Deep Submillimeter Surveys: Luminous Infrared Galaxies at High Redshift
Abstract
Deep surveys at 850microns from Mauna Kea using the SCUBA camera on the JCMT appear to have discovered a substantial population of ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIGs: Lir > 1012 Lsun). The cumulative space density of these sources (~10,000 per sq.deg with S850 > 1mJy) is sufficient to account for nearly all of the extragalactic background light at submillimeter wavelengths. Current estimates of the redshift distribution suggest a peak in the comoving space density of SCUBA sources at z = 1-3, similar to what is observed for QSOs and radio galaxies. The luminosity density in the far-infrared/submillimeter exceeds that in the UV by factors of 3-10 over this redshift range, implying that as much as 80-90% of the "activity" in galaxies at z < 4 is hidden by dust. The SCUBA sources plausibly represent the primary epoch in the formation of spheroids and massive black holes triggered by major mergers of large gas-rich disks.
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