the ultraviolet-to-radio deep multiwavelength coverage of the GOODS-South field, we fit the spectral energy distributions of these galaxies to derive their key physical properties. The galaxies detected by ALMA are among the most massive at z = 2-4 (M⋆, med = 8.5 × 1010 M⊙) and they are either starburst or located in the upper part of the galaxy star-forming main sequence. A significant portion of our galaxy population (∼40%), located at z ∼ 2.5 - 3, exhibits abnormally low gas fractions. The sizes of these galaxies, measured with ALMA, are compatible with the trend between the rest-frame 5000 Å size and stellar mass observed for z ∼ 2 elliptical galaxies, suggesting that they are building compact bulges. We show that there is a strong link between star formation surface density (at 1.1 mm) and gas depletion time: The more compact a galaxy's star-forming region is, the shorter its lifetime will be (without gas replenishment). The identified compact sources associated with relatively short depletion timescales (∼100 Myr) are the ideal candidates to be the progenitors of compact elliptical galaxies at z ∼ 2.
Volume
643
Start page
A30
Issn Identifier
0004-6361
Ads BibCode
2020A&A...643A..30F
Rights
open.access
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