The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2023)
The ISM in the z = 6.9 Interacting Galaxies of SPT0311-58
- Katrina C. Litke,
- Daniel P. Marrone,
- Manuel Aravena,
- Melanie Archipley,
- Matthieu Béthermin,
- James Burgoyne,
- Jared Cathey,
- Scott C. Chapman,
- Anthony H. Gonzalez,
- Thomas R. Greve,
- Gayathri Gururajan,
- Christopher C. Hayward,
- Matthew A. Malkan,
- Kedar A. Phadke,
- Cassie A. Reuter,
- Kaja M. Rotermund,
- Justin S. Spilker,
- Antony A. Stark,
- Nikolaus Sulzenauer,
- Joaquin D. Vieira,
- David Vizgan,
- Axel Weiß
Affiliations
- Katrina C. Litke
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; [email protected], [email protected]; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota , 116 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Daniel P. Marrone
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; [email protected], [email protected]
- Manuel Aravena
- ORCiD
- Nùcleo de Astronomìa de la Facultad de Ingenierìa y Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales , Av. Ejèrcito Libertador 441, Santiago, Chile
- Melanie Archipley
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois , 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Matthieu Béthermin
- ORCiD
- Aix Marseille Univ., Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, Marseille, France
- James Burgoyne
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia , 6225, Agricultural Road, Vancouver, V6T 1Z1, Canada
- Jared Cathey
- Department of Astronomy, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Scott C. Chapman
- Eureka Scientific , Inc. 2452 Delmer Street Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94602-3017, USA; Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University , Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
- Anthony H. Gonzalez
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Thomas R. Greve
- ORCiD
- Cosmic Dawn Center, DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark , Elektrovej 327, Kgs. Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London WC1E6BT, UK
- Gayathri Gururajan
- Aix-Marseille University , CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France; Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi” (DIFA), University of Bologna , Via Gobetti 93/2, I-40129, Bologna, Italy; Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio , INAF, Via Gobetti 93/3, I-40129, Bologna, Italy
- Christopher C. Hayward
- ORCiD
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
- Matthew A. Malkan
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547, USA
- Kedar A. Phadke
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois , 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Center for AstroPhysical Surveys, National Center for Supercomputing Applications , 1205 West Clark Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Cassie A. Reuter
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Department of Physics, University of Illinois , 1002 West Green St., Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Kaja M. Rotermund
- Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University , Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
- Justin S. Spilker
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- Antony A. Stark
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Nikolaus Sulzenauer
- ORCiD
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie , Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
- Joaquin D. Vieira
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois , 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Center for AstroPhysical Surveys, National Center for Supercomputing Applications , Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- David Vizgan
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois , 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Cosmic Dawn Center, DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark , Elektrovej 327, Kgs. Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark
- Axel Weiß
- ORCiD
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie , Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acc93a
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 949,
no. 2
p. 87
Abstract
SPT0311-58, a system of two interacting galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization, exists in one of the rarest, most massive dark matter halos theoretically possible in that era. Studying the interstellar medium (ISM) in these galaxies can illuminate the process of galaxy formation in the early Universe. In this work, we explore the multiphase ISM in this system, using ALMA observations of the [C ii ] 158, [O i ] 146, [N ii ] 122, and [O iii ] 88 fine-structure lines and dust continuum. We find wide variations in line ratios between the eastern and western galaxies, as well as across the western galaxy. Continuum colors indicate that SPT0311-58 E has a higher ionization parameter ( $\mathrm{log}U\approx -2.8$ ) than SPT0311-58 W ( $\mathrm{log}U\approx -3.1$ ). The ratio of [O iii ] 88–[N ii ] 122 and the ionization parameter constraints combine to demonstrate near-solar metallicity in these objects just 800 Myr after the Big Bang.
Keywords
