[en] We investigate the biases and uncertainties in estimates of physical parameters of high-redshift Lyman break galaxies (LBGs), such as stellar mass, mean stellar population age, and star formation rate (SFR), obtained from broadband photometry. These biases arise from the simplifying assumptions often used in fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs). By combining ΛCDM hierarchical structure formation theory, semianalytic treatments of baryonic physics, and stellar population synthesis models, we construct model galaxy catalogs from which we select LBGs at redshifts z ∼ 3.4, 4.0, and 5.0. The broadband photometric SEDs of these model LBGs are then analyzed by fitting galaxy template SEDs derived from stellar population synthesis models with smoothly declining SFRs. We compare the statistical properties of LBGs' physical parameters-such as stellar mass, SFR, and stellar population age-as derived from the best-fit galaxy templates with the intrinsic values from the semianalytic model. We find some trends in these distributions: first, when the redshift is known, SED-fitting methods reproduce the input distributions of LBGs' stellar masses relatively well, with a minor tendency to underestimate the masses overall, but with substantial scatter. Second, there are large systematic biases in the distributions of best-fit SFRs and mean ages, in the sense that single-component SED-fitting methods underestimate SFRs and overestimate ages. We attribute these trends to the different star formation histories predicted by the semianalytic models and assumed in the galaxy templates used in SED-fitting procedure, and to the fact that light from the current generation of star formation can hide older generations of stars. These biases, which arise from the SED-fitting procedure, can significantly affect inferences about galaxy evolution from broadband photometry.

[en] We explore methods to improve the estimates of star formation rates and mean stellar population ages from broadband photometry of high-redshift star-forming galaxies. We use synthetic spectral templates with a variety of simple parametric star formation histories to fit broadband spectral energy distributions. These parametric models are used to infer ages, star formation rates, and stellar masses for a mock data set drawn from a hierarchical semi-analytic model of galaxy evolution. Traditional parametric models generally assume an exponentially declining rate of star formation after an initial instantaneous rise. Our results show that star formation histories with a much more gradual rise in the star formation rate are likely to be better templates, and are likely to give better overall estimates of the age distribution and star formation rate distribution of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). For B- and V-dropouts, we find the best simple parametric model to be one where the star formation rate increases linearly with time. The exponentially declining model overpredicts the age by 100% and 120% for B- and V-dropouts, on average, while for a linearly increasing model, the age is overpredicted by 9% and 16%, respectively. Similarly, the exponential model underpredicts star formation rates by 56% and 60%, while the linearly increasing model underpredicts by 15% and 22%, respectively. For U-dropouts, the models where the star formation rate has a peak (near z ∼ 3) provide the best match for age-overprediction is reduced from 110% to 26%-and star formation rate-underprediction is reduced from 58% to 22%. We classify different types of star formation histories in the semi-analytic models and show how the biases behave for the different classes. We also provide two-band calibration formulae for stellar mass and star formation rate estimations.

[en] We investigate the star formation histories (SFHs) of high redshift (3 ≲ z ≲ 5) star-forming galaxies selected based on their rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) colors in the CANDELS/GOODS-S field. By comparing the results from the spectral-energy-distribution-fitting analysis with two different assumptions about the SFHs—i.e., exponentially declining SFHs as well as increasing ones, we conclude that the SFHs of high-redshift star-forming galaxies increase with time rather than exponentially decline. We also examine the correlations between the star formation rates (SFRs) and the stellar masses. When the galaxies are fit with rising SFRs, we find that the trend seen in the data qualitatively matches the expectations from a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. The mean specific SFR is shown to increase with redshift, also in agreement with the theoretical prediction. From the derived tight correlation between stellar masses and SFRs, we derive the mean SFH of star-forming galaxies in the redshift range of 3 ≤ z ≤ 5, which shows a steep power-law (with power α = 5.85) increase with time. We also investigate the formation timescales and mean stellar population ages of these star-forming galaxies. Our analysis reveals that UV-selected star-forming galaxies have a broad range of the formation redshift. The derived stellar masses and the stellar population ages show positive correlation in a sense that more massive galaxies are on average older, but with significant scatter. This large scatter implies that the galaxies' mass is not the only factor which affects the growth or star formation of high-redshift galaxies.

[en] We investigate how star-forming galaxies typically assemble their masses at high redshift. Taking advantage of the deep multi-wavelength coverage of the GOODS data set, we select two of the largest samples of high-redshift star-forming galaxies based on their UV colors and measure stellar mass of individual galaxies. We use template-fitting photometry to obtain optimal estimates of the fluxes in lower-resolution ground-based and Spitzer images using prior information about galaxy positions, shapes, and orientations. By combining the data and realistic simulations to understand measurement errors and biases, we make a statistically robust determination of stellar mass function (SMF) of the UV-selected star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 and 5. We report a broad correlation between stellar mass and UV luminosity, such that more UV-luminous galaxies are, on average, also more massive. However, we show that the correlation has a substantial intrinsic scatter, particularly for UV-faint galaxies, evidenced by the fact there is a non-negligible number of UV faint but massive galaxies. Furthermore, we find that the low-mass end of the SMF does not rise as steeply as the UV luminosity function (α_UVLF ≈ – (1.7-1.8) while α_SMF ≈ – (1.3-1.4)) of the same galaxies. In a smooth and continuous formation scenario where star formation rates (SFRs) are sustained at the observed rates for a long time, these galaxies would have accumulated more stellar mass (by a factor of ≈3) than observed and therefore the SMF would mirror more closely that of the UV luminosity function. The relatively shallow slope of the SMF is due to the fact that many of the UV-selected galaxies are not massive enough, and therefore are too faint in their rest-frame optical bands, to be detected in the current observations. Our results favor a more episodic formation history in which SFRs of low-mass galaxies vary significantly over cosmic time, a scenario currently favored by galaxy clustering. Our findings for the UV-faint galaxies at high redshift are in contrast with previous studies on more UV-luminous galaxies, which exhibit a tighter SFR-M_star correlation. The discrepancy may suggest that galaxies at different luminosities may have different evolutionary paths. Such a scenario presents a nontrivial test to theoretical models of galaxy formation.

[en] We present the discovery of a Type Ia supernova (SN) at redshift z = 1.914 from the CANDELS multi-cycle treasury program on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This SN was discovered in the infrared using the Wide-Field Camera 3, and it is the highest-redshift Type Ia SN yet observed. We classify this object as a SN Ia by comparing its light curve and spectrum with those of a large sample of Type Ia and core-collapse SNe. Its apparent magnitude is consistent with that expected from the ΛCDM concordance cosmology. We discuss the use of spectral evidence for classification of z > 1.5 SNe Ia using HST grism simulations, finding that spectral data alone can frequently rule out SNe II, but distinguishing between SNe Ia and SNe Ib/c can require prohibitively long exposures. In such cases, a quantitative analysis of the light curve may be necessary for classification. Our photometric and spectroscopic classification methods can aid the determination of SN rates and cosmological parameters from the full high-redshift CANDELS SN sample.

[en] The Herschel very wide field surveys have charted hundreds of square degrees in multiple far-IR (FIR) bands. While the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is currently the best resource for optical counterpart identifications over such wide areas, it does not detect a large number of Herschel FIR sources and leaves their nature undetermined. As a test case, we studied seven ''SDSS-invisible'', very bright 250 μm sources (S ₂₅₀ > 55 mJy) in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey fields where we have a rich multi-wavelength data set. We took a new approach to decompose the FIR sources, using the near-IR or the optical images directly for position priors. This is an improvement over the previous decomposition efforts where the priors are from mid-IR data that still suffer from the problem of source blending. We found that in most cases the single Herschel sources are made of multiple components that are not necessarily at the same redshifts. Our decomposition succeeded in identifying and extracting their major contributors. We show that these are all ultra-luminous infrared galaxies at z ∼ 1-2 whose high L _IR is mainly due to dust-obscured star formation. Most of them would not be selected as submillimeter galaxies. They all have complicated morphologies indicative of mergers or violent instability, and their stellar populations are heterogeneous in terms of stellar masses, ages, and formation histories. Their current ultra-luminous infrared galaxy phases are of various degrees of importance in their stellar mass assembly. Our practice provides a promising starting point for developing an automatic routine to reliably study bright Herschel sources

[en] Using the CANDELS photometric catalogs for the Hubble Space Telescope/ACS and WFC3, we identified massive evolved galaxies at 3 < z < 4.5 employing three different selection methods. We find the comoving number density of these objects to be ∼2 × 10⁻⁵ and 8 × 10⁻⁶ Mpc⁻³ after correction for completeness for two redshift bins centered at z = 3.4, 4.7. We quantify a measure of how much confidence we should have for each candidate galaxy from different selections and what the conservative error estimates propagated into our selection are. Then we compare the evolution of the corresponding number densities and their stellar mass density with numerical simulations, semianalytical models, and previous observational estimates, which shows slight tension at higher redshifts as the models tend to underestimate the number and mass densities. By estimating the average halo masses of the candidates (M _h ≈ 4.2, 1.9, and 1.3 × 10¹² M _⊙ for redshift bins centered at z = 3.4, 4.1, and 4.7), we find them to be consistent with halos that were efficient in turning baryons to stars, relatively immune to the feedback effects, and on the verge of transition into hot-mode accretion. This can suggest the relative cosmological starvation of the cold gas followed by an overconsumption phase in which the galaxy rapidly consumes the available cold gas as one of the possible drivers for the quenching of the massive evolved population at high redshift.

[en] We used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to map ¹²CO(J = 1–0), ¹²CO(J = 2–1), ¹²CO(J = 3–2), ¹³CO(J = 2–1), and [C i](³ P ₁–³ P ₀) emission lines around the type 1 active galactic nucleus (AGN) of NGC 7469 (z = 0.0164) at ∼100 pc resolutions. The CO lines are bright in both the circumnuclear disk (central ∼300 pc) and the surrounding starburst (SB) ring (∼1 kpc diameter), with two bright peaks on either side of the AGN. By contrast, the [C i](³ P ₁–³ P ₀) line is strongly peaked on the AGN. Consequently, the brightness temperature ratio of [C i](³ P ₁–³ P ₀) to ¹³CO(2–1) is ∼20 at the AGN, as compared to ∼2 in the SB ring. Our local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE models indicate that the enhanced line ratios (or C i enhancement) are due to an elevated C⁰/CO abundance ratio (∼3–10) and temperature (∼100–500 K) around the AGN as compared to the SB ring (abundance ratio ∼1, temperature ≲100 K), which accords with the picture of the X-ray-dominated region. Based on dynamical modelings, we also provide CO(1–0)-to- and [C i](³ P ₁–³ P ₀)-to-molecular mass conversion factors at the central ∼100 pc of this AGN as α _CO = 4.1 and α _{C i} = 4.4 M _⊙ (K km s⁻¹ pc²)⁻¹, respectively. Our results suggest that the C i enhancement is potentially a good marker of AGNs that could be used in a new submillimeter diagnostic method toward dusty environments.

[en] We use GOODS and CANDELS images to identify progenitors of massive (M > 10¹⁰ M _☉) compact early-type galaxies (ETGs) at z ∼ 1.6. Because merging and accretion increase the size of the stellar component of galaxies, if the progenitors are among known star-forming galaxies, these must be compact themselves. We select candidate progenitors among compact Lyman-break galaxies at z ∼ 3 on the basis of their mass, star-formation rate (SFR), and central stellar density, and we find that these account for a large fraction of, and possibly all, compact ETGs at z ∼ 1.6. We find that the average far-UV spectral energy distribution (SED) of the candidates is redder than that of the non-candidates, but the optical and mid-IR SED are the same, implying that the redder UV of the candidates is inconsistent with larger dust obscuration and consistent with more evolved (aging) star formation. This is in line with other evidence suggesting that compactness is a sensitive predictor of passivity among high-redshift massive galaxies. We also find that the light distribution of both the compact ETGs and their candidate progenitors does not show any extended 'halos' surrounding the compact 'core,' both in individual images and in stacks. We argue that this is generally inconsistent with the morphology of merger remnants, even if gas rich, as predicted by N-body simulations. This suggests that the compact ETGs formed via highly dissipative, mostly gaseous accretion of units whose stellar components are very small and undetected in the Hubble Space Telescope images, with their stellar mass assembling in situ, and that they have not experienced any major merging until the epoch of observations at z ∼ 1.6.

[en] We present a kinematic analysis of the dense molecular gas in the central 200 pc of the nearby galaxy NGC 1097, based on Cycle 0 observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We use the HCN(4-3) line to trace the densest interstellar molecular gas (n_H2∼10⁸ cm^–3), and quantify its kinematics, and estimate an inflow rate for the molecular gas. We find a striking similarity between the ALMA kinematic data and the analytic spiral inflow model that we have previously constructed based on ionized gas velocity fields on larger scales. We are able to follow dense gas streaming down to 40 pc distance from the supermassive black hole in this Seyfert 1 galaxy. In order to fulfill marginal stability, we deduce that the dense gas is confined to a very thin disk, and we derive a dense gas inflow rate of 0.09 M_☉ yr^–1 at 40 pc radius. Combined with previous values from the Hα and CO gas, we calculate a combined molecular and ionized gas inflow rate of ∼0.2 M_☉ yr^–1 at 40 pc distance from the central supermassive black hole of NGC 1097.