Using [CI] to probe the Interstellar Medium in z~2.5 Sub-Millimeter Galaxies

TL;DR

This study uses [CI] and CO observations to analyze the gas properties of z~2.5 Sub-Millimeter Galaxies, revealing diverse star formation distributions and assessing [CI] as a tracer of molecular hydrogen in these galaxies.

Contribution

It provides new [CI](1-0) data for SMGs, compares their properties with local galaxies, and evaluates [CI] as a tool for probing molecular gas in high-redshift starbursts.

Findings

SMGs show a wide range of L[CI](1-0)/LFIR ratios.

Many SMGs have extended star formation, unlike scaled-up ULIRGs.

[CI] can reliably trace H2 mass in SMGs.

Abstract

We present new [CI](1-0) and 12CO(4-3) Plateau de Bure Interferometer observations of five Sub-Millimeter Galaxies (SMGs) and combine these with all available [CI](1-0) literature detections in SMGs to probe the gas distribution within a sample of 14 systems. We explore the [CI](1-0) properties of the SMG population, particularly investigating the ratio of the [CI](1-0) luminosity to various 12CO transition and far-infrared luminosities. We find that the SMGs with new observations extend the spread of L[CI](1-0)/LFIR to much higher values than found before, with our complete sample providing a good representation of the diverse z>2 SMG population. We compare the line ratios to the outputs of photodissociation region (PDR) models to constrain the average density (n) and radiation field (in terms of the local field value, G0) of the SMGs. We find the SMGs are most comparable to local ULIRGs in G0 and n, however a significant tail of 5 of the 14 SMGs are likely best compared to less compact, local starburst galaxies, providing new evidence that many SMGs have extended star formation distributions and are therefore not simply scaled up versions of local ULIRGs. We explore the limitations of using simple PDR models to understand [CI], which may be concomitant with the bulk H2 mass rather than PDR-distributed. We therefore also assess [CI] as a tracer of H2, finding that for our sample SMGs, the H2 masses derived from [CI] are often consistent with those determined from low excitation 12CO. We conclude that [CI] observations provide a useful tool to probe the bulk gas and gas processes occurring within merging SMGs, however more detailed, resolved observations are required to fully exploit [CI] as a diagnostic.