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, Sargent, M and others, (2020) GOODS-ALMA: the slow downfall of star formation in z = 2-3 massive galaxies. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 643 (A30). pp. 1-17. ISSN 0004-6361

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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.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
SWORD Depositor:	Mx Elements Account
Depositing User:	Mx Elements Account
Date Deposited:	09 Nov 2020 08:13
Last Modified:	25 Feb 2022 13:07
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/94861

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