2020/09/17 by J. Wagg, Jeff Wagg, M. Aravena +17
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Doubly ionized oxygen #Emission spectrum #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Line (geometry) #Luminosity #Physics #Redshift #Spectral line #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications #Star (game theory) #Star formation #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/mnras/staa2884
accepted for publication in MNRAS
openalex publication_date 2020/09/17 · arxiv created 2020/09/18 · openalex created_date 2020/09/25 · arxiv updated 2020/09/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
ABSTRACT We present Herschel–PACS spectroscopy of four main-sequence star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1.5. We detect [OI]63 μm line emission in BzK-21000 at z = 1.5213, and measure a line luminosity, L_\rm [O \small I]63 μ m = (3.9± 0.7)× 109 L⊙. Our PDR modelling of the interstellar medium in BzK-21000 suggests a UV radiation field strength, G ∼ 320G0, and gas density, n ∼ 1800 cm−3, consistent with previous LVG modelling of the molecular CO line excitation. The other three targets in our sample are individually undetected in these data, and we perform a spectral stacking analysis which yields a detection of their average emission and an [O i]63 μm line luminosity, L_\rm [O \small I]63 μ m = (1.1± 0.2)× 109 L⊙. We find that the implied luminosity ratio, L_\rm [O \small I]63 μ m/L\rm IR, of the undetected BzK-selected star-forming galaxies broadly agrees with that of low-redshift star-forming galaxies, while BzK-21000 has a similar ratio to that of a dusty star-forming galaxy at z ∼ 6. The high [O i]63 μm line luminosities observed in BzK-21000 and the z ∼ 1−3 dusty and sub-mm luminous star-forming galaxies may be associated with extended reservoirs of low density, cool neutral gas.