CO luminosity function from Herschel-selected galaxies and the contribution of AGN
Abstract
We derive the carbon monoxide (CO) luminosity function (LF) for different rotational transitions [I.e. (1-0), (3-2), (5-4)] starting from the Herschel LF by Gruppioni et al. and using appropriate LCO-LIR conversions for different galaxy classes. Our predicted LFs fit the data so far available at z ≈ 0 and 2. We compare our results with those obtained by semi-analytical models (SAMs): while we find a good agreement over the whole range of luminosities at z ≈ 0, at z ≈ 1 and z ≈ 2, the tension between our LFs and SAMs in the faint and bright ends increases. We finally discuss the contribution of luminous active galactic nucleus (LX > 1044 erg s- 1) to the bright end of the CO LF concluding that they are too rare to reproduce the actual CO LF at z ≈ 2.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- February 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnrasl/slv173
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1511.00974
- Bibcode:
- 2016MNRAS.456L..40V
- Keywords:
-
- galaxies: evolution;
- galaxies: luminosity function;
- mass function;
- infrared: galaxies;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters