A unique distant submillimeter galaxy with an X-ray-obscured radio-luminous active galactic nucleus

Abstract

Aims. We present a multiwavelength study of an atypical submillimeter galaxy, GH500.30, in the GOODS-North field, with the aim to understand its physical properties of stellar and dust emission, as well as the central active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. Although it is shown that the source is likely an extremely dusty galaxy at high redshift, its exact position of submillimeter emission is unknown. Methods. We use NOEMA observation at 1.2 mm with subarcsecond resolution to resolve the dust emission, and precisely localize the counterparts at other wavelengths, which allows us to better constrain its stellar and dust spectral energy distribution (SED) as well as redshift. We carry out the new near-infrared (NIR) photometry of GH500.30 observed with HST, and perform panchromatic SED modelling from ultraviolet (UV)/optical to submillimeter. We derive the photometric redshift using both NIR and far-infrared (FIR) SED modeling, and place constraints on the stellar and dust properties such as stellar mass, age, dust attenuation, IR luminosity, and star-formation rate (SFR). The AGN properties are inferred from the X-ray spectral analysis and radio observations, and its contribution to the total IR luminosity is estimated from the broadband SED fittings using MAGPHYS. Results. With the new NOEMA interferometric imaging, we confirm that the source is a unique dusty galaxy. It has no obvious counterpart in the optical and even NIR images observed with HST at λ ≲ 1.4 μm. Photometric-redshift analyses from both stellar and dust SED suggest it to likely be at z ≳ 4, though a lower redshift at z ≳ 3.1 cannot be fully ruled out (at 90% confidence interval). Explaining its unusual optical-to-NIR properties requires an old stellar population (∼0.67 Gyr), coexisting with a very dusty ongoing starburst component. The latter is contributing to the FIR emission, with its rest-frame UV and optical light being largely obscured along our line of sight. If the observed fluxes at the rest-frame optical/NIR wavelengths were mainly contributed by old stars, a total stellar mass of ∼3.5 × 1011 M⊙ would be obtained. An X-ray spectral analysis suggests that this galaxy harbors a heavily obscured AGN with NH = 3.3+2.0−1.7 × 1023 cm−2 and an intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosity of Lx ∼ 2.6 × 1044 erg s−1, which places this object among distant type 2 quasars. The radio emission of the source is extremely bright, which is an order of magnitude higher than the star-formation-powered emission, making it one of the most distant radio-luminous dusty galaxies. Conclusions. The combined characteristics of the galaxy suggest that the source appears to have been caught in a rare but critical transition stage in the evolution of submillimeter galaxies, where we are witnessing the birth of a young AGN and possibly the earliest stage of its jet formation and feedback.