The ALPINE-ALMA [CII] survey: The infrared-radio correlation and AGN fraction of star-forming galaxies at z $\sim$ 4.4-5.9

TL;DR

This study investigates the infrared-radio correlation and AGN activity in star-forming galaxies at redshifts 4.4 to 5.9, revealing a lower IR-radio ratio than local galaxies and suggesting less dust buildup at these early cosmic times.

Contribution

First measurement of the IR-radio correlation in galaxies at z~4.4-5.9, showing a lower ratio than local galaxies and providing insights into dust and star formation properties in early universe.

Findings

The IR-radio correlation (q_TIR) is lower than the local relation at ~3σ significance.

No evidence of dominant AGN activity in the stacked SEDs, UV spectra, or X-ray images.

The lower IR-radio ratio may be due to less dust buildup and a lower obscured star formation fraction at high redshift.

Abstract

We present the radio properties of 66 spectroscopically-confirmed normal star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at $4.4<z<5.9$ in the COSMOS field that were [C II] detected in the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Large Program to INvestigate [C II] at Early times (ALPINE). We separate these galaxies ("CII-detected-all") into lower redshift ("CII-detected-lz", $\langle z\rangle=4.5$) and higher redshift ("CII-detected-hz", $\langle z\rangle=5.6$) sub-samples and stack multi-wavelength imaging for each sub-sample from X-ray to radio bands. A radio signal is detected in the stacked 3 GHz image of CII-detected-all and -lz samples at $\gtrsim3\sigma$. We find that the infrared-radio correlation of our sample, quantified by $q_{\mathrm{TIR}}$, is lower than the local relation for normal SFGs at $\sim$3$\sigma$ significance level, and is instead broadly consistent with that of bright sub-mm galaxies at $2<z<5$. Neither of these samples show evidence of dominant AGN activity in their stacked Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs), rest-frame UV spectra, or X-ray images. Although we cannot rule out the possible effect of the assumed spectral index and the applied infrared SED templates as at least partially causing these differences, the lower obscured fraction of star formation than at lower redshift can alleviate the tension between our stacked $q_{\mathrm{TIR}}$s and that of local normal SFGs. It is possible that the dust buildup, which primarily governs the IR emission in addition to older stellar populations, has not had enough time to occur fully in these galaxies, whereas the radio emission can respond on a more rapid timescale. Therefore, we might expect a lower $q_{\mathrm{TIR}}$ to be a general property of high-redshift SFGs.