Far-infrared spectroscopy of a lensed starburst: A blind redshift from herschel

Abstract

We report the redshift of HATLAS J132427.0+284452 (hereafter HATLAS J132427), a gravitationally lensed starburst galaxy, the first determined 'blind' by the Herschel Space Observatory. This is achieved via the detection of [C II] consistent with z = 1.68 in a far-infrared spectrum taken with the SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). We demonstrate that the [CII] redshift is secure via detections of CO J = 2 → 1 and 3 → 2 using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy and the Institut de Radioastronomie Milliḿetrique's Plateau de Bure Interferometer. The intrinsic properties appear typical of high-redshift starbursts despite the high lensing-amplified fluxes, proving the ability of the FTS to probe this population with the aid of lensing. The blind detection of [CII] demonstrates the potential of the SPICA Far-infrared Instrument imaging spectrometer, proposed for the much more sensitive Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics mission, to determine redshifts of multiple dusty galaxies simultaneously without the benefit of lensing. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.