Compact dust emission in a gravitationally lensed massive quiescent galaxy at z = 2.15 revealed in ~130 pc-resolution observations by ALMA

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution ALMA observations of a gravitationally lensed quiescent galaxy at z=2.15 to reveal compact dust emission, suggesting ongoing black hole activity and a broad range of dust-to-gas ratios in such galaxies.

Contribution

First detection of compact dust emission in a high-redshift quiescent galaxy with gravitational lensing and ALMA, indicating active black hole regulation of star formation.

Findings

Detected compact dust emission displaced from stellar peak

Derived low molecular gas-to-dust mass ratio (<60)

Indicated active black hole influence on galaxy quenching

Abstract

We present new observations of MRG-M2129, a quiescent galaxy at z = 2.15 with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). With the combination of the gravitational lensing effect by the foreground cluster and the angular resolution provided by ALMA, our data reveal 1.2 mm continuum emission at $\sim130$ pc angular resolution. Compact dust continuum is detected at 7.9 $\sigma$ in the target but displaced from its stellar peak position by $62 \pm 38$ mas, or $\sim169 \pm 105$ pc in the source plane. We find considerably high dust-to-stellar mass ratio, $4 \times 10^{-4}$. From non-detection of the [C i] 3P2 -> 3P1 line, we then derive $3 \sigma$ upper limits on the molecular gas-to-dust mass ratio $\delta_\mathrm{GDR} < 60$ and the molecular gas-to-stellar mass ratio fH2 < 2.3%. The derived $\delta_\mathrm{GDR}$ is $>2\times$ smaller than the typical value assumed for quiescent galaxies in the literature. Our study supports that there exists a broad range of $\delta_\mathrm{GDR}$ and urges submillimeter follow-up observations of quenching/recently quenched galaxies at similar redshifts. Based on the derived low $\delta_\mathrm{GDR}$ and other observed dust properties, we argue that the central black hole is still active and regulates star formation in the system. Our study exhibits a rare case of a gravitationally lensed type 2 QSO harbored by a quiescent galaxy.