Witnessing the birth of the red sequence: ALMA high-resolution imaging of [CII] and dust in two interacting ultra-red starbursts at z = 4.425

Abstract

Exploiting the sensitivity and spatial resolution of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), we have studied the morphology and the physical scale of the interstellar medium - both gas and dust - in SGP38326, an unlensed pair of interacting starbursts at \(z= 4.425\). SGP38326 is the most luminous star bursting system known at \(z > 4\) with an IR-derived \({\rm SFR \sim 4300 \,} M_\odot \, {\rm yr}^{-1}\). SGP38326 also contains a molecular gas reservoir among the most massive ever found in the early Universe, and it is the likely progenitor of a massive, red-and-dead elliptical galaxy at \(z \sim 3\). Probing scales of \(\sim 0.1"\) or \(\sim 800 \, {\rm pc}\) we find that the smooth distribution of the continuum emission from cool dust grains contrasts with the more irregular morphology of the gas, as traced by the [CII] fine structure emission. The gas is also extended over larger physical scales than the dust. The velocity information provided by the resolved [CII] emission reveals that the dynamics of the two components of SGP38326 are compatible with disk-like, ordered rotation, but also reveals an ISM which is turbulent and unstable. Our observations support a scenario where at least a subset of the most distant extreme starbursts are highly dissipative mergers of gas-rich galaxies.