University of Hertfordshire Research Archive

        JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

        Browse

        All of UHRABy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitles

        Arkivum Files

        My Downloads
        View Item 
        • UHRA Home
        • University of Hertfordshire
        • Research publications
        • View Item
        • UHRA Home
        • University of Hertfordshire
        • Research publications
        • View Item

        Intense star formation within resolved compact regions in a galaxy at z = 2.3

        View/Open
        906685.pdf (PDF, 715Kb)
        Author
        Swinbank, A.M.
        Smail, I.
        Longmore, S.
        Harris, A.I.
        Baker, A.J.
        De Breuck, C.
        Richard, J.
        Edge, A.C.
        Ivison, R.J.
        Blundell, R.
        Coppin, Kristen
        Cox, P.
        Gurwell, M.
        Hainline, L.J.
        Krips, M.
        Lundgren, A.
        Neri, R.
        Siana, B.
        Siringo, G.
        Stark, D.P.
        Wilner, D.
        Younger, J.D.
        Attention
        2299/12669
        Abstract
        Massive galaxies in the early Universe have been shown to be forming stars at surprisingly high rates. Prominent examples are dust-obscured galaxies which are luminous when observed at sub-millimetre wavelengths and which may be forming stars at a rate of 1,000 solar masses (M) per year. These intense bursts of star formation are believed to be driven by mergers between gas-rich galaxies. Probing the properties of individual star-forming regions within these galaxies, however, is beyond the spatial resolution and sensitivity of even the largest telescopes at present. Here we report observations of the sub-millimetre galaxy SMMJ2135-0102 at redshift z = 2.3259, which has been gravitationally magnified by a factor of 32 by a massive foreground galaxy cluster lens. This magnification, when combined with high-resolution sub-millimetre imaging, resolves the star-forming regions at a linear scale of only 100 parsecs. We find that the luminosity densities of these star-forming regions are comparable to the dense cores of giant molecular clouds in the local Universe, but they are about a hundred times larger and 10 7 times more luminous. Although vigorously star-forming, the underlying physics of the star-formation processes at z 2 appears to be similar to that seen in local galaxies, although the energetics are unlike anything found in the present-day Universe.
        Publication date
        2010-04-01
        Published in
        Nature
        Published version
        https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08880
        Other links
        http://hdl.handle.net/2299/12669
        Metadata
        Show full item record
        Keep in touch

        © 2019 University of Hertfordshire

        I want to...

        • Apply for a course
        • Download a Prospectus
        • Find a job at the University
        • Make a complaint
        • Contact the Press Office

        Go to...

        • Accommodation booking
        • Your student record
        • Bayfordbury
        • KASPAR
        • UH Arts

        The small print

        • Terms of use
        • Privacy and cookies
        • Criminal Finances Act 2017
        • Modern Slavery Act 2015
        • Sitemap

        Find/Contact us

        • T: +44 (0)1707 284000
        • E: ask@herts.ac.uk
        • Where to find us
        • Parking
        • hr
        • qaa
        • stonewall
        • AMBA
        • ECU Race Charter
        • disability confident
        • AthenaSwan