The Spatial Clustering of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies over 1.5 < z < 3

April 2006 • 2006ApJ...641L..17F

Authors • Farrah, D. • Lonsdale, C. J. • Borys, C. • Fang, F. • Waddington, I. • Oliver, S. • Rowan-Robinson, M. • Babbedge, T. • Shupe, D. • Polletta, M. • Smith, H. E. • Surace, J.

Abstract • We present measurements of the spatial clustering of galaxies with stellar masses >~10¹¹ M_solar, infrared luminosities >~10¹² L_solar, and star formation rates >~200 M_solar yr^-1 in two redshift intervals: 1.5<z<2.0 and 2<z<3. Both samples cluster moderately strongly, with spatial correlation lengths of r₀=6.14+/-0.84 h^-1 Mpc for the 2<z<3 sample and r₀=5.36+/-1.28 h^-1 Mpc for the 1.5<z<2.0 sample. These clustering amplitudes are consistent with both populations residing in dark matter halos with masses of ~7×10¹² M_solar, which is comparable to that seen for optical QSOs at the same epochs. We infer that a minimum dark matter halo mass is an important factor for all forms of luminous, obscured activity in galaxies at z>1, both starbursts and active galactic nuclei. Adopting plausible models for the growth of dark matter halos with redshift, the halos hosting the 2<z<3 sample will likely host poor to rich clusters of galaxies at z=0, whereas the halos hosting the 1.5<z<2.0 sample will likely host >~L^* elliptical galaxies or poor clusters at z=0. We conclude that ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) at z~2.5 likely signpost stellar buildup in galaxies that will reside in clusters at z=0 and that ULIRGs at z~1.7 signpost stellar buildup in sources that will either become >~L^* elliptical galaxies or reside in poor clusters at z=0.

Links

• PREPRINT http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0603061
• ELECTR https://doi.org/10.1086%2F503769
• SIMBAD http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbo.pl?bibcode=2006ApJ...641L..17F
• PDF https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/503769/pdf
• DATA https://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/bibdata/2006/F/2006ApJ...641L..17F.html
• SPIRES http://inspirehep.net/search?p=find+eprint+astro-ph/0603061