A resolved map of the infrared excess in a Lyman Break Galaxy at z=3

M. P. Koprowski, K. E. K. Coppin, J. E. Geach, N. K. Hine, M. Bremer, S. C. Chapman, L. J. M. Davies, T. Hayashino, K. K. Knudsen, M. Kubo, B. D. Lehmer, Y. Matsuda, D. J. B. Smith, P. P. van der Werf, G. Violino, T. Yamada

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Abstract

We have observed the dust continuum of ten z=3.1 Lyman Break Galaxies with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array at ~450 mas resolution in Band 7. We detect and resolve the 870um emission in one of the targets with an integrated flux density of S(870)=(192+/-57) uJy, and measure a stacked 3-sigma signal of S(870)=(67+/-23) uJy for the remaining nine. The total infrared luminosities estimated from full spectral energy distribution fits are L(8-1000um)=(8.4+/-2.3)x10^10 Lsun for the detection and L(8-1000um)=(2.9+/-0.9)x10^10 Lsun for the stack. With HST ACS I-band imaging we map the rest-frame UV emission on the same scale as the dust, effectively resolving the 'infrared excess' (IRX=L_FIR/L_UV) in a normal galaxy at z=3. Integrated over the galaxy we measure IRX=0.56+/-0.15, and the galaxy-averaged UV slope is beta=-1.25+/-0.03. This puts the galaxy a factor of ~10 below the IRX-beta relation for local starburst nuclei of Meurer et al. (1999). However, IRX varies by more than a factor of 3 across the galaxy, and we conclude that the complex relative morphology of the dust relative to UV emission is largely responsible for the scatter in the IRX-beta relation at high-z. A naive application of a Meurer-like dust correction based on the UV slope would dramatically over-estimate the total star formation rate, and our results support growing evidence that when integrated over the galaxy, the typical conditions in high-z star-forming galaxies are not analogous to those in the local starburst nuclei used to establish the Meurer relation.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages6
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume828
Issue number2
Early online date9 Sept 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Sept 2016

Keywords

  • astro-ph.GA
  • astro-ph.CO

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