Normal, dust-obscured galaxies in the epoch of reionization

Y. Fudamoto (), P. A. Oesch, S. Schouws, M. Stefanon, R. Smit, R. J. Bouwens, R. A. A. Bowler, R. Endsley, V. Gonzalez, H. Inami, I. Labbe, D. Stark, M. Aravena, L. Barrufet, E. da Cunha, P. Dayal, A. Ferrara, L. Graziani, J. Hodge, A. Hutter, Y. Li, I. De Looze, T. Nanayakkara, A. Pallottini, D. Riechers, R. Schneider, G. Ucci, P. van der Werf and C. White
Additional contact information
Y. Fudamoto: University of Geneva
P. A. Oesch: University of Geneva
S. Schouws: Leiden University
M. Stefanon: Leiden University
R. Smit: Liverpool John Moores University
R. J. Bouwens: Leiden University
R. A. A. Bowler: University of Oxford
R. Endsley: University of Arizona
V. Gonzalez: Universidad de Chile
H. Inami: Hiroshima University
I. Labbe: Swinburne University of Technology
D. Stark: University of Arizona
M. Aravena: Universidad Diego Portales
L. Barrufet: University of Geneva
E. da Cunha: University of Western Australia
P. Dayal: University of Groningen
A. Ferrara: Scuola Normale Superiore
L. Graziani: Universita di Roma
J. Hodge: Leiden University
A. Hutter: University of Groningen
Y. Li: The Pennsylvania State University
I. De Looze: Ghent University
T. Nanayakkara: Swinburne University of Technology
A. Pallottini: Scuola Normale Superiore
D. Riechers: Cornell University
R. Schneider: Universita di Roma
G. Ucci: University of Groningen
P. van der Werf: Leiden University
C. White: University of Arizona

Nature, 2021, vol. 597, issue 7877, 489-492

Abstract: Abstract Over the past decades, rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) observations have provided large samples of UV luminous galaxies at redshift (z) greater than 6 (refs. 1–3), during the so-called epoch of reionization. While a few of these UV-identified galaxies revealed substantial dust reservoirs4–7, very heavily dust-obscured sources at these early times have remained elusive. They are limited to a rare population of extreme starburst galaxies8–12 and companions of rare quasars13,14. These studies conclude that the contribution of dust-obscured galaxies to the cosmic star formation rate density at z > 6 is sub-dominant. Recent ALMA and Spitzer observations have identified a more abundant, less extreme population of obscured galaxies at z = 3−6 (refs. 15,16). However, this population has not been confirmed in the reionization epoch so far. Here, we report the discovery of two dust-obscured star-forming galaxies at z = 6.6813 ± 0.0005 and z = 7.3521 ± 0.0005. These objects are not detected in existing rest-frame UV data and were discovered only through their far-infrared [C ii] lines and dust continuum emission as companions to typical UV-luminous galaxies at the same redshift. The two galaxies exhibit lower infrared luminosities and star-formation rates than extreme starbursts, in line with typical star-forming galaxies at z ≈ 7. This population of heavily dust-obscured galaxies appears to contribute 10–25% to the z > 6 cosmic star formation rate density.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03846-z

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