The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: CO(J = 3 - 2) mapping and lens modeling of an ACT-selected dusty star-forming galaxy

TL;DR

This study uses NOEMA observations to map a dusty star-forming galaxy at z=2.55, revealing its lensing properties, gas content, and possible disk-like structure, advancing understanding of high-redshift galaxy dynamics.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially resolved CO(3-2) mapping and lens modeling of an ACT-selected dusty galaxy, estimating its gas mass, lensing magnification, and dynamical state.

Findings

Lensing magnification factor $ imes$7-22, mean $ imes$13.

Derived cold gas mass of approximately 3.86 x 10^{10} M_sun.

Galaxy possibly exhibits a rotating disk structure.

Abstract

We report Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) CO($J = 3 - 2$) observations of the dusty star-forming galaxy ACT-S\,J020941+001557 at $z = 2.5528$, which was detected as an unresolved source in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) equatorial survey. Our spatially resolved spectral line data support the derivation of a gravitational lens model from 37 independent velocity channel maps using a pixel-based algorithm, from which we infer a velocity-dependent magnification factor $\mu \approx 7-22$ with a luminosity-weighted mean $\left<\mu\right>\approx 13$. The resulting source-plane reconstruction is consistent with a rotating disk, although other scenarios cannot be ruled out by our data. After correction for lensing, we derive a line luminosity $L^{\prime}_{\rm CO(3-2)}= (5.53\pm 0.69) \times 10^{10}\,{\rm \,K\,km\,s^{-1}\,pc^{2}}$, a cold gas mass $M_{{\rm gas}}= (3.86 \pm 0.33) \times 10^{10}\,M_{\odot}$, a dynamical mass $M_{\rm dyn}\,{\rm sin}^2\,i = 3.9^{+1.8}_{-1.5} \times 10^{10}\,M_{\odot}$, and a gas mass fraction $f_{\rm gas}\,{\rm csc}^2\,i = 1.0^{+0.8}_{-0.4}$. The line brightness temperature ratio of $r_{3,1}\approx 1.6$ relative to a Green Bank Telescope CO($J=1-0$) detection may be elevated by a combination of external heating of molecular clouds, differential lensing, and/or pointing errors.