A joint analysis of BLAST 250--500um and LABOCA 870um observations in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South

TL;DR

This study combines BLAST and LABOCA submillimeter observations in the ECDF-S to analyze galaxy properties up to z~3, revealing median dust temperatures around 30K and no significant evolution in FIR-temperature correlation.

Contribution

It introduces new methods for source identification and counterpart matching in confused submillimeter data, and provides a comprehensive analysis of galaxy FIR properties across redshifts.

Findings

Median dust temperature T=30K across samples

Median redshifts increase with flux density thresholds

No evidence for evolution in FIR-temperature relation up to z~2.5

Abstract

We present a joint analysis of the overlapping BLAST 250, 350, 500um, and LABOCA 870um observations (from the LESS survey) of the ECDF-S. Out to z~3, the BLAST filters sample near the peak wavelength of far-infrared (FIR) emission from galaxies (rest-frame wavelengths ~60--200um), primarily produced by dust heated through absorption in star-forming clouds. However, identifying counterparts to individual BLAST peaks is very challenging, given the large beams (FWHM 36--60"). In contrast, the 870um observations have a significantly smaller 19" FWHM beam, and are sensitive to higher redshifts (z~1--5, and potentially beyond) due to the more favourable negative K-correction. We use the LESS data, as well as deep Spitzer and VLA imaging, to identify 118 individual sources that produce significant emission in the BLAST bands. We characterize the temperatures and FIR luminosities for a subset of 69 sources which have well-measured submm SEDs and redshift measurements out to z~3. For flux-limited sub-samples in each BLAST band, and a dust emissivity index \beta=2.0, we find a median temperature T=30K (all bands) as well as median redshifts: z=1.1 (interquartile range 0.2--1.9) for S250 > 40mJy; z=1.3 (interquartile range 0.6--2.1) for S350 > 30mJy; and z=1.6 (interquartile range 1.3--2.3) for S500 > 20mJy. Taking into account selection effects for our survey (a bias toward detecting lower-temperature galaxies), we find no evidence for evolution in the local FIR-temperature correlation out to z~2.5. Comparing with star-forming galaxy SED templates, about 8% of our sample appears to exhibit significant excesses in the radio and/or mid-IR, consistent with those sources harbouring an AGN. We describe the following techniques in two appendices: our `matched filter' for identifying sources in the presence of point-source confusion; and our approach for identifying counterparts using likelihood ratios.