Starbursts in and out of the star-formation main sequence

Understand

We use high-resolution continuum images obtained at 870microns with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to probe the surface density of star-formation in z~2 galaxies and study the different physical properties between galaxies within and above the star-formation main sequence of galaxies.

• This sample of eight star-forming galaxies at z~2 selected among the most massive Herschel galaxies in the GOODS-South field is supplemented with eleven galaxies from the public data of the 1.3 mm survey of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field.
• ALMA reveals systematically dense concentrations of dusty star-formation close to the center of the stellar component of the galaxies.
• We identify two different starburst regimes: (i) the classical population of starbursts located above the SFR-M* main sequence, with enhanced gas fractions and short depletion times and (ii) a sub-population of galaxies located within the scatter of the main sequence that experience compact star formation with depletion timescales typical of starbursts of ~150 Myr.