Galaxy Formation at z > 3 Revealed by Narrowband-selected [O III] Emission Line Galaxies

Abstract

We present the physical properties of [O iii] emission line galaxies at z\gt 3 as the tracers of active galaxies at 1 Gyr before the peak epoch at z∼ 2. We have performed deep narrowband imaging surveys in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey Field with the Multi-object InfraRed Camera and Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope and have constructed coherent samples of 34 [O iii] emitters at z = 3.2 and 3.6, as well as 107 Hα emitters at z = 2.2 and 2.5. We investigate their basic physical quantities, such as stellar masses, star formation rates (SFRs), and sizes, using the publicly available multiwavelength data and high-resolution images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The stellar masses and SFRs show a clear correlation known as the “main sequence” of star-forming galaxies. It is found that the location of the main sequence of the [O iii] emitters at z = 3.2 and 3.6 is almost identical to that of the Hα emitters at z = 2.2 and 2.5. Also, we investigate their mass-size relation and find that the relation does not change between the two epochs. When we assume that the star-forming galaxies at z = 3.2 grow simply along the same main sequence down to z = 2.2, galaxies with {M}_*={10}⁹-{10}¹¹ {M}_⊙ increase their stellar masses significantly by a factor of 10-2. They climb up the main sequence, and their SFRs also increase a lot as their stellar masses grow. This indicates that star formation activities of galaxies are accelerated from z\gt 3 toward the peak epoch of galaxy formation at z∼ 2.