The SCUBA 8-mJy survey – II. Multiwavelength analysis of bright submillimetre sources |
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| Authors: | M JFox AEfstathiou MRowan-Robinson J SDunlop SScott SSerjeant R GMann SOliver R JIvison ABlain OAlmaini DHughes C JWillott MLongair ALawrence J APeacock |
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| Institution: | 1Astrophysics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science Technology &Medicine, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BW; 2Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ; 3UK ATC, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ; 4Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA; 5Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronic (INAOE), Apartado Postal 51 y 216, 72000 Puelba, Pue., Mexico; 6Astrophysics, Department of Physics, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH; 7Unit for Space Sciences and Astrophysics, School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NZ; 8School of Chemistry, Physics &Enviromental Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ; 9Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA |
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| Abstract: | We present the results of a multiwavelength study of the 19 most significant submillimetre (submm) sources detected in the SCUBA 8-mJy survey. As described in Scott et al. , this survey covers ?260 arcmin2 using the submillimetre camera SCUBA, to a limiting source detection limit S 850 μm?8 mJy . One advantage of this relatively bright flux-density limit is that accurate astrometric positions are potentially achievable for every source using existing radio and/or millimetre-wave interferometers. However, an associated advantage is that spectral energy distribution (SED) based redshift constraints should be more powerful than in fainter submm surveys. Here we therefore exploit the parallel SCUBA 450-μm data, in combination with existing radio and Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ) data at longer and shorter wavelengths to set constraints on the redshift of each source. We also analyse new and existing optical and near-infrared imaging of our SCUBA survey fields to select potential identifications consistent with these constraints. Our derived SED-based redshift constraints, and the lack of statistically significant associations with even moderately bright galaxies allow us to conclude that all 19 sources lie at z >1 , and at least half of them apparently lie at z >2 . |
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| Keywords: | galaxies: distances and redshifts galaxies: evolution galaxies: starburst cosmology: observations |
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