Work

The kiloparsec-scale gas kinematics in two star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1.47 seen with ALMA and VLT-SINFONI

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO(J = 2–1) observations of two main-sequence star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1.47 taken from the High-Z Emission Line Survey (HiZELS). These two systems have been previously reported to be molecular gas-rich |$f_{\rm H_2} \equiv M_{\rm H_2}/(M_{\rm H_2} + M_\star) \sim 0.8$|⁠. We carried out a follow-up study to resolve, at ∼kpc-scales, the CO emission. These new observations are combined with our earlier ALMA observations (sensitive to diffuse CO emission) and compared with our previous H α-based study at matched spatial resolution. One target is marginally resolved in CO(2–1), showing complex dynamics with respect to the ionized gas traced by H α. While the other source is spatially resolved, enabling a detailed exploration of its internal dynamical properties. In this system, both gaseous phases show similar spatial extension, rotation velocities, and velocity dispersions (Vrot ∼ σv ∼ 100 km s−1) suggesting a rotational velocity to velocity dispersion ratio consistent with unity. By comparing the ionized and molecular gas tracers through the use of a two-dimensional kinematic model, we estimate a median depletion time τdep = 2.3 ± 1.2 Gyr for the galaxy as a whole. This value is in agreement with the average τdep value observed in local star-forming galaxies at similar spatial scales. Using a thick-disc dynamical modelling, we derive a dynamical mass Mdyn = (1.59 ± 0.19) × 1011 M⊙ within ≈6 kpc. This suggests a dark matter fraction (fDM ≡ MDM/Mdyn of 0.59 ± 0.10), in agreement with the average fDM value derived from stacked rotation curve analysis of galaxies at similar redshift range.

Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stz1643