Redshift Distribution of Faint Submm Sources Inferred from Their Radio-to-Submm Spectral Index

Other

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Submm, Star Formation, Galaxies, High Redshift, Spectral Index

Scientific paper

Sensitive observations at submm wavelengths are revealing what may be a population of active star forming galaxies at high redshift which are unseen in deep optical surveys due to dust obscuration (e.g. Smail et al. 1997, ApJ, 490, L5; Barger et al. 1998, Nature, 394, 248; Hughes et al. 1998, Nature, 394, 341). Most of these sources are associated with optically faint counterparts (R > 25, K > 21; Smail et al. 1999, MNRAS, submitted), and obtaining reliable optical redshifts remain problematic. In a recent paper, we have proposed the technique of using the radio-to-submm spectral index as a redshift indicator, taking advantage of radio-FIR correlation obeyed by all star forming galaxies (Carilli & Yun 1999, ApJ, 513, L13). Here, we present the analysis of the scatter in the relationship using the observed spectral energy distribution of low redshift star forming galaxies. The scatter is found to be roughly constant with redshift, and the flattening of the relationship with increasing redshift leads to increasing uncertainty at high-z. Thus only a gross redshift estimation is possible for any individual source. On the other hand, the statistical inference on the redshift distribution should still be valid, and we derive a conservative lower limit to the median redshift of 2.0 for the published sample of faint submm sources. More than 75% of these source are likely located at z greater or equal to 1.5.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Redshift Distribution of Faint Submm Sources Inferred from Their Radio-to-Submm Spectral Index does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Redshift Distribution of Faint Submm Sources Inferred from Their Radio-to-Submm Spectral Index, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Redshift Distribution of Faint Submm Sources Inferred from Their Radio-to-Submm Spectral Index will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1083534

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.