Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies at 1.5<z<3 occupy dark matter haloes of mass ~6x1013 solar masses
Abstract
We present measurements of the spatial clustering of ultraluminous infrared galaxies in two redshift intervals, 1.5<z<2.0 and 2<z<3. Both samples cluster strongly, with r0=14.40+/-1.99 h-1 Mpc for the 2<z<3 sample, and r0=9.40+/-2.24 h-1 Mpc for the 1.5<z<2.0 sample, making them among the most biased galaxies at these epochs. These clustering amplitudes are consistent with both populations residing in dark matter haloes with masses of ~6x1013 solar masses. 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. Adopting plausible models for the growth of DM haloes with redshift, then the haloes hosting the 2<z<3 sample will likely host the richest clusters of galaxies at z=0, whereas the haloes hosting the 1.5<z<2.0 sample will likely host poor to rich clusters at z=0.