Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies at 1.5<z<3 occupy dark matter haloes of mass ~6x10^13 solar masses

TL;DR

This study measures the clustering of ultraluminous infrared galaxies at redshifts 1.5 to 3, revealing they reside in massive dark matter haloes and suggesting a link between halo mass and galaxy activity.

Contribution

It provides the first clustering measurements of ULIRGs at these redshifts, linking their distribution to dark matter halo masses and galaxy evolution models.

Findings

ULIRGs at 2<z<3 have strong clustering with r_0=14.40+/-1.99 h^-1 Mpc.

ULIRGs at 1.5<z<2.0 have clustering with r_0=9.40+/-2.24 h^-1 Mpc.

Both populations reside in dark matter haloes of ~6x10^13 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 r_0=14.40+/-1.99 h^-1 Mpc for the 2<z<3 sample, and r_0=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 ~6x10^13 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.