SPECTROSCOPIC CONFIRMATION OF A z=2.79 MULTIPLY IMAGED LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXY BEHIND THE BULLET CLUSTER Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • We report spectroscopic confirmation and high-resolution infrared imaging of a z = 2.79 triply imaged galaxy behind the Bullet Cluster. This source, a Spitzer-selected luminous infrared galaxy, is confirmed via polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features using the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) and resolved with Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 imaging. In this galaxy, which with a stellar mass M* 4 10 9 M is one of the two least massive ones studied with IRS at z > 2, we also detect H2 S(4) and H2 S(5) pure rotational lines (at 3.1s and 2.1)-the first detection of these molecular hydrogen lines in a high-redshift galaxy. From the molecular hydrogen lines we infer an excitation temperature T = 377+6884K. The detection of these lines indicates that the warm molecular gas mass is 6+36%-4of the stellar mass and implies the likely existence of a substantial reservoir of cold molecular gas in the galaxy. Future spectral observations at longer wavelengths with facilities such as the Herschel Space Observatory, the Large Millimeter Telescope, and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment thus hold the promise of precisely determining the total molecular gas mass. Given the redshift, and using refined astrometric positions from the high-resolution imaging, we also update the magnification estimate and derived fundamental physical properties of this system. The previously published values for Lir, star formation rate, and dust temperature are confirmed modulo the revised magnification; however, we find that PAH emission is roughly a factor of 5 stronger than would be predicted by the relations between Lir and Lpah reported for SMGs and starbursts in Pope et al. 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

published proceedings

  • ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL

author list (cited authors)

  • Gonzalez, A. H., Papovich, C., Bradac, M., & Jones, C.

citation count

  • 17

complete list of authors

  • Gonzalez, Anthony H||Papovich, Casey||Bradac, Marusa||Jones, Christine

publication date

  • September 2010