|
Description
Of the almost 40 star-forming galaxies at z>~5 (not counting quasi-stellar objects) observed in [CII] to date, nearly half are either very faint in [CII] or not detected at all, and fall well below expectations based on locally derived relations between star formation rate and [CII] luminosity. This has raised questions as to how reliable [CII] is as a tracer of star formation activity at these epochs and how factors such as metallicity might affect the [CII] emission. Combining cosmological zoom simulations of galaxies with SIGAME (SImulator of GAlaxy Millimeter/submillimeter Emission), we modeled the multiphased interstellar medium (ISM) and its emission in [CII], as well as in [OI] and [OIII], from 30 main-sequence galaxies at z~6 with star formation rates ~3-23M_{sun}_/yr, stellar masses ~(0.7-8)x10^9^M_{sun}_, and metallicities ~(0.1-0.4)xZ_{sun}_. The simulations are able to reproduce the aforementioned [CII] faintness of some normal star-forming galaxy sources at z>=5. In terms of [OI] and [OIII], very few observations are available at z>~5, but our simulations match two of the three existing z>~5 detections of [OIII] and are furthermore roughly consistent with the [OI] and [OIII] luminosity relations with star formation rate observed for local starburst galaxies. We find that the [CII] emission is dominated by the diffuse ionized gas phase and molecular clouds, which on average contribute ~66% and ~27%, respectively. The molecular gas, which constitutes only ~10% of the total gas mass, is thus a more efficient emitter of [CII] than the ionized gas, which makes up ~85% of the total gas mass. A principal component analysis shows that the [CII] luminosity correlates with the star formation activity of a galaxy as well as its average metallicity. The low metallicities of our simulations together with their low molecular gas mass fractions can account for their [CII] faintness, and we suggest that these factors may also be responsible for the [CII]-faint normal galaxies observed at these early epochs.
|
