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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
The rapid assembly of an elliptical galaxy of 400 billion solar masses at a redshift of 2.3
Nature, Volume 498, No. 7454, Year 2013
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Description
Stellar archaeology shows that massive elliptical galaxies formed rapidly about ten billion years ago with star-formation rates of above several hundred solar masses per year. Their progenitors are probably the submillimetre bright galaxies at redshifts z greater than 2. Although the mean molecular gas mass (5 × 10 10 solar masses) of the submillimetre bright galaxies can explain the formation of typical elliptical galaxies, it is inadequate to form elliptical galaxies that already have stellar masses above 2 × 10 11 solar masses at z ≈ 2. Here we report multi-wavelength high-resolution observations of a rare merger of two massive submillimetre bright galaxies at z = 2.3. The system is seen to be forming stars at a rate of 2,000 solar masses per year. The star-formation efficiency is an order of magnitude greater than that of normal galaxies, so the gas reservoir will be exhausted and star formation will be quenched in only around 200 million years. At a projected separation of 19 kiloparsecs, the two massive starbursts are about to merge and form a passive elliptical galaxy with a stellar mass of about 4 × 10 11 solar masses. We conclude that gas-rich major galaxy mergers with intense star formation can form the most massive elliptical galaxies by z ≈ 1.5. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Fu, Hai
United States, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
Cooray, Asantha Roshan
United States, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
Feruglio, C.
France, Saint Martin D'heres
Iram Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique
Ivison, Robert J.
United Kingdom, Edinburgh
Royal Observatory
Riechers, Dominick A.
United States, Ithaca
Cornell University
Gurwell, Mark A.
United States, Cambridge
Harvard-smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Bussmann, Robert Shane
United States, Cambridge
Harvard-smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harris, Andrew I.
United States, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
Altieri, Bruno
Spain, Madrid
European Space Astronomy Centre
Aussel, Hervé
France, Gif-sur-yvette
Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-saclay
Bock, James J.
United States, Pasadena
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
United States, Pasadena
California Institute of Technology
Boylan-Kolchin, M.
United States, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
Bridge, Carrie R.
United States, Pasadena
California Institute of Technology
Calanog, Jae A.
United States, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
Casey, Caitlin M.
United States, Honolulu
University Hawaii Institute for Astronomy
Cava, Antonio
Spain, Madrid
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Chapman, Scott C.
Canada, Halifax
Dalhousie University
Clements, David L.
United Kingdom, London
Imperial College London
Conley, Alexander J.
United States, Boulder
University of Colorado Boulder
Cox, Pierre
France, Saint Martin D'heres
Iram Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique
Farrah, Duncan G.
United States, Blacksburg
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Frayer, David T.
United States, Green Bank
National Radio Astronomy Observatory Nrao
Hopwood, Rosalind H.B.
United Kingdom, London
Imperial College London
Jia, J.
United States, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
Magdis, Georgios E.
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Marsden, Gaelen
Canada, Vancouver
The University of British Columbia
Martínez-Navajas, Paloma I.
Spain, San Cristobal de la Laguna
Instituto Astrofisico de Canarias
Spain, San Cristobal de la Laguna
Universidad de la Laguna
Negrello, Mattia
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Neri, Roberto
France, Saint Martin D'heres
Iram Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique
Oliver, Seb J.
United Kingdom, Brighton
University of Sussex
Omont, Alain A.
France, Paris
Institut D’astrophysique de Paris
Page, Mathew J.
United Kingdom, Dorking
Ucl Mullard Space Science Laboratory
Pérez-Fournon, Ismael
Spain, San Cristobal de la Laguna
Instituto Astrofisico de Canarias
Spain, San Cristobal de la Laguna
Universidad de la Laguna
Schulz, Bernhard
United States, Pasadena
California Institute of Technology
Scott, Douglas J.
Canada, Vancouver
The University of British Columbia
Smith, Anthony J.
United Kingdom, Brighton
University of Sussex
Vaccari, Mattia
South Africa, Bellville
University of the Western Cape
Valtchanov, Ivan
Spain, Madrid
European Space Astronomy Centre
Vieira, Joaquin D.
United States, Pasadena
California Institute of Technology
Viero, Marco P.
United States, Pasadena
California Institute of Technology
Wang, Lingyu
United Kingdom, Brighton
University of Sussex
Wardlow, Julie L.
United States, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
Zemcov, Michael B.
United States, Pasadena
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Statistics
Citations: 108
Authors: 43
Affiliations: 27
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature12184
ISSN:
00280836
e-ISSN:
14764687