ALMACAL XIII. Evolution of the CO luminosity function and the molecular gas mass density out to z ∼ 6

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985815%3A90106%2F25%3A00646356" target="_blank" >RIV/67985815:90106/25:00646356 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202453223" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202453223</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202453223" target="_blank" >10.1051/0004-6361/202453223</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

ALMACAL XIII. Evolution of the CO luminosity function and the molecular gas mass density out to z ∼ 6

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Cold molecular gas, largely traced by CO emission, is the primary fuel for star formation, making it essential for understanding galaxy evolution. ALMA has made significant progress in the study of the cosmic evolution of cold molecular gas. Here, we exploit the ALMACAL survey to address issues relating to small sample sizes and cosmic variance, utilising calibration data from ALMA to compile a statistically significant and essentially unbiased sample of CO-selected galaxies. By employing a novel statistical approach to emission-line classification using semi-analytical models, we place strong constraints on the CO luminosity function and the cosmic evolution of molecular gas mass density (rho H2) back to z similar to 6. The cosmic molecular gas mass density increases with redshift, peaking around z similar to 1.5, then slowly declines towards higher redshifts by similar to 1 dex. Our findings confirm the key role of molecular gas in fuelling star formation. The new rho H-2 estimates allow us to revisit the cosmic baryon cycle, showing that the ratio of molecular gas-to-stellar mass density is consistent with the so-called bathtub model of baryons, which implies a continuous replenishment of gas. The cosmic gas depletion timescale, estimated on a global scale, is shown to be fairly constant at all redshifts. We emphasise the importance of surveys using multiple small fields rather than a single contiguous area to mitigate the effects of cosmic variance.

Název v anglickém jazyce

ALMACAL XIII. Evolution of the CO luminosity function and the molecular gas mass density out to z ∼ 6

Popis výsledku anglicky

Cold molecular gas, largely traced by CO emission, is the primary fuel for star formation, making it essential for understanding galaxy evolution. ALMA has made significant progress in the study of the cosmic evolution of cold molecular gas. Here, we exploit the ALMACAL survey to address issues relating to small sample sizes and cosmic variance, utilising calibration data from ALMA to compile a statistically significant and essentially unbiased sample of CO-selected galaxies. By employing a novel statistical approach to emission-line classification using semi-analytical models, we place strong constraints on the CO luminosity function and the cosmic evolution of molecular gas mass density (rho H2) back to z similar to 6. The cosmic molecular gas mass density increases with redshift, peaking around z similar to 1.5, then slowly declines towards higher redshifts by similar to 1 dex. Our findings confirm the key role of molecular gas in fuelling star formation. The new rho H-2 estimates allow us to revisit the cosmic baryon cycle, showing that the ratio of molecular gas-to-stellar mass density is consistent with the so-called bathtub model of baryons, which implies a continuous replenishment of gas. The cosmic gas depletion timescale, estimated on a global scale, is shown to be fairly constant at all redshifts. We emphasise the importance of surveys using multiple small fields rather than a single contiguous area to mitigate the effects of cosmic variance.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10308 - Astronomy (including astrophysics,space science)

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

—

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Astronomy & Astrophysics

ISSN

0004-6361

e-ISSN

1432-0746

Svazek periodika

695

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

March

Stát vydavatele periodika

FR - Francouzská republika

Počet stran výsledku

21

Strana od-do

A163

Kód UT WoS článku

001447116500028

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-105000392104