Spitzer Space Telescope - General Observer Proposal #60194


High-Redshift Sub-Millimeter Galaxies

Principal Investigator: Joaquin Vieira
           Institution: University of Chicago

     Technical Contact: Joaquin Vieira, University of Chicago

Co-Investigators: 
Daniel Marrone, University of Chicago                                 
John Carlstrom, University of Chicago                                 
Giovanni Fazio, Harvard-CfA                                           
Mark Brodwin, Harvard-CfA                                             
Mike Gladders, University of Chicago                                  
Matt Ashby, Harvard-CfA                                               
Anthony Gonzalez, University of Florida                               
Adam Stanford, UC Davis                                               
Thomas Crawford, University of Chicago                                
Joe Mohr, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign                  
William Holzapfel, UC Berkeley                                        
Adrian Lee, UC Berkeley                                               

Science Category: high-z galaxies (z>0.5) 
 Observing Modes: IRAC Post-Cryo Mapping
  Hours Approved: 55.4 

Abstract:
We propose to obtain IRAC imaging of 40 rare millimeter sources discovered by
the South Pole Telescope (SPT). These sources are the observably brightest,
rarest members of the population commonly referred to as sub-millimeter galaxies
(SMGs) and will provide a new window on galaxy formation in the early universe.
Because our targets are selected at longer wavelengths than typical SMG surveys,
and are an order of magnitude brighter than the typical SMGs, they are expected
to have a higher median redshift than objects currently in the literature.
Simulations suggest that we are detecting a significant number of lensed
sources, some of which should lie at z>6. The proposed observations, when
combined with precise positions from ATCA 3 mm interferometric images, will
enable photometric redshifts and measurements of total luminosity, star
formation rates, and stellar masses for this unique sample of galaxies.