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Discovery of a Lensed Ultrabright Submillimeter Galaxy at z = 2.0439

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Published 2017 July 7 © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
, , Citation A. Díaz-Sánchez et al 2017 ApJL 843 L22 DOI 10.3847/2041-8213/aa79ef

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2041-8205/843/2/L22

Abstract

We report an ultrabright lensed submillimeter galaxy (SMG) at z = 2.0439, WISE J132934.18+224327.3, identified as a result of a full-sky cross-correlation of the AllWISE and Planck compact source catalogs aimed to search for bright analogs of the SMG SMM J2135, the Cosmic Eyelash. Inspection of archival SCUBA-2 observations of the candidates revealed a source with fluxes (${S}_{850\mu {\rm{m}}}=130$ mJy) consistent with the Planck measurements. The centroid of the SCUBA-2 source coincides within 1 arcsec with the position of the AllWISE mid-IR source, and, remarkably, with an arc-shaped lensed galaxy in HST images at visible wavelengths. Low-resolution rest-frame UV-optical spectroscopy of this lensed galaxy obtained with 10.4 m GTC reveals the typical absorption lines of a starburst galaxy. Gemini-N near-IR spectroscopy provided a clear detection of ${{\rm{H}}}_{\alpha }$ emission. The lensed source appears to be gravitationally magnified by a massive foreground galaxy cluster lens at z = 0.44; modeling with Lenstool indicates a lensing amplification factor of 11 ± 2. We determine an intrinsic rest-frame 8–1000 μm luminosity, ${L}_{\mathrm{IR}}$, of $(1.3\pm 0.1)\times {10}^{13}\,{L}_{\odot }$, and a likely star formation rate (SFR) of $\sim 500\mbox{--}2000\,{M}_{\odot }\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$. The SED shows a remarkable similarity with the Cosmic Eyelash from optical-mid/IR to submillimeter/radio, albeit at higher fluxes.

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1. Introduction

Submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) provide important clues on the formation and evolution of massive galaxies in the distant universe (Casey et al. 2014). These high-z dusty starbursts, peaking at redshift z = 2.3–2.5 (Chapman et al. 2005; Simpson et al. 2014; Strandet et al. 2016) are massive and most probably the progenitors of present-day ellipticals (e.g., Ivison et al. 2013). Given the typical sizes of starbursts (less than a few kiloparsecs; e.g., Hodge et al. 2016), even with ALMA and HST it is difficult to achieve the desirable spatial resolution to carry out detailed studies of star-forming regions in these dusty galaxies.

Strong gravitational lensing by massive galaxy clusters can enhance the apparent brightness of SMGs (Smail et al. 1997, 2002). Wide Herschel surveys such as H-ATLAS, HerMES, or the south Pole Telescope and the Planck space mission provided an increasing number of bright lensed SMGs (Negrello et al. 2010; Vieira et al. 2013; Weiß et al. 2013; Cañameras et al. 2015; Harrington et al. 2016; Strandet et al. 2016) that may allow their study at a resolution of 100 pc, close to the size of GMCs, and thus a better understanding of their ISM properties (see, e.g., Vlahakis et al. 2015; Swinbank et al. 2015) and a comparison of them with galaxies in the local universe. Among SMGs, the serendipitously discovered lensed galaxy SMM J2135-0102 at z = 2.3259 is outstanding (the Cosmic Eyelash Ivison et al. 2010; Swinbank et al. 2010; Danielson et al. 2011).

In this Letter, we present the first result of a search for the brightest examples in the sky of dusty star-forming high-redshift galaxies using data of the Planck and WISE space missions. We report the discovery of WISE J132934.18+224327.3 as a magnified SMG at z = 2.044 with spectral energy distribution (SED) remarkably similar to that of the Cosmic Eyelash but higher apparent brightness at all wavelengths from visible to radio. We adopt a flat ΛCDM cosmology from Planck Collaboration XVI (2014) with ${H}_{0}=68$ km s−1 Mpc${}^{-1},{{\rm{\Omega }}}_{m}=0.31$, and ${{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\rm{\Lambda }}}=1-{{\rm{\Omega }}}_{m}$.

2. The Search

In order to find bright lensed SMGs in the full sky, we carried out a cross-matching between the AllWISE5 and Planck6 full-sky compact source catalogs. As a reference we adopted the SED of the Cosmic Eyelash (Swinbank et al. 2010), from the mid-infrared (MIR) to the submillimeter. Our aim was to identify candidates in these catalogs with MIR colors similar to the Cosmic Eyelash and strong submillimeter fluxes. First, we built a full-sky selection of galaxies verifying the color criteria $W1-W2\gt 0.8,W2-W3\lt 2.4$, $W3-W4\gt 3.5$ and detection at $S/N\gt 3$ in the four bands of the AllWISE catalog; we limited the sample to galactic latitude b $\geqslant $ 20°. These color criteria were employed by Iglesias-Groth et al. (2017) in their near-infrared (NIR)/MIR search for lensed SMGs. These criteria also select SMGs with SEDs similar to the average SED of 73 spectroscopically identified SMGs from Michalowski et al. (2010), Hainline et al. (2011), and to the ALESS SMG composite SED (Swinbank et al. 2014). Only SMGs at $z=2-2.8$ are expected to fulfill these color conditions.

Then, we requested the selected objects to have a Planck source detected within 5 arcmin with submillimeter flux ratios consistent with those expected for SMGs at $z=2-3$. We found eight WISE candidates with SEDs consistent with the adopted references; however, the Planck submillimeter/millimeter maps for most of these sources clearly show contamination by galactic dust emission. Inspection of the Planck maps and available images from different optical and near-IR catalogs identified WISE J132934.18+224327.3 as the most likely counterpart of the submillimeter Planck source PCCS2 857 G007.94+80.29 and very promising candidate to an ultrabright SMG analog to the Cosmic Eyelash.

A subsequent search in CADC7 provided detections by SCUBA-2 at James Clerk Maxwell Telescope of a submillimeter source with coordinates consistent within 1 arcsec with those of WISE J132934.18+224327.3, which could be responsible for the observed Planck submillimeter fluxes. In fact, the position of the source coincides with a strong lensing cluster SDSS 1329+2243 at z = 0.44 (Bayliss et al. 2014), which has been observed by Jones (2015) with JCMT/SCUBA-2 and reported a source in snapshot observations at 850 and 450 μm with fluxes ${S}_{450}\approx 605$ mJy and ${S}_{850}\approx 130$ mJy, consistent with being the main counterpart of the Planck source. Jones (2015) reported arc structures in Keck images suggesting it could be a lensed submillimeter source. Additional detections in the radio band are found in FIRST.8

We used Vizier at CDS9 to find the most likely counterpart of the WISE/Planck/SCUBA-2 source in the near-IR and visible. In HST-ACS10 images, a lensed galaxy is also detected at less than 1 arcsec of WISE J132934.18+224327.3. We postulate that this lensed galaxy is the optical counterpart of the strong submillimeter and mid-IR source (see Figures 1 and 2(a)). Hereafter, we designate this lensed galaxy as the "Cosmic Eyebrow."

Figure 1.

Figure 1. RGB image of the Cosmic Eyebrow with the HST/WFC3 filters, blue F390W, green F606W, and red F160W. North is up; east is left. Red contours are WISE channel 4 and black (green) circles represent SCUBA-2 450 (850) μm detections. Crosses are the centroids of the WISE and SCUBA-2 detections, and they are within 1 arcsec from the HST main source of the arc. Capital letters indicate the six families of multiply lensed background galaxies used to perform a mass reconstruction of the foreground galaxy cluster (see the text).

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Figure 2.

Figure 2. (a) Imaging of the Cosmic Eyebrow with HST (left column), WISE (middle column), and SCUBA-2 (right column). The circles represent the counterpart of the Planck source in the related imaging. North is up; east is left. (b) GTC g-band imaging of the Cosmic Eyebrow. We show the orientation of the long slit (slit width of $0\buildrel{\prime\prime}\over{.} 8$) for our spectroscopic observations. Spectra were extracted from the two encircled regions of the arc. North is up; east is left.

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3. Observations and Data Reduction

3.1. GTC Spectroscopy

We have obtained spectroscopy of the lensed galaxy with the optical imager and spectrograph OSIRIS at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC), on the night of 2017 April 18 in clear conditions and dark moon with $0\buildrel{\prime\prime}\over{.} 8$ seeing. Observations were made using the low-resolution, long-slit mode with a $0\buildrel{\prime\prime}\over{.} 8$ slit and the R500B grism. In this configuration, the resolution is $R\sim 540$, and we have 3.54 Å pix−1 from ∼3700 to 7200 Å. The slit was oriented along the line of the arc structure of the lensed source (PA of 64fdg22). We grouped observations in two observing blocks of two exposures of 1385 s each with a 60 s acquisition image per block in the g band (see Figure 2). The seeing limited image shows an arc-like galaxy in the expected position for which we measured ${g}_{\mathrm{AB}}=22.85\pm 0.03$ for region 1 and ${g}_{\mathrm{AB}}=23.43\pm 0.04$ for region 2. The spectroscopic observations, with a total integration time of 5540 s, were reduced using the noao/twodspec and noao/onedspec packages of IRAF to yield fluxed, wavelength-calibrated spectra. We extracted spectra for the full arc region along the slit and separately for encircled regions 1 and 2. Our GTC spectroscopy reveals that the two regions in the arc are the same source. In Figure 3, we show the individual spectra for each arc region and the total arc spectrum. The spectra of the two arc regions show strong absorption features. We derive the redshift from the fit of well-measured lines of Si ii $\lambda 1260.4$, OI $\lambda 1302$, C ii $\lambda 1334.5$, Si ii $\lambda 1526.7$, and Al ii $\lambda 1670.7$; for the full arc we find $z=2.0448\pm 0.0004$.

Figure 3.

Figure 3. GTC/OSIRIS spectra of the two regions (up) and for the each individual regions (both downshifted for clarity). We mark the positions of the absorption features identified in the spectra. For comparison, we show the composite spectrum of LBGs from Shapley et al. (2003). We also show in the inset the Gemini spectrum for region 1 and mark the emission lines we identify; the Hα emission line yields a redshift for the source of z = 2.0439.

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3.2. Gemini Spectroscopy

Archival GEMINI NIR-spectroscopic observations were found in CADC for region 1 of the arc. The spectrum was obtained using the cross-dispersed (XD) mode of the Gemini Near-IR Spectrograph on the 8.1 m Gemini-North telescope on the night of 2014 May 10 (under PI: Jane Rigby program ID: XGN-2014A-C-3) with the "short blue" camera, 32 l/mm grating and $0\buildrel{\prime\prime}\over{.} 68$ slit. The slit used in this XD mode is $7^{\prime\prime} $ in length and the orientation was with a position angle (PA) of 89fdg7 in region 1. The telescope was nodded (typically $3\buildrel{\prime\prime}\over{.} 5$ distant) in an ABBA-type pattern. We took the raw and calibration data from the CADC and reduced them using the Gemini IRAF package version v1.13.1 and following Mason et al. (2015) and the instruction on the Reducing XD spectra webpage from GEMINI observatory.11 The total integration time for the spectrum was 3600 s, and two telluric stars of spectral type A0V were observed immediately before and after the galaxy. Only in the K band have we found useful data with a clear detection of ${{\rm{H}}}_{\alpha }$ in emission. In the inset of Figure 3, we show the spectrum near the Hα emission line from which we obtain a redshift of $z=2.0439\pm 0.0006$ in agreement with the rest-frame UV-spectrum. This redshift is consistent with the value published in Oguri et al. (2012; $z\approx 2.04$) for a source coincident in position with the lensed galaxy.

4. Analysis and Discussion

4.1. Lens Modeling

We have used Lenstool12 (Kneib et al. 1993; Jullo et al. 2007) to perform a mass reconstruction of the foreground cluster, assuming a parametric model for the distribution of dark matter. This model was constrained using the location of the multiple images identified in the cluster. We used a simple model with a single cluster-scale mass component, as well as individual galaxy-scale mass components centered on each cluster member. For each component, we used a dual pseudo-isothermal elliptical mass distribution (dPIE, also known as a truncated PIEMD; Limousin et al. 2005). Sextractor and visual inspection of the HST/WFPC3 images provided an identification of six families of multiply lensed background galaxies, arclets with two to six components each, based on proximity, colors, and shape. The redshift of the family of the Cosmic Eyebrow (A in Figure 1) was fixed at z = 2.044, and for the other families was set as a free parameter. When modeling the lensing, the redshift of three families (B, C, and E in Figure 1) was found very close to z = 2.044, so we fixed it to z = 2.044 and for only two families were the redshifts considered a free parameter. We checked the model with the reconstruction of the arclets, and found good agreement between the positions for image arcs and the reconstruction of each component of the families. The data are best fitted with a cluster-scale potential of ellipticity e = 0.226, PA = 47fdg00, and velocity dispersion ${\sigma }_{\mathrm{PIEMD}}=830$ km s−1. The enclosed mass within an aperture of 250 kpc is $M=1.8\pm 0.5\times {10}^{14}\,{M}_{\odot }$ with an Einstein radius of ${\theta }_{{\rm{e}}}=11.\,\pm \,0\buildrel{\prime\prime}\over{.} 4$ at z = 2.044. The amplification is obtained from the comparison between the main characteristic of the galaxies in the source plane and in the image plane; we find an amplification factor of 11 ± 2 for the two main members of the Cosmic Eyebrow family, which are our spectroscopy regions on the arc indicated in Figure 2. The mean amplification factors for each family with z = 2.044 are A $\sim \,11\pm 2$, B $\sim \,7\pm 2$, C $\sim \,14\pm 2$, and E $\sim \,7\pm 2$. The largest amplification is for the brightest member of family C $\sim \,20\pm 2$; for the other two families the mean amplification factors are D $\sim \,4\pm 2$ ($z\sim 2.9$) and F $\sim \,5\pm 2$ ($z\sim 1.0$).

4.2. SED

We plot the SED (Figure 4) assuming the lensed source in the HST and GTC images is the counterpart of the SCUBA-2 and WISE detections (all positions coincident within 1 arcsec) and list the photometry data in Table 1. We calculate the upper limit for the Ks and H bands from the UKIDSS catalog13 and for 60 and 100 μm from the IRAS Sky Survey Atlas.14 This SED is consistent with a source at redshift $z=2-2.5$, and as expected, it is very well fitted by the SED of the Cosmic Eyelash in that redshift range. At all frequencies from optical to radio, the Cosmic Eyebrow is brighter than the Cosmic Eyelash.

Figure 4.

Figure 4. Multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution of the Cosmic Eyebrow. The SED of the Cosmic Eyelash shifted to z = 2.044 is consistent with the measurements of the galaxy at all frequencies from the optical to the radio.

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Table 1.  Photometry

Wavelength(μm) Flux (mJy)a,b Observatory/Instrument
0.3921 0.0022 ± 0.0001 HST/WFC3
0.45 0.004 ± 0.002 GTC/OSIRIS
0.5887 0.0043 ± 0.0001 HST/WFC3
1.0552 0.0252 ± 0.0004 HST/WFC3
1.5369 0.0614 ± 0.0006 HST/WFC3
1.644 <0.112c UKIDSS
2.199 <0.110c UKIDSS
3.4 0.37 ± 0.01 WISE
4.6 0.45 ± 0.02 WISE
12 0.7 ± 0.1 WISE
22 10.6 ± 0.8 WISE
60 <100c IRAS
100 <300c IRAS
450 604 ± 86 SCUBA-2
850 127 ± 11 SCUBA-2
350 1298 ± 200 Planck
550 692 ± 100 Planck
850 271 ± 90 Planck
21.4d 3.56 ± 0.14 FIRST

Notes.

aUncorrected for lensing amplification. bTotal arc flux. cFlux upper limit. dWavelength in cm.

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We calculate the rest-frame 8–1000 μm luminosity, ${L}_{\mathrm{IR}}$, from direct integration of the data fit, and obtain an intrinsic luminosity for our galaxy $L(\mathrm{Eyebrow})=(1.3\pm 0.1)\times {10}^{13}\,{L}_{\odot }$, indicating an SFR of $\sim 2000\,{M}_{\odot }\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ (Kennicutt 1998), which assumes a Salpeter IMF, assuming a Chabrier IMF would possibly be a factor of ∼1.8 lower (Casey et al. 2014).

We also use the MAGPHYS code that allows us to fit simultaneously the ultraviolet-to-radio SED, so we can constrain physical parameters (Da Cunha et al. 2015). The fit is shown in Figure 4; we would benefit from measurements in photometric bands between 22 and 350 μm in order to establish which SED better describes the Cosmic Eyebrow. From this fit we give the median-likelihood estimates (and confidence ranges) of several physical parameters corrected for lensing amplification, stellar mass $\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot })={11.49}_{-0.05}^{+0.06}$, star formation rate $\mathrm{log}(\mathrm{SFR}/{M}_{\odot }\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1})={2.73}_{-0.01}^{+0.02}$, mass-weighted age $\mathrm{log}({\mathrm{age}}_{M}\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1})={9.28}_{-0.01}^{+0.01}$, average V-band dust attenuation ${A}_{V}={3.30}_{-0.02}^{+0.02}$, H-band mass-to-light ratio $\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/{L}_{H})\,={0.14}_{-0.01}^{+0.01}$, total dust luminosity $\mathrm{log}({L}_{\mathrm{dust}}/{L}_{\odot })={13.27}_{-0.02}^{+0.01}$, luminosity-averaged dust temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{dust}}/K={40}_{-2}^{+7}$, and total dust mass $\mathrm{log}({M}_{\mathrm{dust}}/{M}_{\odot })={9.19}_{-0.08}^{+0.15}$. These physical parameters compare well with the average properties of the ALESS SMGs in Da Cunha et al. (2015). The SFR obtained with MAGPHYS is lower than estimated with the Kennicutt (1998) relation. This is partially due to the use of the Chabrier IMF and to the additional dust heating caused by the relatively old stellar populations of our galaxy that increases the dust luminosity at fixed SFRs (Da Cunha et al. 2015).

4.3. Spectroscopy

The UV rest-frame spectrum of the Cosmic Eyebrow resembles that of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs; Shapley et al. 2003) and displays the strong interstellar absorption features typical of the spectra of starburst galaxies (Casey et al. 2013). We identify in the observed spectrum low-ionization resonance interstellar metal lines such as Si ii $\lambda 1260.4$, OI 1302 Si ii $\lambda 1304$, C ii $\lambda 1334$, Si ii $\lambda 1526$, and Al ii $\lambda 1670$ that are associated with the neutral interstellar medium. We also detect high-ionization metal lines of Si iv $\lambda \lambda 1393,1402$ and C iv $\lambda \lambda 1548,1550$ that are associated with ionized interstellar gas and PCygni stellar wind features. The C iv feature exhibits a strong interstellar absorption component plus a weaker blueshifted broad absorption and marginal evidence of redshifted emission associated with stellar winds that likely originate in main-sequence, giant, and supergiant O stars (Walborn & Panek 1984). Our data do not show evidence for the He ii $\lambda 1640$, which could be an indication of a low ratio of Wolf–Rayet to O stars (Schaerer & Vacca 1998).

In the spectrum of the region 1 of the arc, we find Hα at $19982\pm 4\,\mathring{\rm A} $ and the [N ii] $\lambda 6583$ at $20041\pm 5\,\mathring{\rm A} $. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) line widths are 386 ± 20 km s−1 and 331 ± 20 km s−1; after correction for the instrumental profile, we estimate that the intrinsic width of these lines is 150 ± 25 km s−1. The low [N ii]$\lambda 6583$/Hα ratio of 0.33 ± 0.04 suggests a star-forming region (Kewley et al. 2013). The EWrest (Hα) = $111\pm 10\,\mathring{\rm A} $ compares well with values reported in other well-known SMGs of a similar luminosity (Olivares et al. 2016).

5. Conclusions

A cross-match of the AllWISE and Planck compact source catalogs aimed to identify the brightest examples of SMGs in the full-sky uncovered WISE J132934.18+224327.3, the Cosmic Eyebrow, a $z=2.0439\pm 0.0006$ galaxy with a spectral energy distribution from mid-IR to submillimeter similar to that of the Cosmic Eyelash and higher observed fluxes. Archival data of SCUBA-2 and HST reveal a multiple lensed galaxy at the position of the strong submillimeter source. Follow-up observations with GTC/OSIRIS provided a precise redshift determination of the lensed galaxy and a rest-frame UV-spectrum with clearly identified low-ionization resonance interstellar metal lines that is consistent with that of starburst galaxies. Near-IR spectroscopy with Gemini-North showed ${{\rm{H}}}_{\alpha }$ in emission at a strength consistent with values reported for other SMGs. This galaxy is gravitationally magnified by a massive cluster at z = 0.44; modeling with Lenstool indicates a lensing amplification factor of 11 ± 2. The intrinsic rest-frame 8–1000 μm luminosity of the lensed galaxy is $(1.3\pm 0.1)\times {10}^{13}\,{L}_{\odot }$ indicating a likely SFR of $\sim 500\mbox{--}2000\,{M}_{\odot }{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$. The SED of this new SMG resembles the Cosmic Eyelash from optical/mid-IR to submillimeter/radio, albeit at higher intrinsic luminosity. It is one of the brightest examples of SMGs so far reported, which may enable detailed high spatial resolution studies of star-forming regions in such dusty galaxies.

Based on observations made with the GTC telescope, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. This work has been partially funded by projects ESP2015-69020-C2-1-R, ESP2014-56869-C2-2-P, and AYA2015-69350-C3-3-P (MINECO). H.D. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under the 2014 Ramón y Cajal program MINECO RYC-2014-15686. We thank David Valls-Gabaud for his suggestions and comments on various aspects of this work. We are grateful to the anonymous referee for useful comments on the Letter.

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10.3847/2041-8213/aa79ef