A tentative emission line at z=5.8 from a 3mm-selected galaxy

TL;DR

This paper reports a tentative high-redshift detection of a galaxy at z=5.857 via a 3mm emission line, suggesting it is among the most distant dusty star-forming galaxies known, and emphasizes the need for follow-up observations.

Contribution

It presents the first tentative detection of a 3mm-selected galaxy at z=5.857, indicating a new high-redshift dusty galaxy candidate based on archival ALMA data.

Findings

Tentative 4σ emission line at 100.84 GHz detected in ALMA data.

Line consistent with CO(6→5) transition at z=5.857.

Galaxy is optically-dark and among the highest redshift 3mm-selected galaxies.

Abstract

I report a tentative ($\sim4\sigma$) emission line at $\nu=100.84\,$GHz from "COS-3mm-1'", a 3mm-selected galaxy reported by Williams et al. 2019 that is undetected at optical and near infrared wavelengths. The line was found in the ALMA Science Archive after re-processing ALMA band 3 observations targeting a different source. Assuming the line corresponds to the $\rm CO(6\to5)$ transition, this tentative detection implies a spectroscopic redshift of $z=5.857$, in agreement with the galaxy's redshift constraints from multi-wavelength photometry. This would make this object the highest redshift 3mm-selected galaxy and one of the highest redshift dusty star-forming galaxies known to-date. Here, I report the characteristics of this tentative detection and the physical properties that can be inferred assuming the line is real. Finally, I advocate for follow-up observations to corroborate this identification and to confirm the high-redshift nature of this optically-dark dusty star-forming galaxy.