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The formation and assembly of a typical star-forming galaxy at redshift z ≈ 3

Nature volume 455, pages 775–777 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Recent studies of galaxies ∼2–3 Gyr after the Big Bang have revealed large, rotating disks, similar to those of galaxies today1,2. The existence of well-ordered rotation in galaxies during this peak epoch of cosmic star formation indicates that gas accretion is likely to be the dominant mode by which galaxies grow, because major mergers of galaxies would completely disrupt the observed velocity fields. But poor spatial resolution and sensitivity have hampered this interpretation; such studies have been limited to the largest and most luminous galaxies, which may have fundamentally different modes of assembly from those of more typical galaxies (which are thought to grow into the spheroidal components at the centres of galaxies similar to the Milky Way). Here we report observations of a typical star-forming galaxy at z = 3.07, with a linear resolution of ∼100 parsecs. We find a well-ordered compact source in which molecular gas is being converted efficiently into stars, likely to be assembling a spheroidal bulge similar to those seen in spiral galaxies at the present day. The presence of undisrupted rotation may indicate that galaxies such as the Milky Way gain much of their mass by accretion rather than major mergers.

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Figure 1: Colour image of J2135-0102, a z = 3.07 galaxy magnified 28 ± 3 times into a near-complete Einstein ring8.
Figure 2: The internal dynamics of J2135-0102, reconstructed in the source plane with the use of the well-constrained lens model12.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Lyke for assistance with the Keck observations, and R. Bower, K. Coppin, M. Lehnert, R. Genzel, D. Erb, D. Law, A. Shapley, A. Jenkins, P. Salucci and T. Theuns for discussions. The OSIRIS data were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership between the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and NASA. The observatory was made possible by the financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The SINFONI data are based on observations made with the ESO Telescopes at the Paranal Observatories. A.M.S. acknowledges financial support from STFC, and I.R.S. and R.S.E. acknowledge financial support from the Royal Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA,

    Daniel P. Stark, Richard S. Ellis & Johan Richard

  2. Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK ,

    A. Mark Swinbank & Ian R. Smail

  3. School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK

    Simon Dye

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  1. Daniel P. Stark
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  2. A. Mark Swinbank
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  5. Ian R. Smail
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  6. Johan Richard
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Correspondence to Daniel P. Stark.

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Stark, D., Swinbank, A., Ellis, R. et al. The formation and assembly of a typical star-forming galaxy at redshift z ≈ 3. Nature 455, 775–777 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07294

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