The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: the radio view of the cosmic star formation history

ABSTRACT We present a detailed study of the cosmic star formation history over 90 per cent of cosmic time (0 ≲ z ≲ 4), using deep, radio continuum observations that probe star formation activity independent of dust. The Low Frequency Array Two Metre Sky Survey has imaged three well-studied extragala...

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Veröffentlicht in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2023-06, Vol.523 (4), p.6082-6102
Hauptverfasser: Cochrane, R K, Kondapally, R, Best, P N, Sabater, J, Duncan, K J, Smith, D J B, Hardcastle, M J, Röttgering, H J A, Prandoni, I, Haskell, P, Gürkan, G, Miley, G K
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:ABSTRACT We present a detailed study of the cosmic star formation history over 90 per cent of cosmic time (0 ≲ z ≲ 4), using deep, radio continuum observations that probe star formation activity independent of dust. The Low Frequency Array Two Metre Sky Survey has imaged three well-studied extragalactic fields, Elais-N1, Boötes, and the Lockman Hole, reaching $\sim 20\, \mu \rm {Jy\,beam^{-1}}$ rms sensitivity at $150\, \rm {MHz}$. The availability of high-quality ancillary data from ultraviolet to far-infrared wavelengths has enabled accurate photometric redshifts and the robust separation of radio-bright AGN from their star-forming counterparts. We capitalize on this unique combination of deep, wide fields and robustly selected star-forming galaxies to construct radio luminosity functions and derive the cosmic star formation rate density. We carefully constrain and correct for scatter in the $L_{150\, \rm {MHz}}-\rm {SFR}$ relation, which we find to be $\sim 0.3\, \rm {dex}$. Our derived star formation rate density lies between previous measurements at all redshifts studied. We derive higher star formation rate densities between z ∼ 0 and z ∼ 3 than are typically inferred from short wavelength emission; at earlier times, this discrepancy is reduced. Our measurements are generally in good agreement with far-infrared and radio-based studies, with small offsets resulting from differing star formation rate calibrations.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/stad1602