# Expected Sub-mm Emission and Dust Properties of Lyman Break Galaxies at High Redshift

## 1. Introduction

A number of high-redshift star-forming galaxies have been identified through the Lyman break surveys (Steidel et al. 1996a, b; Lowenthal et al. 1997). Since the number density of these Lyman Break Galaxies (LBG) is comparable to or somewhat higher than that of the local $`L_{}`$ galaxies, they are thought to be natural candidates of the progenitors of nearby normal galaxies (Lowenthal et al. 1997). From the observed UV continuum emission, a typical star-formation rate (SFR) of LBGs is estimated to be moderate, $`10`$ M yr<sup>-1</sup> ($`H_0`$=50 km s<sup>-1</sup> Mpc<sup>-1</sup> and $`q_0`$=0.5). However, there are increasing evidences of the presence of significant amount of extinction in the UV continuum by interstellar dust in LBGs (Pettini et al. (1998); Sawicki & Yee (1998)). If the inferred UV extinction is corrected, their SFR would be more than $`100M_{}`$ yr<sup>-1</sup> (Dickinson 1998), which may imply that high-redshift LBGs are in their major star-formation period.

On the other hand, deep surveys in sub-mm wavelength with Sub-millimeter Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA; Holland et al. 1998) revealed a population of FIR-luminous galaxies possibly at high redshift and have a large SFR, $`100`$ M yr<sup>-1</sup> (Smail et al 1997; Hughes et al. 1998; Barger et al. 1998; Lilly et al. 1999). Although the optical identification of the SCUBA sources has not been well established in some cases, they are also candidates of high-redshift forming galaxies.

It is then natural to ask what the relationship between these two populations is, or, how the high-redshift LBGs appear in sub-mm wavelength. In the deepest sub-mm imaging so far at the Hubble Deep Field (HDF; Williams et al. 1996) by Hughes et al. (1998), none of the optically-selected LBGs (Steidel et al. 1996b; Lowenthal et al. 1997) was detected. The upper-limit flux value at 850 $`\mu `$m, however, can be used to put some important constraints for the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the LBGs. In this Letter, we investigate sub-mm emission properties of the LBGs in HDF to constrain their physical properties such as dust temperature by using the results of the SCUBA observations by Hughes et al. (1998).

## 2. Spectral Shape of the Lyman Break Galaxies

Our sample of LBGs is the same as that used in Sawicki and Yee(1998). They are the 17 galaxies at z$`3`$ with firm spectroscopic redshifts and with photometric data from optical to near-infrared (NIR) wavelength, taken from the 41 high-redshift LBG candidates originally provided by Steidel et al. (1996b) and Lowenthal et al. (1997). Redshifts and magnitudes are listed in Table 1 of Sawicki and Yee (1998).

Hughes et al. (1998) detected five sources at 850 $`\mu `$m with SCUBA in HDF. We found none of the optically-selected LBGs is detected within the error circles of the SCUBA sources <sup>1</sup><sup>1</sup>1 There may be small systematic errors in the positions quoted in Hughes et al. (Richards 1998) but it does not affect the identification with LBGs discussed here. . Hughes et al. evaluated their detection limit $`2`$ mJy (5$`\sigma `$). Hereafter we quote this value as the upper-limit flux density at 850 $`\mu `$m for all the LBGs although the true detection limit may change across the field slightly due to the position-dependent confusion noises and detector sensitivities.

The upper limit of sub-mm flux density gives a constraint on the spectral shape from the rest-frame UV to FIR wavelength of the LBGs. We compare the observed optical-NIR flux densities and the upper limit of sub-mm flux density of LBGs with the three template spectra of local starburst galaxies. For the template spectra, we adopt the SED of Arp220 (Klaas et al. 1997), as an example of heavily dust enshrouded starburst galaxies, and the averaged SED of high-reddening starburst galaxies (SBH) and low-reddening starburst galaxies (SBL) compiled by Schmitt et al. (1997). These templates are redshifted and then fitted to the optical-NIR photometric data. Figure 1a and 1b show the best and the worst case in the results of our least-square fitting procedure. In many cases, the template of SBL gives a better fit but those of Arp220 and SBH are always steeper than the spectra of LBGs (Figure 1a). For several objects, spectra of LBGs are even flatter than the SBL template (Figure 1b). Reduced $`\chi ^2`$ values (degree of freedom is four) ranges 300-550 for Arp220, 50-250 for SBH, and 1.5-30 for SBL. The absorption at the rest-frame UV wavelength in the LBGs thus seems much smaller than in Arp220- or SBH-like galaxies. If we assume the templates of Arp220 and SBH (fitted at optical-NIR wavelength), the expected flux density at $`850\mu `$m exceeds 2 mJy for 11 and 9 of the 17 objects, respectively. If the SBL template is applied, none of the objects has a $`850\mu `$m flux density larger than 2 mJy, which is consistent with the results of the SCUBA observation. Thus, not only the rest-frame UV-optical SEDs but also the FIR-UV SEDs of LBGs are better represented by the SBL template.

On the other hand, SCUBA-selected bright sub-mm sources show more FIR excess. For example, Barger et al. (1998) detected a sub-mm source with $`S_{\nu (850\mu m)}=4.6`$ mJy by SCUBA in the Lockman-Hole field and found a plausible optical counterpart with $`K_{AB}=21.8`$. They argued that only the SED of ultra-luminous infrared galaxies like Arp220 can match this flux ratio. The SEDs of the LBGs are thus much shallower than those of the SCUBA sources detected above a few mJy level at 850 $`\mu `$m. The observed star-forming regions of LBGs are not likely to be heavily enshrouded by dust compared with the SCUBA-selected bright sub-mm sources or the local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies.

## 3. Dust Properties of Lyman Break Galaxies

### 3.1. Model Fitting of the UV Spectra

We first estimate the amount of dust extinction of LBGs by fitting the model UV/optical spectra (at 900-10000 Å; Salpeter IMF is assumed ) with an extinction to the observed SEDs following the similar manner as in Sawicki and Yee (1998) but using the different evolutionary-synthesis model developed by Kodama & Arimoto (1997). We assumed the reddening law derived by Calzetti for the local starburst galaxies <sup>2</sup><sup>2</sup>2The formula is presented in Sawicki and Yee (1998). The estimated extinction, $`E(BV)`$, ranges 0.3-0.5 mag with ages of $``$ 0.03 Gyr, which agrees with the results in Sawicki & Yee (1998). For 13 of the 17 objects, acceptable fittings are obtained with finite amounts of extinction and we will discuss the 13 objects in this section. The $`850\mu `$m flux densities of LBGs are then calculated, with the assumption that all the energy absorbed in UV/optical wavelength is re-emitted by the modified black-body radiation with single temperature. The observed 850 $`\mu `$m flux density, $`S_{\nu (850\mu m)}`$, is given by

$$S_{\nu (850\mu m)}=\frac{(1+z)F_{abs}}{_0^{\mathrm{}}\nu ^\beta B_\nu (T)𝑑\nu }\nu _{1}^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }B_{\nu _1}(T)$$
(1)   
where $`F_{abs}`$ is absorbed flux, $`T`$ is a dust temperature, $`\beta `$ is a power of the emissivity law, $`B_\nu (T)`$ is the Planck function, and $`\nu _1=(1+z)\nu _{850\mu m}`$.

Figure 2 shows the dependence of the estimated flux density on the dust temperature and emissivity for a typical case. We assume $`\beta =1`$ in the following discussion, in order to compare with the properties of the local galaxies which are obtained with $`\beta =1`$. For the given $`\beta `$ value, the upper limit of the flux density at 850 $`\mu `$m (2 mJy) imposes the lower limit of the dust temperature, $`T_{lim}`$. In Figure 3 (the fourth panel from the top), the distribution of the obtained $`T_{lim}`$ is shown along with those of the dust temperature of local galaxies from the samples of the optically-selected CfA galaxies classified as E-S0/a and Sb-Sbc (Sauvage and Thuan 1994) and the $`IRAS`$-selected infrared-bright galaxies (Young et al. 1989). These dust temperature of the local galaxies are measured by fitting the $`IRAS`$ 60 and 100 $`\mu `$m flux densities with single-temperature modified-Planck function with $`\beta =1`$. The distribution of $`T_{lim}`$ of the LBGs has a peak at around 45 K and significantly higher than those of the local galaxies. The median value of the temperature lower limit is 43 K while those of CfA and infrared-bright samples are $`T_{med}=33`$ K (E/S0), 30 K (Sb-Sbc), and 36 K (infrared bright). According to the Peto-Prentice Generalized Wilcoxon Test, the temperature distribution of LBGs is different from those of the local galaxies with a confidence level larger than 99.9999 % .

It is possible that the high dust temperature of the LBGs is introduced by our assumption of single dust temperature. Most of the nearby star-forming galaxies have a hot dust component ($`T100150`$ K) in addition to a cold one ($`T3050`$ K) (Eales, Wynn-Williams, and Duncan 1989; Klaas et al. 1997). IRAS 60 and 100 $`\mu `$m flux densities of the local galaxies may be dominated by only the cold component. So as to estimate the energy drained to the hot dust, we fitted the SEDs of the three template spectra used in the previous section by the two component models. The results are $`L(cold)/L(hot)=1.9`$ for the SBL, $`L(cold)/L(hot)=3.2`$ for the SBH, and $`L(cold)/L(hot)=9.8`$ for the Arp220 template (The result for Arp220 is consistent with that of Klaas et al.). If we consider the contribution by the possible hot component in calculating the FIR luminosity of the LBGs, adopting the ratio $`L(cold)/L(hot)=1.9`$ which gives the lowest limiting temperature, the peak of $`T_{lim}`$ of the LBGs is shifted to $`37`$ K. According to the Peto-Prentice Generalized Wilcoxon Test, they are still different higher than 99.9999 % level. True $`T_{lim}`$ must be between these two extreme cases, and it may be $`T_{lim}40`$ K. In any case, the dust temperature of the LBGs are likely to be still higher than those of the nearby normal galaxies.

The difference of local galaxies and high-redshift LBGs can be in dust extinction properties instead of dust temperature. The reddening law in the LBGs is not understood very well (e.g., Pettini et al. 1998). If we use the SMC-like reddening law instead of the Calzetti law, the total amount of absorbed UV luminosity becomes smaller and the expected sub-mm flux density becomes several times smaller. In such a case, only a weak constraint for dust temperature is obtained.

### 3.2. FIR emission Estimated from UV spectral Slope

UV spectra of the local starburst galaxies are well approximated by a power-law of index $`p`$ (1250 $`2200`$ Å), $`f_\lambda =A\lambda ^p`$ (Calzetti Kinney & Storchi-Bergmann (1994), Meurer et al., (1995)), and there is an empirical relation between $`p`$ and $`F_{FIR}/F_{UV}`$ values (Meurer et al., (1997)). In the range of $`p1.8`$, approximately,

$$R\mathrm{log}\left(\frac{F_{FIR}}{F_{UV}}\right)0.65p+1.8$$
(2)   
where $`F_{FIR}=1.26\times 10^{11}\left[2.58\left(\frac{S_{\nu (60\mu m)}}{\mathrm{Jy}}\right)+\left(\frac{S_{\nu (100\mu m)}}{\mathrm{Jy}}\right)\right]`$ $`\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$ $`\mathrm{cm}^2`$, and $`F_{UV}=\lambda _cf_{\lambda _c}`$ ($`\lambda _c=2320`$ Å). Hence,

$$F_{FIR}A\lambda _{c}^{}{}_{}{}^{p+1}\times 10^R.$$
(3)   
If we assume the modified black-body radiation with the power of emissivity law $`\beta =1.0`$, the dust temperature $`T`$ implies the flux ratio $`k(T)S_{\nu (100\mu m)}/S_{\nu (60\mu m)}`$. Then we obtain,

$$S_{\nu (60\mu m)}=\frac{1}{1.26\times 10^{11}(2.58+k(T))}\left(\frac{F_{FIR}}{\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{cm}^2}\right)\mathrm{Jy}.$$
(4)   
The sub-mm flux is predicted by the spectrum from eq.4. Again, the upper limit of $`S_{\nu lim(850\mu m)}=2`$ mJy gives $`T_{lim}`$ values. The bottom panel of Figure 3 shows a distribution of $`T_{lim}`$ obtained by this empirical method. It peaks at $`38K`$, which is similar to or somewhat lower than the value calculated from the model UV extinction. It is not surprising that the empirical method gives wider $`T_{lim}`$ distribution since there is fairly large scatter in the empirical relation (eq.2) itself (Meurer et al 1997).

## 4. Contribution to the CFIRB

The average dust temperature of LBGs can also be examined with the observed intensity of cosmic far-infrared background (CFIRB) at $`850\mu `$m, although the field of view of HDF (4.7 arcmin<sup>2</sup>) is very small and statistical uncertainty may not be negligible; a typical fluctuation of CFIRB at this scale is still unknown. The total $`850\mu `$m flux in HDF evaluated from the average intensity of the CFIRB radiation, $`\nu I_\nu =3.5\times 10^{10}`$ W m<sup>-2</sup> sr<sup>-1</sup> (Fixsen et al. 1997). The five SCUBA sources contribute about 45 % of this flux. The contribution of the LBGs in HDF should not significantly exceed the remaining 55% of the CFIRB flux.

In Figure 4, we plot the contribution of the LBGs studied in the previous section to the CFIRB with respect to the assumed dust temperature. Three curves are those given by the model calculations with single and double temperature components and the prediction using the empirical relation. Depending on temperature, LBGs contribute a significant fraction ($`30\%`$). With the constraint not to exceed the CFIRB flux, we obtain fairly high limiting temperature, $`T_{lim}40`$ K, which is consistent with the limit obtained by using the SCUBA upper-limit flux density.

## 5. Discussions

We showed that the LBGs in HDF have UV-to-FIR SEDs different from those of the ultra-luminous FIR galaxies in the local universe and of the SCUBA-selected bright sub-mm sources. It may imply that the birght sub-mm sources detected above a few mJy at 850 $`\mu `$m are rather extremely dust-rich objectes among the high-redshift star-forming galaxies selected by the Lyman break technique although it does not have to mean that the entire parent populations of sub-mm sources and LBGs are fundamentally different.

We also claimed that dust temperature in the LBGs should be higher than $`40`$K, if we assume the reddening law appropriate for local starburst galaxies. What causes the relatively high dust temperature in the LBGs? High dust temperature may be results of some intrinsic properties of star formation in high-redshift galaxies. There are some possible explanations for effective dust heating. For example, a flatter initial mass function (IMF) which produces a larger number of massive stars for a given mass of dust may provide the effective dust heating. High star-formation efficiency (a higher SFR for a given mass of dust regardless of IMF) brings the similar situation. The difference may also be in properties of dust grains. For the case of low metal abundance (possibly true in young galaxies), dust may be dominated by small-size grains which are easily heated.

Finally, we discuss the detectability of LBGs in sub-mm observations. Assuming an appropriate spectral shape like SBL or dust temperature of $`4050K`$, we predict that sub-mm flux at $`850\mu `$m of the LBGs in HDF is typically 0.1-1 mJy. So within the reasonable amount of observational time, only the brightest LBGs could be detected with SCUBA. In the coming decade, however, new sub-mm observational facilities such as Large Millimeter and Sub-millimeter Array (NAOJ) or MilliMeter Array (NRAO), etc. are planned. Our results presented in this letter provides rather optimistic future prospects; only a few hour exposure time will be needed to detect typical LBGs with such new facilities and then we will learn about true star-formation properties of typical high-redshift galaxies.

We thank N.Arimoto and T. Kodama for kindly providing their evolutionary synthesis code.