ALMA Reveals Strong Emission in a Galaxy Embedded in a Giant Lyα Blob at z = 3.1

Abstract

Abstract We report the result from observations conducted with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to detect [C ii] 158 μm fine structure line emission from galaxies embedded in one of the most spectacular Lyα blobs (LABs) at z = 3.1, SSA22-LAB1. Of three dusty star-forming galaxies previously discovered by ALMA 860 μm dust continuum survey toward SSA22-LAB1, we detected the [C ii] line from one, LAB1-ALMA3 at z = 3.0993 ± 0.0004. No line emission was detected, associated with the other ALMA continuum sources or from three rest-frame UV/optical selected z spec ≃ 3.1 galaxies within the field of view. For LAB1-ALMA3, we find relatively bright [C ii] emission compared to the infrared luminosity (L [C ii]/L IR ≈ 0.01) and an extremely high [C ii] 158 μm and [N ii] 205 μm emission line ratio (L [C ii]/L [N ii] > 55). The relatively strong [C ii] emission may be caused by abundant photodissociation regions and sub-solar metallicity, or by shock heating. The origin of the unusually strong [C ii] emission could be causally related to the location within the giant LAB, although the relationship between extended Lyα emission and interstellar medium conditions of associated galaxies is yet to be understand.