The formation of cluster elliptical galaxies as revealed by extensive star formation
The formation of cluster elliptical galaxies as revealed by extensive star formation
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广泛的恒星形成揭示了星团椭圆星系的形成
DOI：
10.1038/nature01976
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发表时间：
2003
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
M. Reuland
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Stevens;R. Ivison;J. Dunlop;I. Smail;W. Percival;D. Hughes;H. Röttgering;W. Breugel;M. Reuland
现今宇宙中质量最大的星系被发现位于丰富星系团的中心。它们拥有古老的、同时代的恒星种群，这表明它们的大部分恒星一定是在壮观的恒星爆发的早期形成的，当在亚毫米波长下观察时，这应该是发光的现象。最流行的星系形成模型预测，这些星系在早期宇宙的高密度峰值形成原星系团。这样的峰值是由大质量的高红移射电星系所指示的。在这里，我们报告深亚毫米映射七高红移射电星系和它们的环境。这些数据不仅证实了射电星系本身存在大量恒星形成活动的空间扩展区域，而且还证实了以前在任何波长下都未探测到的伴星。这些亚毫米伴随星系的普遍性、方向和推断的质量表明，我们正在目睹今天在丰富星系团中心发现的最明亮的椭圆星系的同步形成。
The most massive galaxies in the present-day Universe are found to lie in the centres of rich clusters. They have old, coeval stellar populations suggesting that the bulk of their stars must have formed at early epochs in spectacular starbursts, which should be luminous phenomena when observed at submillimetre wavelengths. The most popular model of galaxy formation predicts that these galaxies form in proto-clusters at high-density peaks in the early Universe. Such peaks are indicated by massive high-redshift radio galaxies. Here we report deep submillimetre mapping of seven high-redshift radio galaxies and their environments. These data confirm not only the presence of spatially extended regions of massive star-formation activity in the radio galaxies themselves, but also in companion objects previously undetected at any wavelength. The prevalence, orientation, and inferred masses of these submillimetre companion galaxies suggest that we are witnessing the synchronous formation of the most luminous elliptical galaxies found today at the centres of rich clusters of galaxies.