Observations of [OI]63micron line emission in main-sequence galaxies at z~1.5

TL;DR

This study detects and analyzes the [OI]63micron line emission in main-sequence galaxies at z~1.5, revealing properties of their interstellar medium and gas conditions through Herschel-PACS spectroscopy and modeling.

Contribution

First detection of [OI]63micron emission in main-sequence galaxies at z~1.5 with detailed PDR modeling and stacking analysis to infer gas properties.

Findings

Detected [OI]63micron line in one galaxy with detailed physical parameters.

Stacked analysis reveals average [OI] emission consistent with low-redshift galaxies.

High [OI] luminosity may indicate extended reservoirs of cool neutral gas.

Abstract

We present Herschel-PACS spectroscopy of four main-sequence star-forming galaxies at z~1.5. We detect [OI]63micron line emission in BzK-21000 at z=1.5213, and measure a line luminosity, L([OI]63micron) = (3.9+/-0.7)x1.E+9 Lsun. Our PDR modelling of the interstellar medium in BzK-21000 suggests a UV radiation field strength, G~320 G0, and gas density, n~1800 cm-3, consistent with previous LVG modelling of the molecular CO line excitation. The other three targets in our sample are individually undetected in these data, and we perform a spectral stacking analysis which yields a detection of their average emission and an [OI]63micron line luminosity, L([OI]63micron) =(1.1+/-0.2)x1E+9 Lsun. We find that the implied luminosity ratio, L([OI]63micron)/L(IR), of the undetected BzK-selected star-forming galaxies broadly agrees with that of low-redshift star-forming galaxies, while BzK-21000 has a similar ratio to that of a dusty star-forming galaxy at z~6. The high [OI]63micron line luminosities observed in BzK-21000 and the $z \sim 1 -3$ dusty and submm luminous star-forming galaxies may be associated with extended reservoirs of low density, cool neutral gas.