Submillimetre sources in rich cluster fields - source counts, redshift estimates, and cooling flow limits

Abstract

Recent submillimetre surveys have revealed a population of dusty, high redshift sources of great cosmological significance for understanding dust-enshrouded star formation in distant galaxies, and for determining the origin of the far-IR background. In this paper, we analyze nine rich cluster fields mapped at 850 and 450 microns with the SCUBA array on the James Clerk Maxwell telescope. Lensing models of the clusters are developed in order to derive accurate source counts for our sample. VLA maps of the same clusters are used to help constrain the redshift distribution of our SCUBA detections. Implications for high redshift galaxies and for the far-IR background are discussed. We also provide limits on distributed dust produced by cooling flows in these clusters.