[en] We present three bright z⁺-dropout candidates selected from deep near-infrared (NIR) imaging of the COSMOS 2 deg² field. All three objects match the 0.8-8 μm colors of other published z > 7 candidates but are 3 mag brighter, facilitating further study. Deep spectroscopy of two of the candidates covering 0.64-1.02 μm with Keck-DEIMOS and all three covering 0.94-1.10 μm and 1.52-1.80 μm with Keck-NIRSPEC detects weak spectral features tentatively identified as Lyα at z = 6.95 and z = 7.69 in two of the objects. The third object is placed at z ∼ 1.6 based on a 24 μm and weak optical detection. A comparison with the spectral energy distributions of known z < 7 galaxies, including objects with strong spectral lines, large extinction, and large systematic uncertainties in the photometry, yields no objects with similar colors. However, the λ > 1 μm properties of all three objects can be matched to optically detected sources with photometric redshifts at z ∼ 1.8, so the non-detection in the i ⁺ and z ⁺ bands is the primary factor which favors a z > 7 solution. If any of these objects are at z ∼ 7, the bright end of the luminosity function is significantly higher at z > 7 than suggested by previous studies, but consistent within the statistical uncertainty and the dark matter halo distribution. If these objects are at low redshift, the Lyman break selection must be contaminated by a previously unknown population of low-redshift objects with very strong breaks in their broadband spectral energy distributions and blue NIR colors. The implications of this result on luminosity function evolution at high redshift are discussed. We show that the primary limitation of z > 7 galaxy searches with broad filters is the depth of the available optical data.

[en] Spitzer spectroscopy has revealed that ≅80% of submm galaxies (SMGs) are starburst (SB)-dominated in the mid-infrared. Here we focus on the remaining ≅20% that show signs of harboring powerful active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We have obtained Spitzer-InfraRed Spectrograph spectroscopy of a sample of eight SMGs that are candidates for harboring powerful AGNs on the basis of IRAC color selection (S_8μm/S_4.5μm>2, i.e., likely power-law mid-infrared spectral energy distributions). SMGs with an AGN dominating (∼>50%) their mid-infrared emission could represent the 'missing link' sources in an evolutionary sequence involving a major merger. First of all, we detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features in all of the SMGs, indicating redshifts from 2.5 to 3.4, demonstrating the power of the mid-infrared to determine redshifts for these optically faint dusty galaxies. Second, we see signs of both star formation (from the PAH features) and AGN activity (from continuum emission) in our sample: 62% of the sample are AGN-dominated in the mid-infrared with a median AGN content of 56%, compared with <30% on average for typical SMGs, revealing that our IRAC color selection has successfully singled out sources with proportionately more AGN emission than typical SB-dominated SMGs. However, we find that only about 10% of these AGNs dominate the bolometric emission of the SMG when the results are extrapolated to longer infrared wavelengths, implying that AGNs are not a significant power source to the SMG population overall, even when there is evidence in the mid-infrared for substantial AGN activity. When existing samples of mid-infrared AGN-dominated SMGs are considered, we find that S_8μm/S_4.5μm>1.65 works well at selecting mid-infrared energetically dominant AGNs in SMGs, implying a duty cycle of ∼15% if all SMGs go through a subsequent mid-infrared AGN-dominated phase in the proposed evolutionary sequence.