HerMES: SPIRE detection of high-redshift massive compact galaxies in GOODS-N field

Abstract

We have analysed the rest-frame far-infrared properties of a sample of massive (M_★ > 10^(11) M_⊙) galaxies at 2 ≲ z ≲ 3 in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North (GOODS-N) field using the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) instrument aboard the Herschel Space Observatory. To conduct this analysis we take advantage of the data from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) key programme. The sample comprises 45 massive galaxies with structural parameters characterized with HST NICMOS-3. We study detections at submm Herschel bands, together with Spitzer 24-μm data, as a function of the morphological type, mass and size. We find that 26/45 sources are detected at MIPS 24 μm and 15/45 (all MIPS 24-μm detections) are detected at SPIRE 250 μm, with disc-like galaxies more easily detected. We derive star formation rates (SFRs) and specific star formation rates (sSFRs) by fitting the spectral energy distribution of our sources, taking into account non-detections for SPIRE and systematic effects for MIPS derived quantities. We find that the mean SFR for the spheroidal galaxies (~50–100 M_⊙ yr^(−1)) is substantially (a factor ~3) lower than the mean value presented by disc-like galaxies (~250–300 M_⊙ yr^(−1)).

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