An Imperfectly Passive Nature: Bright Submillimeter Emission from Dust-obscured Star Formation in the z = 3.717 "Passive" System, ZF 20115

The identification of high-redshift, massive galaxies with old stellar populations may pose challenges to some models of galaxy formation. However, to securely classify a galaxy as quiescent, it is necessary to exclude significant ongoing star formation, something that can be challenging to achieve...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Simpson, J, Smail, I, Wang, W, Riechers, D, Dunlop, J, Ao, Y, Bourne, N, Bunker, A, Chapman, S, Chen, C, Dannerbauer, H, Geach, J, Goto, T, Harrison, C, Hwang, H, Ivison, R, Kodama, T, Lee, C, Lee, H, Lee, M, Lim, C, Michałowski, M, Rosario, D, Shim, H, Shu, X, Swinbank, A, Tee, W, Toba, Y, Valiante, E, Wang, J, Zheng, X
Format: Journal article
Published: American Astronomical Society 2017
Description
Summary:The identification of high-redshift, massive galaxies with old stellar populations may pose challenges to some models of galaxy formation. However, to securely classify a galaxy as quiescent, it is necessary to exclude significant ongoing star formation, something that can be challenging to achieve at high redshifts. In this Letter, we analyze deep ALMA/870 μm and SCUBA-2/450 μm imaging of the claimed "post-starburst" galaxy ZF 20115 at z = 3.717 that exhibits a strong Balmer break and absorption lines. The rest-frame far-infrared imaging identifies a luminous starburst 0.″4 0.″1 (∼3 kpc in projection) from the position of the ultraviolet/optical emission and is consistent with lying at the redshift of ZF 20115. The star-forming component, with an obscured star formation rate of 100 +15-70 M⊙ yr -1 , is undetected in the rest-frame ultraviolet but contributes significantly to the lower angular resolution photometry at rest-frame wavelengths 3500. This contribution from the obscured starburst, especially in the Spitzer/IRAC wavebands, significantly complicates the determination of a reliable stellar mass for the ZF 20015 system, and we conclude that this source does not pose a challenge to current models of galaxy formation. The multi-wavelength observations of ZF 20115 unveil a complex system with an intricate and spatially varying star formation history. ZF 20115 demonstrates that understanding high-redshift obscured starbursts will only be possible with multi-wavelength studies that include high-resolution observations, available with the James Webb Space Telescope, at mid-infrared wavelengths.