Dense and warm neutral gas in BR1202-0725 at z = 4.7 as traced by the [O I] 145 um line

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of the [O I] 145 um line in a high-redshift galaxy system, revealing warm, dense neutral gas and demonstrating the line's effectiveness as a dense gas tracer in early universe galaxies.

Contribution

First detection of [O I] 145 um line in a z=4.7 galaxy system, linking high [O I]/[C II] ratios to warm, dense neutral gas in early galaxies.

Findings

High [O I]/[C II] ratios indicate warm, dense neutral gas.

Detection of [O I] line with ALMA shows its potential as a dense gas tracer.

Possible correlation between ionized and neutral gas densities.

Abstract

We report the detection of [O I]145.5um in the BR 1202-0725 system, a compact group at z=4.7 consisting of a quasar (QSO), a submillimeter-bright galaxy (SMG), and three faint Lya emitters. By taking into account the previous detections and upper limits, the [O I]/[C II] line ratios of the now five known high-z galaxies are higher than or on the high-end of the observed values in local galaxies ([O I]/[C II]$\gtrsim$0.13). The high [O I]/[C II] ratios and the joint analysis with the previous detection of [N II] lines for both the QSO and the SMG suggest the presence of warm and dense neutral gas in these highly star-forming galaxies. This is further supported by new CO (12-11) line detections and a comparison with cosmological simulations. There is a possible positive correlation between the [NII]122/205 line ratio and the [O I]/[C II] ratio when all local and high-z sources are taken into account, indicating that the denser the ionized gas, the denser and warmer the neutral gas (or vice versa). The detection of the [O I] line in the BR1202-0725 system with a relatively short amount of integration with ALMA demonstrates the great potential of this line as a dense gas tracer for high-z galaxies.